System requirements System requirments are the minimum level of hardware and software a player should have to expect a decent playing experience . Listing these requirements is an industry standard , but " decent " playing experience varies wildly . All the Warcraft games have varying levels of system requirements , but most of them run on both Microsoft Windows based PCs and Mac OS X based Macintosh computers . World of Warcraft . WINDOWS . " [ Minimum Requirements ] " , Recommended Specifications MAC OS X . " [ Minimum Requirements ] " , Recommended Specifications Note : FileVault options and case - sensitive formatted volumes are not supported for installation of Blizzard games . General requirements for PC and Mac : Minimum system requirements for World of Warcraft Minimum System Requirements Recommended Specifications For a complete list of supported 3D cards , please visit http : / / us . blizzard . com / support / article / wowsupportedvideo A keyboard and mouse are required . Input devices other than a standard mouse and keyboard are not supported . The game is available for PCs and Macs . Yes , the game requires a 3D graphics card . We support a wide range of 3D cards that conform to the system requirement outlined above . Specific 3D card support information can be found here . No , a Broadband connection is required . While the game may play on a dialup connection , both the size of updates and the constant flow of data required are beyond what Dialup can typically handle . No , these are not supported connection types . While the game may play there are expectations of high latency , lag or disconnects involved . You can check your Internet provider ' s website for their Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ ' s ) section . One such website states : " On - line games are not well suited for satellite - based Internet service due to associated latency factors . " The game supports third - person and first - person camera perspectives . Players will be able to utilize the mouse wheel to adjust the camera angle as the situation dictates and switch between cameras on the fly . Yes , these are supported features although that does not necessarily translate to higher performance . Yes , you can if you wish to do so . However , please note that we can ' t offer technical support for Blizzard games run under Windows using Boot Camp at this time due to it not being tested . We have a recognized track record of native Mac OS support , and we have no plans to break with that tradition . We understand that our Mac player base prefers native software whenever possible , and our cross - platform development practice addresses that . At launch : OS : Windows XP / Windows Vista ( with latest Service Packs ) Sound : DirectX - compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability OS : Mac OS X 10 . 4 . 11 or newer At launch : OS : Windows XP / Windows Vista ( with latest Service Packs ) Sound : DirectX - compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability OS : Mac OS X 10 . 4 . 11 or newer Classic ( initial release ) . These are the requirements as of 28 - Apr - 2009 : " System requirements have increased since launch due to content patches and new features added in line with the latest expansions . " OS : Windows XP / Windows Vista ( with latest Service Packs ) Sound : DirectX - compatible sound card or motherboard sound capability OS : Mac OS X 10 . 4 . 11 or newer " Until separate system requirements are found , they are presumed to be the same as Warcraft III : Reign of Chaos . " Note : Warcraft RTS games prior to Warcraft III will not run on Intel - based Macs . System requirements at launch : PC requirements : Macintosh requirements : From Blizz ard support : MS - DOS / Windows 3 . 1 / Windows 95 : Macintosh System 7 . 5 or higher : Solution ID : 20955 Article URL : ' http : / / us . blizzard . com / support / article . xml ? articleId = 20955 ' " Until separate system requirements are found , they are presumed to be the same as Warcraft II : Tides of Darkness . " At launch : At launch :