Recommended iMac Requirements for WoW

[henry49]

Hello all,

I am planning on getting my first ever 27 " iMac! I want to use it for school work and to play World of Warcraft. What specs do you all recommend me getting? Is it necessary to get the i5 processor vs the i7? Do I really need to get the GTX 680MX ? Also, do I need to order a custom one from apple or can I go into a retailer the same day and buy it (bestbuy, macstore, etc.)

For the money I would be paying, I want to be able to run WoW and diablo 3 on max settings (excluding shadows, I don't need them but wouldn't mind having them). The more money I could save the better regarding what hardware I need to get in it.

Also, I was going to ask whether or not I should wait for the refresh of the haswell line, but I think I should take advantage of the sales going on as they reduce prices to make way for new inventory. Seems like the haswell won't do anything for gaming.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Bear]

Hello all,

I am planning on getting my first ever 27 " iMac! I want to use it for school work and to play World of Warcraft.
...
Also, I was going to ask whether or not I should wait for the refresh of the haswell line,
...

How long do you want the iMac to last? Every expansion Blizzard updates the graphics engine (and they also tweak it in major patches). If you want your system to last, I'd recommend getting the 680MX. You also want to buy 3rd party memory to increase the memory to more than 8GB (although the memory manage in Mavericks may alleviate the need for more than 8GB).

I do recommend the fusion drive. The i5 will be enough, however, you have stated your other uses for the system.

As for Haswell, processor performance will only be a minor improvement. The real question that is unknown is what graphics options Apple will offer with the updated iMacs. There's who knows what other improvements Apple with make in the iMac update. 802.11ac is most likely to happen. SSD is likely to become PCIe based (and noticeably faster) - this would apply to the SSD portion of the Fusion drive as well as the regular SSDs Apple is offering.

 

[henry49]

How long do you want the iMac to last? Every expansion Blizzard updates the graphics engine (and they also tweak it in major patches). If you want your system to last, I'd recommend getting the 680MX. You also want to buy 3rd party memory to increase the memory to more than 8GB (although the memory manage in Mavericks may alleviate the need for more than 8GB).

I do recommend the fusion drive. The i5 will be enough, however, you have stated your other uses for the system.

As for Haswell, processor performance will only be a minor improvement. The real question that is unknown is what graphics options Apple will offer with the updated iMacs. There's who knows what other improvements Apple with make in the iMac update. 802.11ac is most likely to happen. SSD is likely to become PCIe based (and noticeably faster) - this would apply to the SSD portion of the Fusion drive as well as the regular SSDs Apple is offering.

So I'll prob aim for an i5, with the 680mx graphics. What does a fusion drive do exactly? Also, would you suggest waiting for the refresh of products? If I wait will I be paying way for than I would now for the improvements? (I am unsure if they are minor or major)

 

[Bear]

So I'll prob aim for an i5, with the 680mx graphics. What does a fusion drive do exactly? Also, would you suggest waiting for the refresh of products? If I wait will I be paying way for than I would now for the improvements? (I am unsure if they are minor or major)

If you have a current computer you're using, it might be worth waiting. In general Apple keeps the price about the same when they do updates. Specifically the high end 27" model has had the same base price for a long time.

A fusion drive keeps the most accessed files on a small (currently 128GB) SSD to speed up operations. It will help performance and doesn't cost as much as getting a large SSD to put everything on.

 

[KaraH]

Read their site for reccomendations. In general network games hit your graphics card the most so usually that means the best one available is best for the next few game upgrades. Using wifi with games is a big nono ... plan on wired ethernet. Memory and CPU get chewed up too as those applications are far from efficient, I like to go as big as I can afford (just buy your memory somewhere else .. it is cheeper).

There is no long-term data on fusion wrt gaming but having your cache files going back and forth from the ssd to the hdd can not be good. I would reccomend a seperate ssd for your os (including your system folders, but not static media).

Basically, I look at what online games want to say what a good typical system is. They tend to want higher specs in different areas than most things.

 

[akm3]

For Wow - non issue. Any new iMac is more than enough for it.

If you play other games, you might want to look at the higher end GPU options. The i5 vs i7 is a non-issue for you if all you care about is gaming performance.

 

[Bear]

For Wow - non issue. Any new iMac is more than enough for it.
...

It depends on how long they will keep the Mac for as I stated above. People tend to have to buy new video cards in Windows boxes every few years to keep up with the changes in WoW. Since I consider a computer purchase something that should last 3 to 5 years, opting for the better GPU is a rather good idea.

 

[akm3]

It depends on how long they will keep the Mac for as I stated above. People tend to have to buy new video cards in Windows boxes every few years to keep up with the changes in WoW. Since I consider a computer purchase something that should last 3 to 5 years, opting for the better GPU is a rather good idea.

I don't disagree with your advice. If *I* was buying a new 27" iMac right now, you can be darn sure I would spend extra for the 680mx.