Right now the game is using just one core on my CPU, pegging it at 100% and eventually causing it to overheat and shut down my PC.
Is this really the way the game is supposed to work? We all have multi core processors, so why isn’t the game using them all?
Because the base WoW engine is 20 years old at this point.
But WoW using a single core does not explain your CPU overheating.
It’s the one core overheating, not the entire CPU. At 100% usage, the core temp slowly creeps up until it gets too high and the system shuts itself off.
My computer has always worked like this. The CPU cores can handle ~90% usage without overheating, but at 100% the fans just can’t keep it cool.
I’m confused as to why the game needs 100% of the CPU all the time. Even when I am in a bank, just going through my stuff, or standing around in stormwind doing nothing, it’s stuck at 100%.
Sounds like your processor needs a better cooling solution.
Assuming you have a recent-ish CPU, until you get a better cooling solution, disable Intel Turboboost or whatever the AMD equivalent is or underclock it completely. Once that’s done, try to figure out why WoW is using up 100% of your CPU.
Your PC should not hit the thermal cutoff, even under max load. That is the problem.