World of Warcraft Shadowlands Beta iGPU benchmarks

You can run WoW on integrated graphics but there is a lot of caveats to that. The iGPU performance matters but also the configured TDP of given device and the CPU performance do as well.

Integrated graphics performance

With the launch of mobile Zen 3 parts (4000 series) and Intel much improved iGPU in 10nm mobile chips (those ending with G7) the performance got to a point where an iGPU can run the game really well. Desktop APUs are also an option if you want a really small or really budget friendly PC and you can't or don't want to get a used low tier card.

I don't have any Zen 3 results for now, but below I've tested 3 weaker chips so this could be a sort of worst case scenario:

iGPU WoW combat benchmark

Combat is usually CPU bound but here we can also have a weak iGPU that won't be able to handle spell particle effects that well. J5005 is a 10W part with weak iGPU (below minimal specification) and low power CPU cores. All those cheap laptops with Celerons and Pentiums are a no-go for playing WoW.

Even Ryzen 3 2200G is close to being GPU limited, at mode 7 the FPS drops a lot and is unplayable.

iGPU WoW Ardenweald benchmark
iGPU WoW Ardenweald benchmark
iGPU WoW Bastion benchmark
iGPU WoW Bastion benchmark

If you want a good framerate on an iGPU it must be modern and without any TDP or RAM crippling configurations. Ryzen 4700U, 4800H or 4800U as well as most *G7 Intel parts should easily perform better than 2200G - not only do they have a stronger CPU but also a much better iGPU. As performance can vary greatly based on configured TDP or RAM (sometimes it's soldered too!) then before buying check detailed reviews.

Ryzen 3 2200G scales really well with game settings and is capable of giving really good framerate on low settings.

Summary

As mentioned before iGPU can run WoW but at some compromise in terms of quality. Intel Tiger Lake, top Zen 2 mobile parts and upcoming Zen 3 mobile parts (maybe H1 2021 so not as fast...) should allow you to easily play the game on mode 3-4 or higher in a lightweight laptop format. Some Intel Tiger Lake laptops will be equipped in MX450 dGPU while selected few Ryzen 4000-U with MX350 - those should perform bit better on the graphics side. And of course there are gaming laptops with good dedicated graphics as well.

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