World of Warcraft in the benchmark

– BitcoinMinersHashrate tested the MMORPG World of Warcraft in the benchmark with 29 graphics cards and 5 graphics units (iGPUs) integrated in CPUs. Both high-end as well as entry-level and older models take part in the comparison. The article is the ninth part of a twelve-part benchmark test series.

A series of articles with twelve games

In the standard test course for graphics cards, processors and even gaming notebooks, BitcoinMinersHashrate usually focuses on AAA games. In addition to their high popularity and modern technology, there is another reason for this: They generally allow comparable results over a long period of time. But even if the number of players is high, the highest have other titles.

We are talking about games that focus exclusively on multiplayer and whose goal is to reach as many players as possible. Battle royale shooters like Fortnite or PUBG as well as e-sports heavyweights like League of Legends or Counter-Strike are among them. Technically, they are usually designed to be simpler than the AAA offshoots and harder to benchmark consistently due to continuously provided updates. Nevertheless, millions of players around the world keep asking themselves: How fast is or would GPU XYZ be in this game? BitcoinMinersHashrate will now look into this question again in a twelve-part series of articles.

In all twelve games, 29 graphics cards and 5 GPUs integrated in processors in two different quality settings will have to endure benchmarks. From GeForce RTX 2080 Ti to Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce GTX 1650 as well as older representatives such as the Radeon R9 390, numerous price, performance and age groups are represented.

So that the overview is not lost, each game gets its own article. The following titles are on our agenda, the linked ones have already been tested:

As the ninth game, World of Warcraft from Blizzard has to face the test. Despite its age, the MMORPG ("Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game") continues to receive updates, both in terms of game content and technology. The last three articles will appear shortly, there is no fixed rhythm.

World of Warcraft: The tenth game in the benchmark

Blizzard's MMORPG World of Warcraft was released on February 11, 2005 in Europe. A specially developed engine is used as the technical framework, which has received numerous updates over the years, so that the graphics now look much better than when released. Not only the look, but also the APIs have changed massively over time. The game has already experienced DirectX 9, DirectX 11, OpenGL and most recently the low-level API DirectX 12 – which is quite impressive.

The AMD and Nvidia graphics cards in the test

The 29 graphics cards are 13 3D accelerators from AMD and 16 from Nvidia. In addition, three APUs from AMD are represented and also two CPUs from Intel, each of which has to use the integrated graphics units for the benchmarks. In addition, there are tests with a very cheap CPU, each with an inexpensive Radeon or GeForce to show whether such a double team is worthwhile compared to a more expensive APU.

All GeForce and Radeon graphics cards adhere to the reference specifications, overclocked models for more performance do not take part in the comparison. How much faster they are can be seen in the many graphics card tests or the graphics card ranking on BitcoinMinersHashrate.

Driver and test system

Since several GPUs are taken into account in the numerous benchmarks, different drivers are used. The adrenaline 20.2.1 and the GeForce 442.19 were used for the tests of World of Warcraft. The 26.20.100.7755 is installed for the Intel GPUs. The driver settings are left at the standard, only special optimizations like the theoretically possible adjustment of the maximum tessellation level with AMD are switched off.

An AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and the MSI MEG X570 Godlike with the X570 chipset of the same name are used as the test system. 16 gigabytes of RAM (2 × 8 GB, DDR4-3200-14-14-14-32-1T, single rank) are available to the system. Windows 10 1909 with all updates is installed.

Different resolutions and quality settings

Comparing so many graphics cards from a wide range of performance classes in a single article requires different quality settings, because it is clear that those with a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti can drive completely different resolutions and levels of detail than one with a GeForce GTX 1050. Nevertheless, the need for benchmarks that compare all GPUs is great. This series of articles offers both.

Firstly, BitcoinMinersHashrate divided the test field into three different performance classes. Each of them receives its own resolution and level of detail, which is appropriate for its representatives. The fastest performance class includes the Radeon RX 5700 XT and the GeForce RTX 2070 Super. In the middle class, for example, the GeForce GTX 1060 and the Radeon RX 580 have to duel, while typical representatives for the slowest class are the Radeon RX 390 and the GeForce GTX 970.

In the highest performance class, the goal was to achieve around 50 to 60 FPS on a Radeon RX 5700 XT in 3,840 × 2,160. One class below were 50 to 60 FPS in 2,560 × 1,440 with a GeForce GTX 1060, while in the slowest class 50 to 60 FPS in 1,920 × 1,080 were to be achieved with a Ryzen 5 3400G.

An identical setting for all benchmarks

However, in order to be able to compare all products directly with one another, there is a fourth series of tests that comes with a single comprehensive resolution and quality setting. It is a compromise that does not fully utilize high-end graphics cards and still completely overwhelms low-end APUs – but there is no other way to compare all 29 graphics cards and 5 iGPUs directly with each other.

The following quality settings were used for the four scenarios in WoW.

A 25-second run through the village "Der Dai-Lo-Bauernhof" is used as the test sequence. There is high visibility to see multiple non-player characters and buildings. Battles deliver lower FPS, but these cannot be tested reproducibly.

DirectX 11 or DirectX 12 in WoW

Rarely has the choice of the API been as easy as in World of Warcraft. While DirectX 12 still caused some problems at the beginning, it now works so much better that it is consistently the faster alternative on the test system. Experience has shown, however, that it cannot be guaranteed that this behavior also applies to your own PC. Therefore, everyone should try out which API works best. Practical: In WoW you can switch between the APIs without restarting.

And how big are the advantages on the test system? That varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The test shows that GeForce graphics cards primarily benefit from better frame times, more FPS is only available in the CPU limit for the fastest Nvidia models. Radeon graphics cards from AMD not only have better frame times, but in most cases there is also a big boost in frame times. The Intel IGPs are in the middle: there is a little more FPS and better frame times, but the differences are very small.

Benchmarks in Full HD, WQHD and Ultra HD

Full HD with entry-level graphics cards & iGPUs

With significantly reduced graphics details, World of Warcraft is very frugal when it comes to the GPU performance required. Even the Radeon Vega 8 in the Ryzen 3 2200G easily manages more than 60 FPS in the test sequence in 1,920 × 1,080 and even the Radeon Vega 3 in the Athlon 3000G achieves at least 37 FPS. Intel's Graphics UHD 630 in the Core i3-9100, on the other hand, already fails at the 30 FPS mark, if only barely. In any case, WoW is not playable, especially the frame times are very bad.

With a discrete graphics card, it doesn't necessarily get much faster in World of Warcraft. For example, the GeForce GT 1030 GDDR5 is only as fast as the Ryzen 5 3400G, the Radeon RX 550 is only a little faster. Then there are significantly more than 100 FPS with the Radeon RX 560, GeForce GTX 1050 and GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. The latter is already much closer to the 200 FPS mark than to 100 FPS.

WQHD with mid-range graphics cards

For 2,560 × 1,440 with significantly higher graphics details, the GPU must then also increase more. Nevertheless, all test candidates including the GeForce GTX 1650 achieve 60 FPS – it should not fail at the 0.1 FPS. GeForce GTX 1070 and Radeon RX Vega 56 are the two fastest offshoots in midfield, absolutely the same speed and achieve around 100 FPS. The Nvidia graphics card is slightly ahead in the frame times, but the distance is very small.

The duel GeForce GTX 1060 against Radeon RX 580 wins the AMD graphics card with a lead of 5 percent. In contrast, the Nvidia product is 1 percent faster in frame times. The Radeon RX 5500 XT cannot prevail in the comparison despite the better RDNA architecture and is therefore only like the Radeon RX 580. The GeForce GTX 1650 Super with the equally better Turing technology, on the other hand, is 6 percent ahead of the GeForce GTX 1060 and thus just before the Radeon RX 580.

Ultra HD with high-end graphics cards

In 3840 × 2.160 all test candidates pass the 60 FPS hurdle, even if only barely. In the case of frame times, however, this is denied to some models. At AMD, only the Radeon RX 5700 XT and the Radeon VII succeed, with Nvidia this is the case from GeForce RTX 2060 Super or GeForce GTX 1080 (0.2 FPS below).

World of Warcraft doesn't particularly respond to new GPU architectures, which isn't surprising given the age of the game. Unlike some other AAA titles, however, there are no major difficulties. The lead of the Radeon RX 5700 XT with RDNA over the Radeon RX Vega 64 with GCN is just as great as the average over AAA games. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Pascal is a bit closer to the GeForce RTX 2070 Super with Turing than usual, but the difference is not big. The Radeon RX 5700 XT cuts off the GeForce RTX 2070 Super as usual, the GeForce GTX 1080 is superior to the Radeon RX Vega 64.

Full HD benchmarks across all classes

The higher-level benchmarks in Full HD with maximum graphics details including 4x MSAA then show slightly different results. Because while these graphics settings of the entire GeForce range with Turing technology obviously taste good, all other graphics cards have difficulties with them.

While the GeForce RTX 2070 Super in Ultra HD with reduced details is still the usual 12 percent ahead of the Radeon RX 5700 XT, in Full HD it is suddenly 31 percent with maximum details. The distance between the Radeon RX Vega 64 and the GeForce GTX 1080 hardly changes. In 3,840 × 2,160 the GeForce was still 9 percent ahead, in 1,920 × 1,080 it was 7 percent. Only Turing gains in these settings, there are hardly any differences with Pascal, GCN and RDNA.

60 FPS are achieved in full HD with maximum details and 4-fold MSAA from Radeon RX 580 or Radeon RX 5500 XT and from GeForce GTX 1060 or GeForce GTX 1650 Super.

Final words

World of Warcraft is ancient for a PC game, but still doesn't look that bad today. This is also due to the graphic style, but above all because Blizzard has massively bored the optics over the years. This has also raised the demands on the graphics card. However, since there are various graphics options, WoW is very adaptable to your own hardware and therefore offers a great deal of scope for new and old graphics cards. An integrated graphics unit can also be enough for a decent gaming experience.

At this point, Blizzard must be explicitly praised. It's not an isolated case that a developer delivers new content for a successful game for so long. On the other hand, the fact that the technology is also rebuilt and improved every now and then. For example, World of Warcraft from 2005 now even supports a modern low-level API with DirectX 12, which has noticeable advantages. Something like that is rare.

The following games have already been tested

The following content has appeared in the article series so far:

Part 10: PUBG

The next game in this series will be PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, better known as PUBG. The article is expected to appear in the next few days. As always, the editors would be happy to receive feedback in the forum on the series of articles.

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