With 1 day delay Blizzard published the 64-bit windows and apple client today. The installation is quite easy – in fact it seemed almost too easy, but it works perfectly fine.
By using this new client you can expect improved performance in various ways. My PC seems to load faster, WoW seems to have stopped stuttering in raid encounters (with lots of combat parsing) and it seems the load is slightly lower.
How to install 64-bit Client
- make sure you have the 32-bit client patched to 4.3.2!
- download the 64-bit client, Build 4.3.2.15211: it is small, only ~10 mb
- PC: http://us.media.battle.net.edgesuite.net/downloads/wow-installers/live/WoWLive-64-Win-15211.zip
- Mac: http://us.media.battle.net.edgesuite.net/downloads/wow-installers/live/WoWLive-64-Mac-15211.zip
- Unzip the contents into your WoW folder
- Start the Launcher (with 64-bit files present the launcher will default to 64-bit)
- Check the lower left corner for (Release x64)
That was it … yeah … easy!
Notes
- If for some reason you want to return to the 32-bit client, Launcher -> Options -> Game Preferences -> check „use 32-bit Client“
- The 64-bit client is being distributed separately from the Retail version as it is not yet supported for use with World of Warcraft.
- Launching the game in 64-bit mode can only be done after patching the game to version 4.3.2, downloading and extracting the necessary files.
- The game’s built in voice chat does not currently work when using the 64-bit client.
- Mac Client:
- [Mac] The 64-bit Mac client does not currently support the in-game movie recording functionality.
- [Mac] The 64-bit Mac client iTunes‘ Remote feature does not work at the present time.
- [Mac] The 64-bit Mac client does not currently support the customized LCD display for the Logitech G15 series of keyboards.
- [Mac] The 64-bit Mac client is currently not supported on 10.5 systems. You will need 10.6.8 or later for this version.
- Additional System Requirements:
- Windows XP Professional “x64 Edition” / 64-bit Windows Vista / 64-bit Windows 7 (latest service packs).
- Mac OS 10.6.8 or newer. Mac Computer with Core 2 Duo or better. 2 GB or more of RAM.
You can read the original blue post with links and further information here. Don’t worry I always feel safer using links from the original site, too!