Greetings,
I checked the system requirements for Shadowlands, and looks like I’ll be able to play the expansion, with the only requirement I don’t meet is the SSD drive.
My question is: how mandatory is it to have a SSD and would the game run on a regular HDD? This is the only part of the computer I’ve been refusing to upgrade because I really have a heck lot of information, and reinstallation would be hard (not to mention that my ISP has a data cap).
Best regards.
It is the part where you can make, by far, the most improvement for the least amount of money. So it is a good idea to start thinking about migrating your system either way.
It will prob run most of the times, but if you look for HDD vs SSD tests for WoW on the web then you come across (first time) loading screens that get stuck or are up to 6x longer. I truthfully do not think running WoW (and Win ofc) without an SSD will result in a great experience anymore.
P.s. you do not have to redownload/install WoW anyways ^^ just copy → paste to your new drive after installing your OS on it.
I hope you have the important info stored on multiple places and not just that harddrive.
Cloning old hard disk to a new SSD Is fairly easy and many SSDs come with software which can do that (and there are obviously many free and paid software you can use as well).
If the SSD is smaller than your current stored data you might have to move some to another drive (eg. external). Blizzard games, Steam etc. can be moved even without cloning so you can avoid downloading them again.
Well… I’ll see how things will evolve. I may buy a smaller SSD just for the sake of playing Shadowlands, and put it as a separate drive.
Just invest in the largest Samsung SSD you can afford and never look back. Using a mechanical drive is like choosing to travel around on a donkey when you can afford a car
Your question might have been relevant 5 years ago, but today you are wasting your time with HDD’s.
Done.
Perhaps something I had to do years ago, but today I decided and switched my system to a SSD.
At least Windows loads fast.
Welcome to 2015 
The fun thing is that my CPU - Pentium g4600 is produced in 2017. Same goes for my videocard - GeForce GT 1300. Cheap gaming architecture. But it was very fast even on HDD.
SSD makes it faster, yes. And I still haven’t given up on my old hard drives. They’re working.
You can use your old HDD for normal data storage, but put windows and demanding games on the SSD.
Wow… ok… that is not a “gaming” GPU and is even below minimum specs for Shadowlands.
The CPU is barely minimum.
Well it runs fine! It is DirectX 12-compatible videocard with 2GB Video memory.
… Ouch. That’s… Wow.
The videocard listed as minimum is Nvidia GeForce GTX 760. This one is from 2013, at 980 MHz and 2GB Video Memory.
My videocard is GeForce GT 1030, at 1.2 GHz, again 2GB DDR5 video memory. Released in 2017.
It’s slightly above the minimum for Shadowlands. And works quite fine for BFA.
Sorry to inform you, but the GT 1030 is slower than a GTX 760.
Remember GTX is the gaming series, GT is for office.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDih_8ZenLo
OK, maybe it was a mistake to label my rig as “gaming”. But the truth is, GT 1030 runs retail wow just fine on 4/10 graphics quality. Never had any problems - even with 10 years old HDD. But then I don’t raid.
As for Shadowlands, I certainly expect the recommended graphic level to jump down to 3/10 or 2/10 graphics quality. However, I don’t expect to go THAT down to 1/10 - the absolutely, lowest setting.
I’m not saying you can’t run WoW. Just saying that you might be set up for disappointment in Shadowlands when you have to lower your settings even further making it look like LEGO 
You could get your settings up to 6 or even 7 easily by upgrading your GPU to say a 1050ti or a RX 570/580.
Ah, I get your point 
Maybe it’s just me who’s not picky. I watched the video that compares both video card… and I noticed… absolutely nothing…
Am I blind? I regularly play classic (quite more than retail) and I don’t even notice that the graphics are buffed up compared to retail.
The only event in my life when I notice the graphics is when I play my other MMORPG - Lord of the Rings Online. It’s an old game and hasn’t changed, and it goes high/ultra. This is the only time I am in awe.
Uhm, look at the FPS counter not the game itself.
You mean you don’t notice a difference between classic and retail?
Well even on 4 BfA looks alot better. There is 15 years of technology inbetween.
But you can also enable the better shadows and stuff from retail in classic.
Still, the models are much simpler and the zones really barren.
Ok, do me a favor, just for the lulz turn up the settings to 7 or go for 10 in BfA and compare. You might get a slideshow though