Can You Play WoW On a MacBook Air?
If you’re a first time player looking to dive into World of Warcraft or a veteran player looking for a more portable option for meeting up with friends, you might find yourself wondering, “Can you play World of Warcraft on a Macbook Air?”
The answer depends on your MacBook Air’s configuration. The main factor when determining if your MacBook Air can run WoW is your processor. The minimum system requirements to run the game list at least an Intel i5-760 processor. For older Intel processor models, if you opted for one of the less expensive models with an Intel i3 processor, you won’t be able to play World of Warcraft on your MacBook Air. If you purchased a model with an Intel i5 or i7 processor, your MacBook Air should run WoW. All of the new M1 Mackbook Air models should be able to play WoW without using Rosetta, as WoW runs natively on Apple Silicon.
| Minimum Requirements | Recommended Specifications | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | macOS® 10.12 (latest version) | macOS® 10.13 (latest version) |
| Processor | Intel® Core™ i5-760 or better | Intel® Core™ i7-4770 or better |
| Video | NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M or better AMD Radeon™ R9 M290 or better Intel® HD 530 (macOS 10.13 or higher, 45W) 2GB VRAM Metal capable GPU | AMD Radeon™ R9 M395X or better 4GB VRAM Metal capable GPU |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Storage | 70GB available space 7200 RPM HDD | 70GB available space SSD |
| 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 |
Keep in mind that while you can run WoW on your MacBook Air if you have a model with a processor that meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements, that doesn’t necessarily mean it will run the game well. World of Warcraft, like any game, runs best when you have a dedicated graphics card. Because no model of the MacBook Air is currently available with a dedicated graphics card, you’d have to run the game on relatively low graphics settings and would likely experience low frame rate.
The lack of a graphics card in the MacBook Air could be remedied by using an external graphics card you plug into a Thunderbolt port, called an eGPU. You’d likely be spending at least a couple hundred dollars to get one, however, which really isn’t worth it for most people.
Long story short, while you can play WoW on some models of MacBook Air, we really don’t recommend it, as you won’t have a good experience. It’s a better idea to look at finding a different computer to play on if that is an option for you.
