Settings for low-end PCs

Wrath of the Lich King asks for very little by today's standards, but an old laptop with integrated graphics can still struggle in Dalaran, in a 25-player raid or in Wintergrasp. A busy realm full of bots makes crowded places more common, so it is worth tuning the client.

The settings that matter most

In Game Menu → Video, change these first. They give the biggest gain for the least visual loss:

1. View distance: lower it to a third or half. It is the setting with the most impact.
2. Shadows: set them to low or off. Dynamic shadows are very expensive.
3. Ground clutter (density and distance): to the minimum. Grass and small details cost a lot in open zones.
4. Weather: off or low. Snow and rain in Northrend are heavy on old graphics cards.
5. Full-screen glow and death effect: off.
6. Multisampling (anti-aliasing): 1x.
7. Vertical sync: off, unless you see tearing that bothers you.

Lower the resolution only as a last resort: playing below the native resolution of your screen looks blurry. A windowed, maximised game at native resolution is often a good compromise.

Config.wtf: settings by hand

With the game closed, open WTF\Config.wtf with Notepad. Each setting is a line like SET name "value". If a line already exists, change its value instead of adding a duplicate. These are good starting points for a weak PC:

Line	What it does
SET gxWindow "1"	Windowed mode.
SET gxMaximize "1"	Window maximised to fill the screen.
SET gxVSync "0"	Vertical sync off.
SET gxMultisample "1"	No anti-aliasing.
SET maxFPS "60"	Caps the frame rate so the GPU does not run flat out.
SET maxFPSBk "10"	Low frame rate when the game is in the background.
SET farclip "300"	Short view distance.
SET extShadowQuality "0"	No dynamic shadows.
SET weatherDensity "0"	Minimal weather effects.
SET groundEffectDensity "16"	Very little grass.
SET textureFilteringMode "0"	Cheapest texture filtering.
SET ffxGlow "0"	No full-screen glow.

If the game behaves strangely after editing, delete Config.wtf: the client creates a new one with default values.

DirectX or OpenGL

The client supports both. On most Windows PCs DirectX 9 (SET gxApi "d3d9") is faster; on some old integrated graphics or under Wine, OpenGL (SET gxApi "opengl") is more stable. Try both and keep the better one.

Addons and memory

• Every addon uses memory and CPU. Enable only what you use: on the character screen, the AddOns button lets you turn them on and off per character.
• Map and quest addons are useful but heavy in crowded zones. If you notice stutters in cities, try turning them off there.
• Use /reload after a long session if the interface feels slow.

Windows and the computer

• On laptops, plug in the charger and select the "high performance" power plan; on battery the CPU and GPU slow down.
• If you have two graphics cards, make sure Wow.exe uses the dedicated one (graphics settings in Windows or the driver panel).
• Close browsers and video calls while playing: they compete for the same memory.
• Keep the game on an SSD if you can: loading screens get much shorter.

Crowded places

When dozens of characters gather (cities, battlegrounds, world bosses), reduce particle density and spell detail, and hide other players' names with the interface options. In raids with bots, fewer visual effects make a noticeable difference.