WoW on M1 Chips

[joevt]

@joevt heh - I love it. What resolutions, graphics setting do you use? What kind of performance?

I have a Hackintosh for WoW. Z170X motherboard, 6700K 4.7 GHz with 32 GB of 3200 DDR4, Titan X (Maxwell, High Sierra). 5K display.
On the Mac Pro 2008, with Mac GTX 680, 2560x1600, low settings (max textures though): 60 fps in Stormwind or Garrison. I haven't visited BFA on this setup.
I've mostly stopped playing WoW so I haven't done any raiding for awhile.

 

[lixuelai]

Looks like WoW runs at high setting:

Not sure if this is with Rosetta or if the latest patch has been released yet.

 

[GiantKiwi]

I have a Hackintosh for WoW. Z170X motherboard, 6700K 4.7 GHz with 32 GB of 3200 DDR4, Titan X (Maxwell, High Sierra). 5K display.

If anything happens soon, it'll be Actiblizzard setting the minimum version of MacOS to Mojave, given that HS just got EoL'ed.

Edit: Already happened when BFA was launched, 32bit launcher support was removed meaning minimum OS became Mojave.

 

[Juicy Box]

I think it works with macOS High Sierra and later.

Close...

Both WoW retail and Classic require only MacOS 10.12, Sierra. Blizzard tends to support the OS much longer the Apple does.

The only thing preventing older Macs from playing WoW is the lack of Metal capable GPU.

If anything happens soon, it'll be Actiblizzard setting the minimum version of MacOS to Mojave, given that HS just got EoL'ed.

Edit: Already happened when BFA was launched, 32bit launcher support was removed meaning minimum OS became Mojave.

Unless I am misunderstanding your post, this is not accurate.

WoW system requirements for Mac is for only Sierra, not Mojave:

World of Warcraft System Requirements - Blizzard Support

The above link is for Retail, but the OS version is the same for both.

Already happened when BFA was launched, 32bit launcher support was removed meaning minimum OS became Mojave.

Do you have a link for the info? I am not understanding the post.

The support for the 32bit launcher may have been removed with BFA, but this has nothing to do with the OS version.

The MacOS has been using 64bit apps for many, many years now. IIRC, I think 64bit support started back with 10.5 Leopard, or even maybe before then.

Even if people were still somehow using a 32bit launcher for WoW, Mojave can run 32bit apps, so not sure what Mojave has to do with it.

I think the removal of the 32bit launcher may have impacted Windows, not Mac.

 

[topcat001]

The video mentions that WoW is running through Rosetta.

Edit: My bad - that was not WoW but the other demo.

Looks like WoW runs at high setting:

Not sure if this is with Rosetta or if the latest patch has been released yet.

 

[zaphon]

The video mentions that WoW is running through Rosetta.

Edit: My bad - that was not WoW but the other demo.

I saw someone mention they were talking to the maker of the video and he's going to make a new one comparing the performance of rosetta2 vs the new native support.

 

[GiantKiwi]

I think the removal of the 32bit launcher may have impacted Windows, not Mac.

Sorry my bad, misread it on a small screen, saw 10.14 when it said 10.4. It is however, inevitable now that Activision are fully in control of the entire lifecycle. Unlike Blizzard, they really don't like supporting old hardware.

 

[LeeW]

So that Guy was running WoW on high settings without issue and using Rosetta. WTF, that is class. I mean it's all I play and even maintained a PC for years just for WoW. And they are ready to launch a native version.

I must be dreaming right now, tell me what I am missing, surely can't be this good?

 

[Tech198]

lol...Wow.

I'd rather wait and see in the next few months, than just go first impressions.

 

[1rottenapple]

The only games I play are in bootcamp so M1 can gtfo.

Command & Conquer Remastered
Planet Coaster
Planet Zoo
Jurassic World Evo
Red Dead Redemption 2

I am a simple man....

how is red dead anyway? I can never update my mac since I need bootcamp to play PC games. Played Halo collection so far and Gear 5. Maybe when I finally buy a gaming laptop down the line i'll update. but that's years down the line.

 

[LeeW]

I seen another video on Youtube, he was playing on an Air through Rosetta on Max settings, getting between 45-60 fps, that is really amazing.

I tried playing on 2018 MM and the 2019 13" MBP and you could only play it with settings at 3/10, anything above that started to drop the framerate too much and it was unplayable.

 

[4743913]

how is red dead anyway? I can never update my mac since I need bootcamp to play PC games. Played Halo collection so far and Gear 5. Maybe when I finally buy a gaming laptop down the line i'll update. but that's years down the line.

RDR2 is great. I have not gotten far tho as the other games consume my limited time. I don't want to lose bootcamp either but at least I know if I get a M1 notebook, I can at least play Planet Coaster. I don't see me replacing my iMac ever tho..

 

[joevt]

Both WoW retail and Classic require only MacOS 10.12, Sierra

You're right. I have all the OSs on my Mac Pro 2008 working back to 10.5 Leopard. WoW launches on El Capitan at the earliest but it's all garbled. Sierra works but there's a message about the drivers being old.

MP3,1 (& others?) SSE 4.2 emulation (to enable AMD Metal driver)

The text drawing problem in WoW is now fixed with 0.92 of MouSSE (I guess that means earlier versions were not emulating instructions 100% correctly). WoW is playable in 10.12 Sierra, 10.13 High Sierra, and 10.14 Mojave.

forums.macrumors.com

I think I remember playing WoW on a B&W G3 and a PowerMac G5 after that. I have some preference files from back then.

 

[LiE_]

Here's a quick video I did with 9.0.2 on my base MBA.

Settings -

https://imgur.com/a/Oe6I8vS

 

[Juicy Box]

Here's a quick video I did with 9.0.2 on my base MBA.

Settings -

https://imgur.com/a/Oe6I8vS

Thanks for posting, especially at the higher resolution as it seems other are posting ones that are very low for modern games, imo.

Some of the settings are set pretty low, though. I am not as impressed as others seem to be.

Maybe someone can post their experience with the view distance to max, and environmental detail and ground clutter to at least 50%.

 

[Juicy Box]

I think I know why everyone with the M1 Macs are getting about 60FPS.

There is a new setting that was recently added called "Target FPS". It was added to provide a smoother gameplay experience, but could give the wrong impression for the performance of the machine that the game is running.

It priorities FPS over other settings and will ignore the system settings to achieve the desired FPS.

Anyone posting FPS or experience with playing retail WoW should turn off that setting, as I was just getting 60 FPS on my 8 year old Mac.

 

[GiantKiwi]

Running 2560x1600 was never going to happen on anything higher than 2-3 anyway. GTX1080Ti in my windows PC and I can only run at 7-8 at 2560x1440.

 

[topgunn]

Maybe someone can post their experience with the view distance to max, and environmental detail and ground clutter to at least 50%.

I am on a M1 MacBook Air with 8 GPU cores. In Boralus with the settings shown below, I get between 50-70 FPS. If I go inside the building with the ethereals, it jumps up to 100-110 FPS.

Personally, my highest preference when playing WoW is high resolution. My next priorities are texture res (high), liquid detail, particle density, depth effects, and outline mode (all good or better). All the while, my goal is to keep FPS at 60 or higher. Typically, on a MacBook with a dGPU, I can do this but it comes at the cost of the fans going nuts. On a Mac without a dGPU, it wasn't even possible. It is a bit odd now to be able to fire up WoW and have decent settings for a laptop and not hear anything. The laptop gets a bit warm but not more than pleasantly so. I am thoroughly impressed with the new M1 MacBook Airs. I have a M1 MacBook Pro that I am about to start playing with a well. We'll see if it is any better.

 

[lezmace]

Please report also your differences between MBA and MBP if there are any.

 

[MysticCow]

Can someone try Classic on an Air vs Pro? Or does it even run under Rosetta2?

 

[Juicy Box]

I am on a M1 MacBook Air with 8 GPU cores. In Boralus with the settings shown below, I get between 50-70 FPS. If I go inside the building with the ethereals, it jumps up to 100-110 FPS.

Personally, my highest preference when playing WoW is high resolution. My next priorities are texture res (high), liquid detail, particle density, depth effects, and outline mode (all good or better). All the while, my goal is to keep FPS at 60 or higher. Typically, on a MacBook with a dGPU, I can do this but it comes at the cost of the fans going nuts. On a Mac without a dGPU, it wasn't even possible. It is a bit odd now to be able to fire up WoW and have decent settings for a laptop and not hear anything. The laptop gets a bit warm but not more than pleasantly so. I am thoroughly impressed with the new M1 MacBook Airs. I have a M1 MacBook Pro that I am about to start playing with a well. We'll see if it is any better.

Thanks for setting that up. It looks like you turned off the Target Frame rate option, which I am sure many people might not even know about.

I too prefer a higher rez, but the viewing distance to the max is also a must for PVP.

Also, I prefer not to have a FPS drop below 30, but of course I like it to be higher. Environmental detail is nice, but not at a cost of the frame rate dropping below 30.

Everything else is just a bonus.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Here's a quick video I did with 9.0.2 on my base MBA.

Settings -

https://imgur.com/a/Oe6I8vS

can you play for a few hours and let us know if there is any throttling and slowdowns/FPS drops? I am trying to decide between MBA and MBP. Thanks 😀

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I am on a M1 MacBook Air with 8 GPU cores. In Boralus with the settings shown below, I get between 50-70 FPS. If I go inside the building with the ethereals, it jumps up to 100-110 FPS.

Personally, my highest preference when playing WoW is high resolution. My next priorities are texture res (high), liquid detail, particle density, depth effects, and outline mode (all good or better). All the while, my goal is to keep FPS at 60 or higher. Typically, on a MacBook with a dGPU, I can do this but it comes at the cost of the fans going nuts. On a Mac without a dGPU, it wasn't even possible. It is a bit odd now to be able to fire up WoW and have decent settings for a laptop and not hear anything. The laptop gets a bit warm but not more than pleasantly so. I am thoroughly impressed with the new M1 MacBook Airs. I have a M1 MacBook Pro that I am about to start playing with a well. We'll see if it is any better.

Thanks, can you play for over an hour and let us k if there are any FPS drops/throttling after extended periods. And yes, let us know if there is any difference with extended sessions between the air and pro. This is exciting to say the least!

 

[diamond.g]

I am on a M1 MacBook Air with 8 GPU cores. In Boralus with the settings shown below, I get between 50-70 FPS. If I go inside the building with the ethereals, it jumps up to 100-110 FPS.

Personally, my highest preference when playing WoW is high resolution. My next priorities are texture res (high), liquid detail, particle density, depth effects, and outline mode (all good or better). All the while, my goal is to keep FPS at 60 or higher. Typically, on a MacBook with a dGPU, I can do this but it comes at the cost of the fans going nuts. On a Mac without a dGPU, it wasn't even possible. It is a bit odd now to be able to fire up WoW and have decent settings for a laptop and not hear anything. The laptop gets a bit warm but not more than pleasantly so. I am thoroughly impressed with the new M1 MacBook Airs. I have a M1 MacBook Pro that I am about to start playing with a well. We'll see if it is any better.

Out of curiosity what happens if you enabled ray traced shadows?

 

[topgunn]

Out of curiosity what happens if you enabled ray traced shadows?

It's greyed out.