If you’re an avid World of Warcraft player, you know that a good graphics card can make all the difference in your gaming experience.
From stunning landscapes to epic battles, the right graphics card can bring your favorite game to life like never before. With so many options on the market, it can be overwhelming to choose the best graphics card for World of Warcraft.
In this article, we explore the top graphics cards that will help you immerse yourself in the world of Azeroth and take your WoW gameplay to the next level.
If you are in a hurry, here are the top graphic cards to consider:
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Editor’s Pick)
- AMD Radeon RX 570 (Best value)
What Graphic Card Requirements Does World of Warcraft Need?
To run WoW, you need a graphics card that meets the following requirements.
Minimum Requirements:
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB
- DirectX 11 compatible GPU
- 2GB VRAM
- Intel Core i5-3450 or AMD FX 8300 CPU
- 4GB RAM
- Windows 7, 8, or 10 (64-bit)
Recommended Requirements:
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB or AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB
- DirectX 12 compatible GPU
- 4GB VRAM
- Intel Core i7-6700 or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU
- 8GB RAM or higher
- Windows 10 (64-bit)
These requirements may vary depending on your individual settings and preferences. However, higher-end graphics cards can provide even better performance and visual quality.
Best Graphics Card for World of Warcraft – Top Picks
1. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
Built for exceptional gaming performance and realism, the GeForce RX 2080 Ti graphics card is excellent for running World of Warcraft. Its robust NVIDIA Turing GPU architecture and technologies like real-time ray tracing and DirectX 12 Ultimate ensure that it handles graphics-intensive game titles.
The RTX 2080 Ti comes with 4352 CUDA cores and can achieve boost clocks of up to 1545 MHz. Embedded with 11 GB GDDR6 VRAM and a 352-bit memory interface, it is super-fast and efficient.
Connect this video card to your PC via a PCI-E 2.0 interface. It features an HDMI 2.0, USB-C, and three DisplayPort 1.4a output ports. Its built-in cooling mechanism expels excess heat and maintains peak operating conditions.
2. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
Powered by NVIDIA Turing architecture, the GeForce RTX 2060 GPU provides incredible performance. It uses real-time ray tracing and artificial intelligence to produce life-like graphics.
With support for DirectX 12 Ultimate technology, this GPU can run the latest game titles at high resolutions, including WoW. Its variable-rate shading functionality enhances graphics quality.
The RTX 2060 features 1920 shader units and 240 tensor cores that optimize machine-learning applications. Paired with 6 GB GDDR6 VRAM, it has a 192-bit memory interface. This dual-slot graphics card for World of Warcraft has a max boosted frequency of 1680 MHz. Its display output ports include DVI, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4a, and USB-C.
3. AMD Radeon RX 570
The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a Polaris 20-based GPU with many features. Its support for Microsoft DirectX 12 technology ensures that all modern PC game titles will run on this card.
The RX 570 comes with 2048 shader cores and can achieve boosted clock speeds of up to 1244 MHz. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory facilitates speedy and lag-free performance.
Display output ports on the RX 570 include:
- DVI
- HDMI 2.0b
- DisplayPort 1.4a
This dual-slot video card uses a PCI-E connector and has built-in cooling solutions.
See also: Best video card for fx 8350
4. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1060 is a robust graphics card that provides impressive gaming and VR performance. It supports 1080p and 1440p gaming.
With 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM, this GPU is fast and efficient. Its operating frequency of 1506 MHz can be boosted up to 1708. The GTX 1060 has cooling fans that regulate operating temperatures for peak performance. It features a maximum digital resolution of 7680 x 4320 and multiple output ports for use in multi-monitor installations.
Related: Can GTX 1060 run 4K?
5. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a dual-slot Pascal-based GPU with boost clock speeds of 1392 MHz. Its 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM has a 128-bit bus interface for speedy operation.
With 768 CUDA core units and 48 texture mapping units, this mid-range graphics card is efficient. Its display ports include DVI, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort for added versatility.
This low-profile GPU has a recommended gaming resolution of 1920×1080. It supports performance-enhancing technologies, such as Microsoft DirectX 12, to allow the running of popular games like WoW.
World of Warcraft System Requirements
World of Warcraft is more CPU intensive than GPU bound. It exploits the full potential of a single processor core. WoW supports Windows and Mac operating systems for versatility.
The tables below summarize the minimum and recommended system requirements for running WoW.
| WoW System Requirements on Windows | ||
| Minimum Requirements | Recommended Specs | |
| Operating System | Windows 7 64-bit | Windows 10 64-bid |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-760 / AMD FX 8100 or better | Intel Core i7-4770 / AMD FX 8310 or better |
| GPU | NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 1GB / AMD Radeon HD 5670 1 GB / Intel HD Graphics 4000 | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 4GB / AMD™ Radeon™ R9 280 or better |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 15 GB free space | 70 GB space on SSD |
| Internet | Broadband internet | Broadband internet |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and multi-button mouse with scroll wheel |
| Resolution | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 or higher |
Table 1: WoW System Requirements on Windows
If you prefer computing on macOS, below are the minimum and recommended system specifications.
| WoW System Requirements on Mac PCs | ||
| Minimum Requirements | Recommended Specs | |
| Operating System | macOS 10.13 (latest version) | macOS 11.0 (latest version) |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-750 | Intel Core i7-4770 or better |
| GPU | Apple M1 / Metal capable GPU / NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M / AMD Radeon HD 5670 / Intel HD Graphics 5000 | AMD Radeon M395X/ Apple M1 Max / Metal capable GPU or better |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Storage | 15 GB free space on HDD | 70 GB space on SSD |
| Internet | Broadband internet | Broadband internet |
| Input | Keyboard and mouse | Keyboard and multi-button mouse with scroll wheel |
| Resolution | 1024 x 768 | 1024 x 768 or higher |
Table 2: WoW System Requirements on Mac
A gaming rig with the minimum requirements will run World of Warcraft. However, the bare-minimum requirements do not guarantee a smooth gaming experience. The recommended system requirements ensure high-quality and realistic game graphics.
Conclusion
Whether you are building a new PC or upgrading your old PC to play games like World of Warcraft, the graphics cards on this list are an excellent choice. Choose one that is compatible with other PC hardware like your PSU.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about the graphics cards for World of Warcraft.
Does WoW require a good graphics card?
World of Warcraft requires a good GPU. The minimum video requirements for playing WoW are NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560, AMD Radeon HD 7850, and Intel HD Graphics 530 GPUs.
What is the best CPU for World of Warcraft?
The recommended CPUs for playing WoW on a Windows PC are the Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD FX 8310 or better.
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