World of Warcraft is an insanely popular MMORPG that’s home to millions of active players. However, as a game that came out nearly two decades ago, the game’s graphics are bound to get outdated. This is why Blizzard Entertainment does its best to upgrade the game’s visuals and graphics.
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In so doing, you’ll need to use the best graphics card for World of Warcraft to make the best out of your gaming experience.
While the game doesn’t really have high system requirements, it’s still ideal to pick a GPU that can give you a smooth and buttery gaming experience.
I’ve taken the liberty to pick 5 of the best graphics cards in the market for World of Warcraft. Let’s have a look at each of them.
5 Best GPUs for World of Warcraft 2022
The graphics cards we’ll be covering in this list are all designed to let you play WoW at the highest resolution without any stuttering or FPS drops.
| Best Graphics Cards for World of Warcraft 2022 | RAM | GPU Clock Speed | BUY NOW |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Super Sc Ultra Gaming | 6 GB | 1830 MHz | |
| AMD Gaming Radeon RX 580 | 8 GB | 1366 MHz | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | 11 GB | 1665 MHz | |
| MSI GeForce GTX 1050 TI GAMING | 4 GB | 1290 MHz | |
| PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6400 | 4 GB | 2321 MHz |
| Best Graphics Cards for World of Warcraft 2022 | RAM | GPU Clock Speed | BUY NOW |
|---|---|---|---|
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Super Sc Ultra Gaming | 6 GB | 1830 MHz | |
| AMD Gaming Radeon RX 580 | 8 GB | 1366 MHz | |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | 11 GB | 1665 MHz | |
| MSI GeForce GTX 1050 TI GAMING | 4 GB | 1290 MHz | |
| PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6400 | 4 GB | 2321 MHz |
These are some of the best graphics cards for World of Warcraft, but let’s jump into the details and find out why they are included in our selection.
Top Pick: EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Super Sc Ultra Gaming
If you’re looking for the best graphics card that could run the latest World of Warcraft expansion without any problem, then the GeForce GTX 1660 is for you. In fact, it actually exceeded the game’s minimum and even standard system requirements.
Boasting 6 GB of RAM, this graphics card allows you to run World of Warcraft smoothly without any issues. Pair this with an equally powerful CPU, and you’ll be able to have a smooth and lag-free WoW gaming experience.
One of its main features is the new Turing architecture which provides it with a major boost in speed and power, not to mention it supports higher graphic fidelity in games. Apart from that, it also comes with dual fans to keep the card cool even under high load. Of course, you can count on those fans to be as silent as possible.
So far, there aren’t any major downsides to this GPU, save for a few very specific ones. For starters, it doesn’t have RTX features which doesn’t really impact your WoW gaming experience that much. While the addition of Ray Tracing to the game allows for more realistic light, it’s not like the game is rooted in realism anyway.
Pros
- Features the new Turing architecture
- Silent dual fans to prevent the card from heating up
- Provides lag-free gaming without major FPS drops
Cons
- No RTX features included
Runner Up: AMD Gaming Radeon RX 580
With around the same price range as the GTX 1660, it’s easy to say that they’re a tie when it comes to performance. However, that isn’t exactly the case. The previous card is actually a bit more powerful than this one, but not by a huge margin.
For starters, the RX 580 comes with all of the features you could ever need to play World of Warcraft smoothly. It features a 256-bit memory bus to make data transfer a lot faster than ever, which then translates to better speed.
Aside from that, it’s fully capable of running AAA games without any noticeable dips in performance. Considering it comes with 8 GB of RAM, it’s actually more than enough to play World of Warcraft at the highest settings possible.
The caveat, however, is that the RX 580 tends to consume a lot more power when under high loads. This could mean a few extra bucks on your utility bills. But as long as you can look past that, then it’s definitely a solid choice, especially if you don’t find the GTX 1660 appealing.
Pros
- Features smooth 1080p gaming
- Comes with a major performance boost
- Quick data transfer
Cons
- Consumes a lot of power under high load
High-End Choice: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti
If budget is not a problem for you, and if you’re looking for a premium graphics card to play WoW, then the RTX 2080TI is for you. This is by far the most expensive card in this list, roughly 4x the amount of our top pick, but it’s definitely worth its price. That’s if you can afford to spend that much money.
As a very high-end card, the RTX 2080TI allows you to enjoy playing World of Warcraft at its highest graphical setting. Not to mention you can play virtually every game available out there without any performance issues, even in Ultra settings.
For starters, this card comes with a very huge 11 GB of RAM. It also features a 352-bit memory bus and uses NVIDIA’s Turing architecture.
Of course, for a card of its price, you can expect Ray Tracing features which can significantly improve World of Warcraft’s visuals when playing. It also has the Axial tech cooling technology which keeps it cool at around 54-degree Celsius even under high load.
For aesthetic purposes, the card also comes with Aura Synced RGB lightning which you can customize to fit your setup. Then again, you don’t really need to get this card just to play WoW, as the other cards in this list are capable enough to do so.
But as long as you can afford it, then go for it.
Pros
- Very powerful card
- Supports Ray Tracing to make your games more visually appealing
- Embedded with excellent cooling technology
- Customizable RGB lighting
Cons
- Quite expensive
Semi Budget: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 TI GAMING
If you’re a bit low on budget and want a powerful yet affordable graphics card to play World of Warcraft, then the MSI GTX 1050TI is a perfect choice. Featuring 4 GB of RAM and a 128-bit memory bus, this card is capable of running World of Warcraft on high settings.
However, if you want to run it on the maximum settings, you might have to tweak several options.
That said, it supports 1080p gaming just fine, and it even supports Microsoft DirectX 12 to run games like WoW and many more. It’s not as powerful as the ones above, but if you just want a decent card on a smaller budget, then this is for you.
Pros
- Allows for smooth WoW gameplay at high settings
- Can support up to 3 display monitors
- Offers great performance for its price
Cons
- Performance can be a problem when running on maximum settings
Budget: PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 6400
The last one on this list is our budget pick for a reason. While there are several cheaper cards out there, we chose this one as it’s more than capable of running World of Warcraft smoothly. Of course, you’ll have to sacrifice several options to run the game without any performance issues.
For one, it would be ideal to run World of Warcraft at low graphics settings. While you can run it on medium, you might experience occasional stutters and performance drops, especially during raids.
Nonetheless, you can still enjoy good and vivid visuals in the game. It also has 4 GB of RAM which is just the minimum requirement to play World of Warcraft. If you just want to play the game without minding its graphics too much, then this is for you.
It’s just a few bucks cheaper than the GTX 1050 TI, but if you’re really tight on budget, then you can go for this one instead.
Pros
- Very cheap but capable of running WoW and several other games
- Compact and power-efficient design
- Silent fans for silent operation while gaming
Cons
- Not recommended for playing on high settings
- You might experience occasional stutters when gaming
The Key Takeaway
To be fair, you don’t really need expensive graphics cards to run World of Warcraft. In fact, the game doesn’t have high requirements as far as your GPU is concerned.
With that said, if you want the best experience at the best possible price, then the GeForce GTX 1660 would serve you well. Solid performance, excellent cooling, noiseless operation, and a lot more – all can be found in this card.
However, if Ray Tracing is a must-have for you, then the MSI Gaming Radeon RX 580 is a great alternative. Or better yet, you can go for the RTX 2080TI if you are working with a bigger budget.
Needless to say, all of these graphics cards work great for running World of Warcraft. Just choose which one can fit your gaming needs and budget.
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