Will your graphics card work with World of Warcraft: Forever? The cut-off
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World of Warcraft: Forever drops support for older graphics cards at launch, says Blizzard's GPU post. Your card has to be built on AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014), Intel Skylake (2015) or something newer. Older cards need an upgrade before you can play.
The post is dated 17 September. Our release date piece has launch day.
Which graphics cards does Forever support?
A graphics card, or GPU, is the chip that draws the game on your screen. Each maker builds its cards in families, and a microarchitecture is the design one family shares. Forever needs one of these families, or a newer one:
- AMD: Graphics Core Next 1, from 2012
- NVIDIA: Maxwell, from 2014
- Intel: Skylake, from 2015
Blizzard says most World of Warcraft players already have compatible hardware.
Blizzard's example cards, compared
| Maker | Supported (example cards) | Not supported (example cards) |
|---|---|---|
| AMD | Radeon HD 7850 (2012) | Radeon HD 6950 (2010) |
| NVIDIA | GeForce GTX 9xx (the 900 series), GTX 750 and 750 Ti (2014) | GeForce GTX 760, 770 and 780, and GTX 8xxM (2014) |
| Intel | HD Graphics 530 (2015) | HD Graphics 6000 (2015) |
The catch is in the supported column. Blizzard says those cards are "still well below the minimum requirements for the game." Our reading: clearing this cut-off isn't the same as meeting the minimum, so don't expect a supported card from that list to run it well.
Our reading of the NVIDIA row: the number on the box isn't the test. A GTX 750 Ti clears it while the bigger-numbered GTX 780 doesn't, so don't go by how big the number is. Look for your exact card in the table. If it isn't one of Blizzard's examples, the post doesn't settle it.
How do you check your graphics card in Windows?
Blizzard gives two ways:
- Open Settings, select System, then Display, and choose Advanced display. It shows your card's make and model.
- Open Device Manager and expand Display adapters to see the graphics hardware you have.
Why is Blizzard cutting older cards?
Forever gets a new visual look, and Blizzard says that look relies on a graphics feature cards picked up around 2012, "RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders". It says the change also gives players a more consistent experience.
What Blizzard hasn't said yet
The post doesn't list the full minimum specs; it points to the Battle.net Shop for those. It says nothing about recommended specs or Macs, and it only explains how to check your card on Windows. Our patch notes tracker follows Blizzard's development notes.
Common questions
Is a GTX 750 Ti supported in World of Warcraft: Forever?
Yes. Blizzard lists the GeForce GTX 750 and 750 Ti as example compatible cards for Forever, but it also says those example cards are still well below the game's minimum requirements.
Is a GTX 780 supported in World of Warcraft: Forever?
No. Blizzard lists the GeForce GTX 760, 770 and 780 as example unsupported cards. Players on a card like that will need to upgrade before playing Forever.
How do I check which graphics card I have for World of Warcraft: Forever?
In Windows, open Settings, then System, then Display, and choose Advanced display. Or open Device Manager and expand Display adapters. The first shows your graphics card's make and model; the second shows the graphics hardware installed.
Written by 0hp from the publisher's own announcement, linked above, and every specific in it was checked against that page by a second pass before it published. Independent, and not affiliated with the publisher. Dates are announced or labelled as estimates. How this site is written, and how to correct it.
