Returning player - Laptop query

Support Technical Support
1

Hi all,

I’ve played WoW on and off for about 10 years or so. I’m looking to give it a go again but my very basic computer is 6 or 7 years old now and struggles with most things.

I’m looking to get a laptop but when it comes to hardware I really haven’t got a clue. I understand a dedicated graphics card is recommended but a laptop that has one is probably slightly out of my budget.

If anyone is able to assist, would the following be sufficient to run WoW reasonably well without being on the minimum graphics setting:

Processor - AMD Ryzen 5 5500U Processor

  • Hexa-core
  • 2.1 GHz / 4.0 GHz
  • 8 MB cache
    RAM 16 GB DDR4 (3200 MHz)

I can’t any specific information on the integrated graphics card so I’m not sure if it’s suitable or not.

Thanks for any help.

2

when you get a laptop try to get a dedicated graphics card to get a better experience. the integrated card are not made for gaming or heavier applications.
im not sure what is good or not.
how much money are you willing to spend?

3

Hey there Kagorium,

I would suggest that you have a look into the system requirements of the game, to gauge what system you would need to play!

Notebooks can be a bit notoriously difficult to understand what spectrum of performance they are in, as that can be changed quite a bit depending on the power envelope/spec of the manufacturer’s design.

The graphics chip of the 5500U APU, is the RX Vega 7, and you should be able to find more more information about this in here - it even has a WoW benchmark near the bottom of the page. I would also search around the web for independent reviews of the specific brand/make of laptop - and not just the specs - that you’re looking into, so that you have a fuller picture!

4

Hey,

Thanks for the detailed response!

I did have a glance at the system requirements but when it came to processors I had no idea what’s good and what’s not.

Is it safe to assume a new laptop with a dedicated graphics card would be sufficient to run WoW with reasonable/average graphics settings?

Thanks

5

Blizzard don’t give specific hardware advice, in case they get it wrong, and you blame them for it. They will only refer you to the systems requirements page.

You are best off asking about specific models, so players can look up the specs and advise you from there.

6

Thanks for the reply.

If I was to look at a cheap-end gaming laptop with the following specs would this be sufficient:
Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-10300H Processor

  • Quad-core
  • 2.5 GHz / 4.5 GHz
  • 8 MB cache
    RAM - 8 GB DDR4
  • 32 GB maximum installable RAM
    Graphics card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
  • 4 GB GDDR6

Thanks in advance for any advice.

7 
Intel® Core™ i5-10300H Processor
2.5 GHz / 4.5 GHz
8 MB cache
RAM - 8 GB DDR4
32 GB maximum installable RAM
Graphics card - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
4 GB GDDR6

That would definitely meet (and in some areas notably exceed) the minimum requirements of WoW. The amount of RAM is a little on the low end for modern-day gaming (WoW can survive on 6GB+, many other games will ask for substantially more), but if upgrading later is easily possible that may be okay for now.

Still, I would also echo the advice given earlier - reading a few reviews and ideally checking a benchmark test or two is always time well spent especially when buying laptops. They tend to have additional performance restrictions that are not commonly found in desktop PCs, often related to heat/power management, so doing some hands-on testing (or learning from those who have already done so) can prevent many headaches down the road. :slight_smile: