One of the most popular MMORPGs of all-time – World of Warcraft – is not a particularly demanding game.
But, you still require decent hardware to run it smoothly on high settings. Whether you plan on getting a laptop or building a desktop.
You will ask yourself this question – is CPU or GPU more important for WoW? Here is what you need to know.
Does Wow Use More CPU Or GPU?
Wow uses more CPU than GPU when running. Your CPU does the most work especially when you are raiding or in a highly-populated area.
Places, where your FPS drops drastically, can be prevented by getting a decent or powerful CPU.
That’s why CPUs with high clock speeds are highly favoured in WoW PC builds.
The good news is that the AMD Ryzen and Intel Core CPUs provide good to excellent performance that can handle WoW.
Should I Prioritize CPU or GPU in WoW?
You should prioritize CPU over the GPU in WoW. However, that doesn’t mean you should ignore the GPU or get a weak GPU.
Because the GPU is responsible for handling graphics data and having a decent GPU is highly recommended if you want consistent FPS on high graphic settings.
You don’t need top of a line GPU to play WoW on high settings. For example, you will be fine with an Intel Core i5 paired with GTX 1660 Ti or AMD Ryzen 7 paired with GTX 1650.
Does WoW Require Good CPU?
Yes, WoW requires a good CPU. Below are the system requirements for running WoW.
If you look at the CPU system requirements, Intel Core i5/AMD FX is the minimum CPU requirement your PC must meet and an Intel Core i7/AMD Ryzen 7 is the recommended CPU system requirement.
This shows that you require a good CPU for WoW to run successfully and smoothly.
| MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS | RECOMMENDED SPECIFICATIONS | |
| OPERATING SYSTEM | Windows® 7 64-bit | Windows® 10 64-bit |
| PROCESSOR | Intel® Core™ i5-3450 AMD FX™ 8300 | Intel® Core™ i7-6700K AMD Ryzen™ 7 2700X |
| VIDEO | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 2 GB or AMD Radeon™ RX 560 2 GB or Intel® UHD Graphics 630 (45W TDP) *Requires manufacturer’s driver support. | NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 8 GB or AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 8 GB or better |
| MEMORY | 4 GB RAM (8GB for integrated graphics such as Intel HD Graphics series) | 8 GB RAM |
| STORAGE | Solid State Drive (SSD) 100GB available space Or Hard Disk Drive (HDD) 100GB available space (depending on the performance of the drive, player experience may be impacted on HDD) | Solid State Drive (SSD) 100GB available space |
| INTERNET | Broadband internet connection | |
| INPUT | Keyboard and mouse required. Other input devices are not supported. | Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel |
| RESOLUTION | 1024 x 768 minimum display resolution |
Final Thoughts
To sum it all up, CPU is definitely important for WoW but you can’t ignore the GPU. The good news is that AMD and Intel have great offers when it comes to mid-range CPUs.
Pair this up with a decent GPU and you have more than enough performance to run WoW on high settings.