To Play or Not to Play: World of Warcraft System Requirements
It seems almost idealistic to be able to journey to the local computer store, purchase a copy of a game, drive home and install it and enter a fantastical world where minotaurs and mages exist, and where gods and goddesses still walk the world. It is idealistic, because such things are not so simple. Any gamer knows computer games are fickle creations; they must be babied and coddled to work at all, let alone properly or to full expectation. The computer gaming industry walks hand in hand with the computer industry; many gamers cycle through computers as quickly as new versions of old games are released. With each subsequent development in the gaming world, a new, better computer must be purchased in order to successfully run this development. World of Warcraft is no different.
The World of Warcraft system requirements are substantial. Now, while the base requirements, those necessary to turn the game on, may not appear so daunting, running any computer game on the minimum requirements is the opposite of fun. World of Warcraft requires a large amount of memory, hard drive space and, above all, a solid internet connection. Millions of players connect daily to the World of Warcraft servers, and the amount of information being transferred from any one computer to the main terminals is astounding. But with all of these numbers and with all of these devices, a lot can go wrong, and while the World of Warcraft system requirements are adequate outlines, they are not gospel, and serious gamers know they will need to go above and beyond these outlines to experience the game fully.
In the Numbers
For a Windows system, the minimum World of Warcraft system requirements are as follows: an Intel Pentium III 800 MHz or AMD Athlon 800 MHz processor, at least 512 MB of RAM, a 32 MB graphics card, DirectX 9.0, 6.0 GB of hard drive space, 4x CD-ROM and a 56k internet connection. However, the recommended World of Warcraft system requirements are substantially higher: an Intel Pentium IV 1.5 GHz or AMD XP 1500+ MHz processor, 1024 MB of RAM, a 64 MB 3D graphics card and a broadband internet connection. A two-button, scroll-wheel mouse is also recommended.
For the serious gamer, these numbers spell the difference between ruling the gaming world and stumbling through it. Slow-downs, screen freezes, blue screens and disconnections can ruin any gaming experience, and even amateur players will grow frustrated when they constantly have to wait for images to load and for graphics to scroll in a less-than-choppy fashion. World of Warcraft system requirements only guarantee the game to run; they do not guarantee the game to run in a playable fashion. The World of Warcraft system requirements for Mac-based operating systems are similar; however, PCs are universally regarded as better gaming systems due to their ability to support hardware upgrades.
World of Warcraft expansion packs and downloadable patches also factor into the World of Warcraft system requirements. Overtime, the specifications have shifted; what was once acceptable to run the original game is no longer adequate for some expansions and patches, forcing players to upgrade their computers if they wish to run the latest versions of the game. Once again, in the gaming world, gamers really have no choice; in order to compete, they must have the latest, greatest World of Warcraft software; otherwise, it is barely worth playing at all.
