WoW Forever system requirements (PC and Mac)

These are the official WoW Forever system requirements for Windows and Mac, taken from Blizzard's Battle.net Shop product page for World of Warcraft: Forever. We verified that published table from the official page (the 1 November 2026 and 22 October 2026 captures are identical). Blizzard's starter guide of 28 October 2026 points readers to that same Shop page before they install. A separate official GPU requirements article adds a hard floor for older graphics architectures.

We do not invent specs, FPS numbers or bandwidth figures. Where Blizzard has not published a figure, that is marked below.

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This page contains Amazon links; they are separate from the RestedXP offer.

If you are setting up the client for launch day, start with the first-day checklist and the beginner guide. For a leveling route once you are in, see the Forever leveling guide and the RestedXP price and 10% off page.

Official system requirements

The tables below follow the Forever product page on the Battle.net Shop. The Shop lists example processors and GPUs one after another in each cell; we show those official examples with a slash between names. These are the Forever specs, not the older retail or Classic Shop tables.

Blizzard's starter guide says you install World of Warcraft through the Battle.net desktop app, then select World of Warcraft: Forever from the available game versions.

Windows (PC)

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system	Windows 10 64-bit (May 2019 Update or newer)	Windows 11
Processor	4 cores, 3.0 GHz — Intel Core Haswell / AMD Ryzen Zen	8 performance cores, 5.2 GHz boost — Intel Core Ultra (Series 2) / AMD Ryzen Zen 5
Video	DirectX 12 capable 4 GB GPU — NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10 series / AMD RDNA 1 / Intel Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake	DirectX 12 capable 8 GB GPU — NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 series / AMD RDNA 3 / Intel Arc B-Series
Memory	8 GB RAM	16 GB RAM
Storage	SSD, 128 GB available space	SSD, 128 GB available space
Internet	Broadband internet connection	Broadband internet connection
Input	Keyboard and mouse required	Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
Display	1280 × 720 minimum	1280 × 720 minimum

A Blizzard staff reply on the official forums restates the same Windows GPU minimum: a DirectX 12 capable 4 GB GPU such as a GeForce GTX 10 series, AMD RDNA 1 or Intel Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake card.

Mac

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system	macOS 12	macOS 15
Processor	Apple M2 / 9th-generation Intel Core (Coffee Lake)	Apple M4
Video	Metal capable 4 GB GPU — Apple M2 8 GB	Apple M4 16 GB
Memory	8 GB RAM	16 GB RAM
Storage	SSD, 128 GB available space	SSD, 128 GB available space
Internet	Broadband internet connection	Broadband internet connection
Input	Keyboard and mouse required	Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel
Display	1280 × 720 minimum	1280 × 720 minimum

The Shop lists the Apple M2 (including the "Apple M2 8 GB" video example) as the minimum Apple chip, so an M1 Mac sits below the official minimum. We do not claim that an M1 will or will not run the game.

The GPU floor: cards that no longer work

Separately from the Shop minimum, Blizzard's GPU requirements article sets a hard architecture floor. From launch, your graphics card must be based on one of these microarchitectures, or a newer one:

• AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012)
• NVIDIA Maxwell (2014)
• Intel Skylake (2015)

Blizzard's example compatible cards — which still sit well below the game's minimum requirements — are the AMD Radeon HD 7850 (2012), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 9xx and GTX 750 / 750 Ti (2014), and Intel HD Graphics 530 (2015).

Example unsupported cards, which need an upgrade before you can play, are the AMD Radeon HD 6950 (2010), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 / 770 / 780 and GTX 8xxM (2014), and Intel HD Graphics 6000 (2015).

A higher model number is not always a newer architecture. The GTX 760, 770 and 780 have higher numbers than a GTX 750, but they are on Blizzard's unsupported list. If your card is not named, look up its architecture rather than guessing from the number.

The reason given in the official article is Forever's updated visual look, which relies on a GPU feature introduced around 2012: RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders. Blizzard says the vast majority of World of Warcraft players already use compatible hardware.

How to check your graphics card

On Windows, the official GPU article gives two methods:

• Open Settings, select System, then Display, and choose Advanced display to see the GPU's make and model.
• Or open Device Manager and expand Display adapters.

On a Mac, About This Mac in the Apple menu shows the chip. Then compare what you find with the Shop table and with the architecture floor above.

If the game will not start after that check, treat it as a hardware or install problem first. If you can launch but cannot get past login, the login and queue guide covers server-side causes, which a PC upgrade will not fix.

Laptops and lower-spec PCs

Blizzard has not published a separate laptop table. A Windows or Mac laptop needs to meet the same official requirements as a desktop. The Intel minimum example on the Shop page, Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake graphics, is a laptop chip. Older mobile cards can fail the architecture floor: the official GPU article lists GeForce GTX 8xxM among the unsupported examples.

If your laptop is at or only just above the minimum, use the lower visual preset described below rather than assuming it will match a recommended desktop.

Storage, RAM and internet

Storage. Both columns require a solid-state drive with 128 GB of available space. A hard disk is not listed. The 128 GB figure is free space, not a promise about the finished install size.

Memory. The official minimum is 8 GB of RAM; 16 GB is recommended, on both Windows and Mac.

Internet. The Shop only asks for a broadband internet connection. Blizzard has not published a minimum megabit figure or a ping target for Forever, so we do not invent one.

Settings tips for leveling and crowded zones

We do not publish our own FPS numbers. The official settings advice is in the starter guide:

The first time you log in, you choose an Experience Preset before your ruleset.

• Classic starts with Standard Definition character models, quest points of interest and objective blobs off, One-bag off, Transmog off, camera-turning keyboard binds and a Classic screen UI layout.
• Enhanced starts with High Definition character models, quest points of interest and objective blobs on, One-bag on, Transmog on, strafe movement on the keyboard and a centralized screen UI layout.

Blizzard says that if you are not sure, start with Enhanced, and that the preset is a starting point rather than a lock: you can change the individual settings later under Game Menu, then Options. After the first login, that choice screen does not appear again.

If your PC is at the official minimum, or you are playing on a laptop close to those specs, Classic is the lighter official starting point. In a crowded starting zone, lowering individual options under Game Menu, then Options can reduce load. That is different from a login queue, which is a server wait — see the login and queue guide.

Once you are in and the client is stable, addons such as a quest tool or a route addon sit on top of that setup. The addons guide and the install guide cover what to install and how to check that it loads.

The starter guide also notes that you can play with a keyboard and mouse, and that controller support is available in a beta state. Typing in the official guidance still assumes a keyboard is available.

Upgrades that help

If your PC is below the official minimum, or you want to move toward the recommended column, these are the categories that match what the Shop actually asks for. The links go to Amazon US search results for that category, not to a specific product we have tested. We do not list prices, ratings or stock, and we do not claim that any one card or kit is "the one to buy."

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

• SSD. Both official columns require a solid-state drive with 128 GB free. If you are still on a hard disk, or you do not have that much free space, an internal NVMe SSD is the upgrade that matches the requirement. Search internal NVMe SSDs on Amazon.
• RAM. The official jump is from 8 GB (minimum) to 16 GB (recommended). Search 16 GB RAM kits on Amazon.
• Graphics card. The official recommended examples are a DirectX 12 capable 8 GB GPU in the GeForce RTX 40 series, AMD RDNA 3 or Intel Arc B-Series range. If your card is below the Shop minimum or only meets the architecture floor, this is the column to compare against — not the older "compatible but below minimum" examples in the GPU article. Search 8 GB graphics cards on Amazon.
• Mouse. A keyboard and mouse are required. The recommended input is a multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel, which is a better fit for action bars than a two-button office mouse. Search MMO gaming mice on Amazon.

These are US Amazon search links. They are not available as a local-store equivalent on this page. RestedXP remains the site's leveling-guide offer; it is not sold through Amazon, and the RestedXP cards on this page are unchanged.

Frequently asked questions

What are the official WoW Forever system requirements?

On the official Battle.net Shop product page, the Windows minimum is Windows 10 64-bit (May 2019 Update or newer), a 4-core 3.0 GHz processor (Intel Core Haswell or AMD Ryzen Zen), a DirectX 12 capable 4 GB GPU (GeForce GTX 10 series, AMD RDNA 1 or Intel Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake), 8 GB of RAM, an SSD with 128 GB free, broadband internet, a keyboard and mouse, and a 1280 x 720 display. Recommended is Windows 11, 8 performance cores with a 5.2 GHz boost (Intel Core Ultra Series 2 or AMD Ryzen Zen 5), a DirectX 12 capable 8 GB GPU (GeForce RTX 40 series, AMD RDNA 3 or Intel Arc B-Series), 16 GB of RAM, and a multi-button mouse with a scroll wheel. Storage, internet and display do not change between the two columns. Mac minimum is macOS 12 with an Apple M2 or 9th-generation Intel Core (Coffee Lake); recommended is macOS 15 with an Apple M4.

How do I check which graphics card I have?

Blizzard's official GPU article gives two Windows methods: open Settings, select System, then Display, and choose Advanced display; or open Device Manager and expand Display adapters. On a Mac, About This Mac in the Apple menu shows the chip. Compare what you find with the official Shop table and with the architecture floor in that GPU article.

My GPU appears on Blizzard's compatible examples list. Is that enough to run Forever?

Not necessarily. The official GPU article lists example cards that meet only the architecture floor, such as the Radeon HD 7850, GeForce GTX 9xx and GTX 750 or 750 Ti, and Intel HD Graphics 530, and it says those GPUs are still well below the game's minimum requirements. Meeting the floor means the card is not in the unsupported group; it does not mean it meets the Shop minimum of a DirectX 12 capable 4 GB GPU such as a GTX 10 series, RDNA 1 or Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake card.

Is an SSD required for WoW Forever?

Yes. Both the minimum and recommended columns on the official Shop page list a solid-state drive with 128 GB of available space. A hard disk is not listed as an option.

Does WoW Forever run on a Mac with an M1 chip?

The official Mac minimum on the Battle.net Shop page is an Apple M2 or a 9th-generation Intel Core (Coffee Lake). An M1 Mac sits below that published minimum. We do not invent performance claims for hardware Blizzard does not list.

Is WoW Forever a separate install from retail or Classic, with different hidden requirements?

Blizzard's official starter guide says you install World of Warcraft through the Battle.net desktop app and then select World of Warcraft: Forever from the available game versions. The system requirements on the Forever Battle.net Shop product page are the official Forever specs; they are not the older retail or Classic tables. We quote that Forever Shop table, not a guess about an unpublished client.

Will a laptop run WoW Forever?

There is no separate official laptop table. A Windows or Mac laptop needs to meet the same Shop requirements as a desktop. The Intel minimum example, Iris Xe2-LPG Lunar Lake graphics, is a laptop chip. Older mobile cards can fail the architecture floor: the official GPU article lists GeForce GTX 8xxM among unsupported examples. Check your exact GPU and compare it with both official documents.