System requirements

System requirments are the minimum level of hardware and software a player should have to expect a decent playing experience. Listing these requirements is an industry standard, but "decent" playing experience varies wildly. All the Warcraft games have varying levels of system requirements, but most of them run on both Microsoft Windows based PCs and Mac OS X based Macintosh computers.

World of Warcraft
These are the requirements as of 20-Oct-2010:

System requirements have increased since launch due to content patches and new features added in line with the latest expansions.


 * PC System Requirements

OS: Windows® System XP/XP64/Vista/Vista64/7** OS (with the latest Service Packs or updates)


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
 * Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 1 GB or more of RAM
 * Recommended: 2 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
 * Recommended: 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better

Sound: DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability


 * Mac System Requirements

OS: Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.4, or newer


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel processor
 * Recommended: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor


 * Minimum: 2 GB RAM
 * Recommended: 4 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
 * Recommended: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better


 * All Platforms


 * Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
 * Connectivity: You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.
 * Mouse: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.
 * Hard Drive Space: 25 GB free hard drive space


 * For a complete list of supported 3D cards, visit What video cards are supported by Blizzard for the game? (PC)
 * Note that due to the evolving nature of the game, the minimum system requirements for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King may change over time.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade
At launch:


 * PC System Requirements

OS: Windows XP / Windows Vista (with latest Service Packs)


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
 * Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 512 MB RAM (1GB for Vista users)
 * Recommended: 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or better
 * Recommended: 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better

Sound: DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability


 * Mac System Requirements

OS: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or newer


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo processor
 * Recommended: Intel 1.8GHz processor or better


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 1 GB RAM
 * Recommended: 2 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
 * Recommended: 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


 * All Platforms


 * Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
 * Connectivity: You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.
 * Mouse: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.
 * Hard Drive Space: 15 GB free hard drive space


 * For a complete list of supported 3D cards, visit www.worldofwarcraft.com/supportedvideo
 * Note that due to the evolving nature of the game, the minimum system requirements for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King may change over time.


 * System requirements are subject to change.

World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
At launch:


 * PC System Requirements

OS: Windows XP / Windows Vista (with latest Service Packs)


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
 * Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 512 MB RAM (1GB for Vista users)
 * Recommended: 1 GB RAM (2 GB for Vista users)


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 32 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 7200 or NVIDIA GeForce 2 class card or better
 * Recommended: 3D graphics processor with Vertex and Pixel Shader capability with 128 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon X1600 or NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT class card or better

Sound: DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability


 * Mac System Requirements

OS: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or newer


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: PowerPC G5 1.6 GHz or Intel Core Duo processor
 * Recommended: Intel 1.8GHz processor or better


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 1 GB RAM
 * Recommended: 2 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
 * Recommended: 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


 * All Platforms


 * Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
 * Connectivity: You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.
 * Mouse: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.
 * Hard Drive Space: 15 GB free hard drive space


 * For a complete list of supported 3D cards, visit www.worldofwarcraft.com/supportedvideo
 * Note that due to the evolving nature of the game, the minimum system requirements for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King may change over time.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

 * PC System Requirements

OS: Windows® System XP/XP64/Vista/Vista64/7** OS (with the latest Service Packs or updates)


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel Pentium 4 1.3 GHz or AMD Athlon XP 1500+
 * Recommended: Dual-core processor, such as the Intel Pentium D or AMD Athlon 64 X2


 * Memory&#58;


 * Minimum: 1 GB or more of RAM
 * Recommended: 2 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: NVIDIA® GeForce® FX or ATI Radeon™ 9500 video card or better
 * Recommended: 256 MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600 or ATI Radeon™ HD 2600 or better

Sound: DirectX-compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability


 * Mac System Requirements

OS: Mac® OS X 10.5.8, 10.6.4, or newer


 * Processor&#58;


 * Minimum: Intel processor
 * Recommended: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor


 * Minimum: 2 GB RAM
 * Recommended: 4 GB RAM


 * Video&#58;


 * Minimum: 3D graphics processor with Hardware Transform and Lighting with 64 MB VRAM Such as an ATI Radeon 9600 or NVIDIA GeForce Ti 4600 class card or better
 * Recommended: NVIDIA® GeForce® 9600M GT or ATI Radeon™ HD 4670 or better


 * All Platforms


 * Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required. Input devices other than a mouse and keyboard are not supported.
 * Connectivity: You must have an active broadband Internet connection to play.
 * Mouse: Multi-button mouse with scroll wheel recommended.
 * Hard Drive Space: 25 GB free hard drive space

Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos

 * What are the system requirements?


 * Windows&reg; 98/ME/2000/XP


 * 400 MHz Pentium II or equivalent
 * 128 MB of RAM
 * 8 MB 3D video card (TNT, i810, Voodoo 3, Rage 128 equivalent or better) with DirectX&reg; 8.1 support
 * 700 MB HD space
 * 4X CD-ROM drive


 * Macintosh&reg; OS 9.0 or higher/ Mac OS X 10.1.3. or higher


 * 400 MHz G3 processor
 * 128 MB of RAM
 * 16 MB ATI Technologies or nVidia chipset 3D video card
 * 700 MB HD space
 * 4X CD-ROM drive


 * Recommended


 * 600 MHz processor
 * 256 MB of RAM
 * 32 MB 3D video card
 * DirectX(r) 8.1 compatible sound card


 * Multiplayer


 * Low-latency, active Internet connection rated at 28.8 Kbps or faster. LAN play requires TCP/IP connection.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne
Until separate system requirements are found, they are presumed to be the same as Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Note: Warcraft RTS games prior to Warcraft III will not run on Intel-based Macs.

System requirements at launch:

PC requirements:
 * Computer: Warcraft II requires a 100% IBM PC compatible computer, with a 486/33 MHz or better processor and at least 8 megabytes of memory.


 * Operation System: You may play Warcraft II under MS-DOS version 5.0 or higher, Windows 95, or Windows 3.1.


 * Controls: A keyboard and a 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse are required.


 * Disk Drives: A hard drive and CD-ROM drive are required to play Warcraft II. To view the animations from the CD, your CD-ROM drive must be double-speed or faster. Blizzard strongly recommends that you do not run Warcraft II from a compressed drive.


 * Video: Warcraft II requires a VESA 1.2 or higher compatible SuperVGA card.


 * Sound: Warcraft II supports Sound Blaster, General MIDI, Pro Audio Spectrum, Gravis Ultrasound, Microsoft Sound System, and 100% compatible cards. To play CD-quality music during the game, both your sound card and your CD-ROM drive must be configured for playing Redbook Audio.

Macintosh requirements:
 * Computer: Warcraft II requires a Macintosh with a 68040 or PowerPC processor and 8 megs of physical RAM. Running with Virtual Memory enabled can decrease game performance.


 * Operating System: Warcraft II requires System 7.5 or higher.


 * Controls: A keyboard and a mouse are required. If you own a two button mouse, please consult your mouse manual for instructions on configuring the second button to simulate a command (cmd) click.


 * Disk Drives: A hard drive and CD-ROM drive are required to play Warcraft II. To view animations from the CD, your CD-ROM drive must be double-speed or faster.


 * Video: Warcraft II requires a 13" or better 256-color display.


 * Sound: Music is played straight from the Warcraft II CD.

From Blizzard support:


 * System requirements

MS-DOS / Windows 3.1 / Windows 95:

- 33 MHz 486 or faster - 8 MB of RAM - Super VGA graphics card - Hard drive - CD-ROM drive (To view the animations from the cd, your CD-ROM drive must be double-speed or faster)

Macintosh System 7.5 or higher:

- 68040 or PowerPC processor - 8 MB of RAM - A 13" or better 256-color display - Hard drive - CD-ROM drive (To view the animations from the cd, your CD-ROM drive must be double-speed or faster)

Solution ID: 20955

Article URL: 'http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20955'

Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
Until separate system requirements are found, they are presumed to be the same as Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness.

Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition
At launch:

Warcraft: Orcs &amp; Humans
At launch: