5 Best Laptops for World of Warcraft: Shadowlands – Top Gaming Laptops (2020)
World of Warcraft (WoW) is the most popular MMORPG PC game at the moment. It was released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment and is currently at its eighth expansion pack Shadowlands. Here in this guide, we will be listing 5 of the best gaming laptops for World of Warcraft Shadowland. For playing a game like this on a laptop, you will need a decent machine with specifications within recommended requirements.
World of Warcraft – Shadowlands System Requirements
From Blizzard Official System Requirements Webpage
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Operating System: Windows® 7 64-bit
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3450 or AMD FX™ 8300
- Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 2 GB or AMD Radeon™ RX 560 2 GB
- Memory: 4GB RAM
- Storage: Solid State Drive (SSD) 100GB available space
RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS
- Operating System: Windows® 10 64-bit
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen™ 7 2700X
- Video: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 8 GB or AMD Radeon™ RX Vega 64 8 GB or better
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Storage: Solid State Drive (SSD) 100GB available space
Note: Keep in mind that laptop CPUs and GPUs are around 20% weaker than the ones in deskops.
What computer parts to consider when buying a gaming laptop for World of Warcraft Shadowlands?
The most important computer parts for a decent gaming laptop are undoubtedly a graphics card and a processor.
Graphics Card (or GPU)
Even though World of Warcraft is very well optimized even for some lower end laptops (with lowering resolution and graphics settings), it’s still an intense 3D game, full of 3d models and effects to render. Especially on higher graphics settings. In the official system recommendations, at least GTX 1080 is needed, which is around the same as the RTX 2060 mobile version performance-wise.
Processor (or CPU)
General performance depends a lot on the graphics card, but World of Warcraft is also quite CPU intensive. Especially with maxed settings such as viewing distance or in crowded major cities such as Stormwind or Orgrimar. And also when running raids or battlegrounds when they are lots of other players.
Display
Regarding resolution: It’s simple. The more resolution display has, the more you see. For any gaming (and for basic home usage as well) the recommended resolution is Full HD or 1920 x 1080 pixels. I wouldn’t advise you to go below that. They are still laptops on the market with standard 19:9 with only 1366 x 768 px, but I urge you to avoid them as it would be a shame to have a decent gaming laptop with a crappy display.
Refresh rate: Today’s dedicated graphics cards are capable of real-time rendering way above 60 fps. To see things more fluently (especially for fast camera movement) and to actually benefit from high frames per second, a refresh rate of a display must be as high as possible. For the smoothest gameplay, conventional 60 Hz (which may be interpreted as 60 fps) displays are not enough, and today we can find laptops with displays capable of up to 300 Herzs. At least 120 Hz is recommended.
Here’s a great video from Nvidia explaining why high FPS matters:
Lists of Best Gaming Laptops for World of Warcraft – Shadowlands
When buying a new gaming machine, it very much depends also on your budget. We compiled a list of laptops that are the best in each price range. Sorted by the price, all the laptops listed here are very well capable of running World of Warcraft – Shadowlands smoothly to really enjoy the game to the fullest.
Acer Predator Helios 300
Key Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | MEMORY: 16GB DDR4 | DISPLAY: 15.6”, 144Hz, Full HD, IPS-Type | STORAGE: 512GB NVMe SSD
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is unquestionably one of the most popular and best-selling gaming laptops for the past few years for two straightforward facts. It’s affordable, and it’s powerful.
Of course, to maintain a relatively low price, there are a few signs where Acer kind of cut corners, the speakers, for example. They are quite unimpressive. Also, the dual-fan cooling system must be tuned to the max to effectively disposing of the heat.
However, the main thing to focus on here is that this gaming laptop is very powerful for the price, enough to run the most demanding games even at the highest graphic settings. It also has a 144Hz refresh rate screen with very accurate colour reproduction, which you only see in higher-price range machines.
If you’re on a limited budget, with the Acer Predator Helios 300, you can’t ask for a better deal.
Pros
Cons
Playing World of Warcraft – Shadowlands on Acer Predator Helios 300
MSI GP65 Leopard
Key Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 | MEMORY: 16GB DDR4 | DISPLAY: 15.6″, 144Hz, Full HD, IPS-Level | STORAGE: 512GB NVMe SSD
The MSI GP65 Leopard represents an excellent value and is a great all-around laptop for gamers. The bright display backlight and 144 Hz refresh rate, powered by an Nvidia RTX 2070, makes gaming remarkably enjoyable.
The machine has one of the most color-accurate screens in this price range, making it an excellent choice of content creations. The gaming performance is sure going to satisfy gamers for quite a while.
Pros
Cons
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
Key Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-10875H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q | MEMORY: 16GB DDR4 | DISPLAY: 15.6″, 144Hz, Full HD, IPS | STORAGE: 512GB NVMe SSD
The Razer Blade 15 2020 Base Model is a great gaming laptop, featuring a speedy Full HD performance, industry-leading design, and a bright, colorful display. Compared to rival systems, it is pretty expensive, but this is still a worthwhile buy for gaming enthusiasts.
While expensive, it is more than capable of obliterating any PC game you throw at it, all the while being stylish and well-built enough to justify that extra expense for anyone looking for a luxurious gaming product.
Pros
Cons
MSI GS66 Stealth
Key Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-10750H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q | MEMORY: 32GB DDR4 | DISPLAY: 15.6″, 144Hz, Full HD, IPS | STORAGE: 512GB NVMe SSD
The MSI GS66 Stealth is a good upgrade from the GS65 Stealth, offering a pleasant redesign and top-notch specs. It has a stunning 240Hz screen, great components, and impressive ergonomics and connectivity, but rivals have better longevity, CPU power, and design.
Pros
Cons
Gigabyte AORUS 15G (2020)
Key Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i7-10875H | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q | MEMORY: 16GB DDR4 | DISPLAY: 15.6″, 144Hz, Full HD, IPS | STORAGE: 512GB NVMe SSD
The Gigabyte Aorus 15G is an expensive gaming laptop, featuring a powerful performance, high refresh rate, and a mechanical keyboard to please even the most demanding hardcore gaming crowd.
It’s an absolute beast of a gaming laptop, and with its rigid construction and full feature set, it’s an excellent example of what a next-generation desktop replacement can be.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
In the end, it pretty much all depends on the budget you are willing to spend on a new gaming laptop to run World of Warcraft – Shadowlands. A good starting point would be meeting at least the recommended system requirements. However, minimum requirements are based on what developers define as playable at the lowest graphic settings values. In contrast, the recommended requirements are what is needed to run a game with decent or highest graphical settings with a high enough frame rate for the best gaming experience. If your budget is limited, stick to our recommended laptop for WoW. Otherwise, you may aim for higher-tiered pricier gaming laptops, so you can crank up graphics settings to the max and still enjoy smooth gameplay with the highest frames per second possible.
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Biaggio Valente
Gaming EditorInformation engineer, gaming enthusiast, forklift driver.
Highly proficient in computer hardware, no PC or laptop can cope with his intense stress tests.