WoW: Cataclysm specs released

By Fred Dutton Published 20 October, 2010

Blizzard lays out its demands.

The minimum system requirements to run World of Warcraft: Cataclysm have been posted for all to see.

According to Blizzard, the MMO's developer, your PC should pack the following, at the very least :

Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1):

  • Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500
  • 1GB or more of RAM
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
  • DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
  • 25 GB free hard drive space
  • A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported
  • You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play

Mac OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.4, or newer:

  • Intel Core Duo processor
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 25 GB free hard drive space
  • A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported
  • You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play

However, to get the best out of the game, Blizzard reckons your machine will need to be capable of a bit more than that. Here are its recommended specs:

Windows XP 32bit (SP3), Windows XP 64bit (SP2), Windows Vista 32bit (SP1), Windows Vista 64bit (SP1) Windows 7:

  • Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
  • 2 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)
  • 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™
  • 2600 or better DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
  • Broadband Internet connection
  • Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended

Mac® OS X 10.6.4 or newer:

  • Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better
  • 4 GB RAM
  • 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA 7600 class card or better
  • Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended

The World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion is open for questing from 7th December on Mac and PC. In the meantime, take a look at the ridiculously epic launch trailer below to whet your appetites.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (15) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • JahB #1 2 years ago

    recommended:

    Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2
    2 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)
    3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™
    2600 or better DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability
    Broadband Internet connection
    Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended
    1 Neckbeard

  • darkmorgado #2 2 years ago

    How long before this thing will run on a calculator?

  • swills #3 2 years ago

    @darkmorgado :
    They aren't releasing it for I-Pad as far as I know.

  • Goodfella #4 2 years ago

    FFS, this place is becoming spam central. Do something about these muppets EG!

    Back tow WoW, very low spec requirements, which is a good thing.

  • Entity #5 2 years ago

    OMG! I can't escape the adbots even on this site.

    It's like a waking nightmare..

  • darkmorgado #6 2 years ago

    @Goodfella

    Yeah it's nice that the requirements haven't lifted, but for all the talk of improvements to the engine, it looks exactly the same. The engine is really starting to creak now, and no degree of sylisation can hide it anymore.

    Surely they can provide a high-performance engine alongside the standard one? Other games have done it IIRC.

  • Ryboy #7 2 years ago

    So a toaster could run it basically. Nice to see they are pushing the boat out...

  • Slipstream #8 2 years ago

    Cynicism aside...

    It's nice to see they specs haven't been raised too much, as muchas I'm sure Blizzard would like to showcase WoW off as a prettier game, they'd without a doubt loose alot of subscriptions to appease, in comparison, a minority.

    /Cynicism-on Do the math if you haven't figured it out yet.

  • darkmorgado #9 2 years ago

    @Slipstream

    Yeah, but they could actually release two engines (with the prettier one keeping the same proportions and geometry but upping poly count, animations, texture res, etc) but with the same netcode so the community isn't fragmented - both sides win.

  • drhickman1983 #10 2 years ago

    Whilst the graphics are technically creaky, and could do with an upgrade, I still think the art style in WoW is vastly superior to a number of it's charmless competitors.

  • levitate #11 2 years ago

    I'm happy the specs haven't vastly increased. In times when games like FFXIV needs a supercomputer to not crash, this is a breath of fresh air.

  • alientude #12 2 years ago

    Blizzard games always have what gamers consider "poor" graphics, because as a company they don't consider graphics technology for the sake of graphics technology a driving force in having fun. They're much more concerned with solid gameplay, stunning art direction, and reaching the most customers they can by keeping system specs low.

    I seriously doubt they'll ever do a revamped graphics engine for WoW. It's just not the type of thing they work on. They've got their secret next-gen MMO in the works, and any engine work they're doing would be for it, I imagine. Besides, Blizzard reps have been pretty adamant about wanting to focus developer time on things the majority of subscribers will enjoy - hence more accessible raids. While gamers will have the specs to run a new engine, with 12 million active subscriptions, I think it's safe to say that a huge portion of WoW's customers are not your traditional gamer with a tricked out system. Many of them are people playing on PCs that are 4+ years old.
    Edited by alientude at 21/10/10 @ 07:48

  • alroste #13 2 years ago

    Looks like I'll need to upgrade my little girls iMac so she can quest with me. Otherwise not too bad

  • Scopeh #14 2 years ago

    @alientude

    Hit the nail on the head. Blizzard wont upgrade the engine because they know, most of the subscribers play on budget PC's 3+ years old. all these people complaining about graphics, are the minority, enjoy FFXIV if your looking for amazing graphics and nothing else...personally i'd take gameplay over graphics any day.

  • loopy #15 2 years ago

    I have quite a nice rig based around a core i5 750/ATI 5770, and to be honest I'm perfectly happy with WoW's graphics as they are. It's nice to be able to run around the vast landscapes or take part in a raid with everything "maxed out" (a relative term in WoW I know) and not drop below 60fps once.

    The technical limitations of the engine are more than made up for by the art direction as far as I'm concerned, and the beta looks lovely, particularly the new worgen starting zone. :)