Best Laptop for Playing WoW: 7 Cheap Picks of 2024
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Key notes
- Shadowlands is the latest World of Warcraft expansion, which has some fancy ray-tracing graphical effects.
- This PC guide provides details for some of the best Windows 10 gaming laptops to play Shadowlands on.
- Most of these products include Solid State Drives that will shorten the loading times.
- We also made sure to include laptops with the best displays and the highest refresh rates.
World of Warcraft is the biggest and best multiplayer RPG for Windows. Blizzard released the latest expansion, Shadowland, for its World of Warcraft franchise in November 2020.
These are the recommended system requirements for that game:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 (DirectX 12 compatible)
- RAM: 8 GB
- Storage: 100GB
Shadowlands’ system requirements aren’t really high, but some players with laptops released about five or six years ago might need new PCs to play it.
If your PC doesn’t cut the mustard for Shadowlands, these are some of the best gaming laptops to upgrade to and play the latest WoW expansion on.
Deals are subject to change. Keep in mind that the price tag may vary as some of the discounts may no longer be available by the time you’ve made your purchasing decision.
What are the best gaming laptops for World of Warcraft?
Acer Predator Helios 300
- Top-notch 10th generation Intel processor
- Excellent frame rate
- RGB backlit keyboard
- Good value
- Its four-hour battery isn’t great
The Acer Predator Helios 300 boasts a terrific 10th gen Intel Core i7-10750H 6-core processor with a max 5.0 GHz clock speed.
It also incorporates a Full HD 15-inch VDU with an excellent 144Hz frame rate, 16 GB RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060.
Aside from its impressive specs, the Helios 300 has some good additional features. Its 4-zone RGB backlit keyboard gives it a bit more shine.
The special turbo button will instantly overclock your hardware to get the maximum possible performance while playing the game.
Users can also prioritize bandwidth with Killer DoubleShot Pro, which is a handy addition for multiplayer gaming.
The laptop also comes with a Numpad on the keyboard so you have extra buttons available for all the binds and macros you create in the game.
MSI GS66 Stealth
- Outstanding 300Hz frame rate
- 10th generation i9 or i7 Intel processor (depending on model)
- Supports the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard for faster multiplayer gameplay and lower latency
- Customizable RGB backlit keyboard that’s optimized for gaming
- Enough RAM
- It’s pricey
The MSI GS66 Stealth is a widely acclaimed laptop with even more impressive specs than the latest Helios 300.
The best GS66 model is equipped with an i9-Core i9-10980HK CPU, 32 GB RAM, one TB SSD storage, RTX 2070 Super Max-Q GPU, and a VDU with a trail-blazing 300Hz frame rate.
With such strong specifications, GS66 will certainly run World of Warcraft: Shadowlands at its very best. Like the Helios 300, the GS66 includes DoubleShot Pro to minimize lag in WoW and other titles.
It also features a customizable RGB keyboard that can provide in-game status keyboard lighting, equipped with a Numpad.
The NVME SSD will get you the fastest loading speeds possible. This is a huge plus since all the WoW players know how lengthy the loading screens are.
Additionally, the anti-glare screen will stop the sunlight from ruining your gaming experience when you’re riding in the middle of the day.
MSI GF65 Thin
- 9th generation Intel 9750H processor
- RTX 2060 GPU that supports ray tracing
- Best GF65 models include lots of RAM
- Offers up to two terabytes of drive storage
- Can get hot when running games
This is another laptop with a top-of-the-range Intel CPU, which can clock up to 4.5 GHz, combined with NVIDIA RTX 2060 GPU.
The GF65 has a decent enough 120Hz frame rate that ensures pretty rapid response times for WoW battles. Its various models are equipped with anywhere between 16-64 GB RAM.
One of the GF65’s most noteworthy features is its pre-installed MSI App Player. That’s an Android emulator (a refined BlueStacks) that enables players to play mobile phone games on Windows.
MSI App Player provides RGB keyboard lighting effects for some of the biggest mobile games.
This laptop also comes with an NVME SSD, which will result in lightning-speed loading times. Be the first to get to the summoning stone with your friends.
Never worry about overheating. The fans are more than capable of cooling down the entire laptop even after intensive gaming sessions.
Razer Blade 15 (Advanced Edition)
- 4K or 300Hz FHD 15-inch VDU
- Good battery for a gaming laptop (lasts up to several hours)
- High-end processor and graphics card
- One terabyte storage provides plenty of space for games
- Second Pro
- Pricey compared with some of the alternative laptops
The Razer Blade 15 Advanced is a laptop that packs in a 10th generation Intel Core i7-10875 processor with eight cores that can clock up to 5.1 GHz.
That processor, combined with the Blade 15’s GeForce RTX 2080 GPU (equipped with eight GB VRAM), ensures top-notch gaming performance.
The Blade 15 has two alternative 300 Hz FHD matte and OLED 4K models. For top-notch picture quality, you can get the Blade 15 model that has a 4K (3,840 x 2,160) resolution display.
The alternative FHD Matte model has a VDU with an excellent 300Hz refresh rate and super quick response times.
This laptop’s case is made out of aluminum, which is a great heat conductor and looks very stylish. If you’re looking for something eye-candy, this laptop is for you.
More so, the display is brightly colored and has great color saturation, which will benefit during raids where you need to constantly watch for spell effects.
ASUS TUF
- Affordable gaming laptop
- The FX505DV’s RTX 2060 GPU enables real-time ray tracing
- Its VDU’s 120Hz refresh rate is pretty good
- 8 GB RAM is a little limited for a gaming laptop
The ASUS TUF is among the best budget gaming laptops for World of Warcraft. The best TUF FX505DV model packs in a four GHz AMD Ryzen 7 CPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, 512 GB storage.
Additionally, it is equipped with 16 GB RAM, and a 120Hz VDU. Those specs considerable eclipse Shadowland’s minimum system requirements.
If you want an even more economical gaming laptop, check out the ASUS TUF FX505DT model. That has the same Ryzen 7 CPU and 120Hz VDU, but it includes a GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GPU and eight GM RAM.
The eight GB RAM still meets Shadowland’s recommended system requirement, so you will be able to play with high graphics settings.
As mentioned before, the Numpad is really important for setting up macros and keybinds. There’s also RGB that will light the keyboard when you’re playing in the dark.
The NVME will provide the fastest loading times, the other hardware will make sure you have high framerates and you are fully immersed.
Alienware M15 R3
- High-end processor and graphics card
- Lots of RAM
- Lots of drive storage
- Blazing-fast 300Hz refresh rate ensures the smoothest gameplay
- Supports Wi-Fi 6
- Substandard battery
The M15 R3 is a high-end laptop that’s among the best for Windows gaming generally. It’s not cheap, but seasonal discounts reduce the M15’s cost.
The top model incorporates a 10th generation Intel i7-10875H CPU, GeForce RTX 2080 GPU, 32 GB RAM, one TB SSD storage, and FHD 300 Hz monitor.
The M15 R3’s RTX 2080 GPU is ideal for the real-time ray tracing effects that World of Warcraft: Shadowlands has.
Only players with PCs that incorporate NVIDIA Turing RTX GPUs will be able to play Shadowlands with its advanced ray tracing shadow and lighting effects.
The Alienware laptops are known and really popular among gamers. They are great laptops that can play more demanding titles than WoW.
Additionally, they are known for their futuristic design and iconic alien symbol. This laptop in particular uses a combination of white and black colors.
HP Omen 15 2020
- Its FHD monitor has a top-notch 300Hz refresh rate
- Expansive two TB drive storage
- Command Center includes good additional configuration settings
- Best models have loads of RAM
- Powerful GPU
- Slightly bulky design
The HP Omen 15 is another premium gaming laptop. This PC’s Intel Hexa-Core i7-10750H CPU has a max five GHz clock speed.
The Omen’s NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (or 2070) GPU is another that can handle fancy ray-tracing effects. Its best model packs in a whopping 64 GB RAM and two TB storage.
The HP Omen 15’s Command Center also makes this laptop very flexible. Its users can configure the laptop’s fans, keyboard, and exterior lighting.
The network bandwidth and performance settings can be controlled from the Command Center. That Command Center also enables users to assign macros to keys.
You can also insert an SD card, since the laptop comes with an SD card reader. Store your addons, settings, and screenshots in a safer space.
World of Warcraft should not be a problem for such a beefy laptop. The 6GB NVIDIA GPU coupled with the powerful CPU, and the whooping 64GB of RAM will run any modern game flawlessly.
Shadowlands brings graphic improvements
As with any other expansion of the game, Shadowlands brough, among features, content, and awesome new adventures, a series of graphical improvements.
Actually, the game’s graphics have constantly been improved since its launch in 2004. This included more polygons, different lightning, etc.
Lately, with the addition of RTX, most of the current games implemented it in a way or another. World of Warcraft is no exception. You can now enable it in the video settings.
The difference an SSD makes
If you played WoW, you’re familiar with the tiresome loading screens. They take a lot of time, and when you have to travel between zones every 5 minutes, a 30-second loading screen is going to kill the mood.
Thankfully, the new SSDs don’t have this problem anymore. You can expect loading screens of 10 seconds at worst. You will notice a giant improvement in loading times on all the games, not only in WoW.
What’s better than an SSD? An NVME SSD. They are the fastest storage systems on the market at the moment, reaching speeds of 4000 mb/s!
What to expect from the expansion
Since we’re talking about the expansion’s system requirements, we should talk about the content as well, don’t you think?
Shadowlands continues the captivating story of Azeroth and its inhabitants, but this time, there is much more to explore and new mysteries to unfold.
We won’t give you any spoilers, because you should experience the story yourself. However, we’d like to mention that the game gets periodic content updates even after the expansion has been released.
Are you experiencing problems starting WoW? Here’s a guide about solving WoW not starting 3D acceleration. Take a look and learn how to solve the problem.
Those are several of the best laptops to play World of Warcraft: Shadowlands on. They generally have great CPUs, GPUs, VDU refresh rates, and enough RAM to play any game.
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