2.4 Quad, 8800 GTX, 4gb ram
5 x WOW

Entering orgrimmar I get a lot performance lag for about a minute, memory usage goes from 2.2gigs to 3.2gigs. CPU is nearing 100% for the majority.

Is this inevitable? I'm reluctant to reduce graphics settings because it's only a temporary thing.. but will upgrading hardware resolve it?

edit. pardon this was meant for h/w forum, but appreciate any response