So far have gotten lucky and haven’t had to test that but yes, that is a nice bonus.
I have been playing since 2005 and I have only had three new computers in all of that time.
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I play on a Clevo laptop chassis with a full deskptop graphics card and processor. But yes, they are pricey (approaching $3K.) I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to a tower, though.
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I am playing on an 11 year old computer, in Linux. I just have the settings pretty low.
Intel G3220 proc, TWO CORE (only two!)
8 gig system ram
Nvidia 750 TI 2 gig ram
OpenSuse Linux 15.3
Nvidia awesome Linux drivers
Wine-Staging with the V3k/whatever in winetricks.
I average around 25-60 FPS at the lower settings I have, view distance down all the way, no ground clutter, effects down (but enough to see if standing in the fire.) Because I’m playing in Linux, Wow is automatically evenly split over the 2 processor cores (just done by the operating system.)
I mainly solo and don’t raid, or anything.
I’ve not owned a Microsoft OS since Windows Vista, playing Wow under Linux all this time.
I did switch to Xbox One for all gaming, besides Wow, for the reason the OP mentions. I’m not on a pension, but it started making no sense to me to rebuild a computer every two years. Meanwhile, my Xbox 360 lasted forever and now my Xbox one has been going for years; I’d have an Xbox series X if they existed in stores.
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LMAO nope!
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Once you’ve seen the light, it’s hard to return to the darkness.
Op,it is true to keep up with the graphic of the game the computer has to match or be better in it’s function.I just upgraded mined and it’s showing memory lose already .With every patch and expansion more is being applied in the back ground as data and it mounts up just the same as windows has patches the same with the game.
For those with limited income this is a problem they reach a limit and consoles are cheaper in the long run.
To be fair though, you do pay a premium up-front, and they are difficult (not impossible) to upgrade. I generally keep them for seven years with one processor and gpu upgrade, swapping out the M.2 and SATA drives probably once each.
But to the OP’s point, no matter which form factor you choose, it’s usually most cost efficient to buy at the top end of your price range to avoid frequent replacement and ensure the greatest potential for upgrade.
My sister built my current PC in 2016 right before Legion launched. Still working great. Had to replace the power supply last year, but she thinks it’s because of a few power outages we had.
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This x 1000. It’s cheaper to hit everything upfront than continuously upgrading with “mid-range” pieces.
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Minimum requirements for next Xpac:
AMD Ryzen™ Threadripper 3960X 24 Core
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3090 24GB GDDR6X
4 x 8GB DDR4-2666 Patriot Quad Channel Memory
EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 G2 - 80+ GOLD 1300W
Microsoft Windows 11 Home
This is your problem. You’re trying to save money buy buying cheap. I spent $2000 on mine 6 years ago. I’ve only replaced the video card, which was as much about repair as upgrade because one of the fans had a failing bearing or something, so it is conceivable you could also have this added cost. But look at this budget.
You, every 2 years spending an average $900:
$900
$900
$900
=$2700
Me, spent 2k plus $500 for a new vid card:
$2000
$500
=$2500
I spent slightly less you, and I’ve been running at max settings where, if you’re having to replace your system, you’re skimping on video quality along with money. Because my system runs like this, I’m confidant it will run WoW until the hardware breaks or loses driver support. With the upcoming expansion, you will be buying a new system and I’ll still be using mine.
On top of this, I have substantially less e waste to deal with.
If you are buying a computer from a chain, consider they are exploiting you for money by selling you a system they know won’t hold up. Find a builder that will put together a system that isn’t using parts that are about to go obsolete. Don’t feel bad you’ve been taken advantage of. Alienware did this to me back before Dell bought them when they were actually considered good. Live and learn. It is how I learned to build my own. 
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Cringe. If you like spending more for less sure; obviously not in current market, but this has been a general rule otherwise.
OT
Even though I frequently update/upgrade my PC, I’m pretty sure my rig from several years ago would have 0 issues with 1440p mix of max/high settings. Turn down spell density, shadow/light settings if needed. WoW isn’t too intensive and looks arguably bad by todays standards. This is definitely not a game to sink money into for constant upgrades.
Consider the OP is almost certainly kind of illiterate with the hardware and let’s not scare her with jokes.
How about spending more so you’re not chained to a boat anchor? There is a ton of value in being able to pick your computer up and game from wherever you want. Not to mention you lose 0 functionality over a desktop.
i upgrade a component every few years. less of a hassle than an entire pc. the only big one is motherboard but i got a good 10 years before i need to upgrade it again. and 3080. both those stay for a long while. usually i upgrade RAM, storage, power supply, over the corse of like 5 years. cpu is the easiest to upgrade. and i got a couple years before mine needs an upgrade
This really seems odd. I have been playing since 2004. I had two desktops between then and 2013. Since 2013 I have been using the same laptop - and am using it right this second.
I don’t play on highest settings of course, but I CAN play fairly well.
I admit I am a bit worried it might not convert to Windows 11 though. It originally had Win 7 on it. Using 10 now of course.
You don’t ever need a new computer every 2 years for any reason unless you are doing it for a job that requires large scale calculations. You buy one computer that is over the top, the absolute best you can afford and than save up for about 5-6 years and go again.
It’s like buying a second hand car for $10K and needing to replace it in 3-4 years, instead buy a new car for $20K and have it last 15-20 years.
It’s not odd if you think about what is available. You can buy literal garbage parts that do bare minimum for what you want, of course they won’t last very long. People need to think ahead, instead of buying just what you need now they need to spend more and go over the top to make it last much much longer.
WiFi though
My computer is almost 7 years old and runs wow without a problem.
Don’t buy junk and it will also longer.