How to Test Your Computer to See if it Will Run "World of Warcraft"

Blizzard Entertainment, the developers of "World of Warcraft" (WoW), suggest a few minimum system requirements before players attempt to install and play the game on a PC. Inside the PC, players need to have a robust central processing unit (CPU) and random access memory (RAM). A standalone video graphics card is also suggested to help render the intensive graphics and 3D in WoW. The PC should also have adequate hard drive space. You have to check these components manually and individually, which can be daunting process. If you use Windows, however, you can run a native test to check if your PC is gaming-ready.

Click the "Start" button (Windows circle) in the bottom left corner of the desktop. Type "Performance Experience" in the search box at the bottom of the Start menu. Press "Enter" to open the Windows Experience Index utility in the Performance Information and Tools window.

Click the "Rate This Computer" button if this is the first time the computer has been tested for gaming performance. Otherwise, click the "Re-Run the Assessment" link at the bottom of the window to run the performance test again.

Wait. Do not use the computer while Windows tests its performance. Monitor the status dialog box in the middle of screen titled "Windows Experience Index." The green progress bar running from left to right indicates the status of the tests.

Look at the "Subscore" column heading -- back in the Performance Information and Tools window -- after the test is complete and the progress dialog box disappears. Focus on the scores next to each component: "Processor," "Memory (RAM), "Graphics," "Gaming Graphics" and "Primary Hard Disk." A sub-score of 3.0 or higher indicates that the computer is highly capable of running WoW.