Here Are the Mass Effect 2 System Requirements

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Is your PC power massive enough to be effective?

BioWare games, despite often being somewhat tailored for console gamers as well, feel and look best on the PC. Now that Dragon Age is here, the next big BioWare title is Mass Effect 2, which will be hitting stores late January.

Of course, to best run Mass Effect 2 on PC, you'll want to have a decent computer. BioWare revealed today what sort of rig you'll need to run this next space epic.

PC MINIMUM System Requirements
OS = Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
Processor = 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory = 1 GB RAM for Windows XP / 2 GB RAM for Windows Vista and Windows 7
Hard Drive = 15 GB
DVD ROM = 1x Speed
Sound Card = DirectX 9.0c compatible
Direct X = DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Input = Keyboard / Mouse
Video Card = 256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support). Supported Chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or greater. Please note that NVIDIA GeForce 7300, 8100, 8200, 8300, 8400, and 9300; ATI Radeon HD3200, and HD4350 are below minimum system requirements. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required. Intel and S3 video cards are not officially supported in Mass Effect 2.

PC RECOMMENDED System Requirements
Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
2.6+ GHz Cure 2 Duo Intel or equivalent AMD CPU
2 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or better recommended
100% DirectX compatible sound card and drivers
DirectX August 2008
NOTES: For the best results, make sure you have the latest drivers for your video and audio cards. Laptop or mobile versions of the above supported video cards have not had extensive testing and may have driver or other performance issues. As such, they are not officially supported in Mass Effect 2. Intel and S3 video cards are not officially supported in Mass Effect 2.

Check out the forum post for more.

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Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
61 Comments Comment from the forums
  • redgarl
    I hope it's going to be better than Dragon Age... the most overrated game I have seen in the last couple of years with no story, dungeon loot and bad dialogue option.

    Mass Effect on PC was easily the best Bioware game I have played. Great gameplay, story, dialogues, level ups, story, character design (it was so deep in comparaison to Dragon Age) and with an incredible ending.
    Reply
  • lightzy
    I dunno why they even bother, much less make a big 'story' out of system requirements..
    It's not like system requirements have changed much since the release of the retarded 360 and ps3 about 15 years ago
    Reply
  • festerovic
    My rig with an 8800 GTS 320mb was not capable of playing the ME1 at full frames. Once I switched to a 4870, it was alot better. Not expecting a lot more graphically if the recommended specs haven't changed.
    Reply
  • Onyx2291
    I don't have recommended :( even if I didn. Runnin at high res it's hard to see if it would stand up.
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    I can play it. :)
    Reply
  • rambo117
    mlopinto2k1I can play it.same :)
    Reply
  • ant1-b0dy
    I Can Play Crysis, So Yes I Can Play Mass Effect 2.
    Reply
  • matt87_50
    "ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT"

    oh good, another port that pushes no boundaries.

    I could of course hope that thats just what you need to play it on low settings - that would still look good - and on high it will be pushing a 5970. but some how I doubt it...
    Reply
  • I played the first one for a little bit, but I really do not like single player games. Co-op with a buddy is best. The new Mass Effect looks cool, but it is only single player. I probably will pass on it. Too bad.
    Reply
  • rockstone1
    Damnit, the graphics haven't changed since 2007. The two best looking games on the Market are World in Conflict, Far Cry 2, and Crysis (Warhead). Far Cry 2 and Crysis Warhead were released this time last year, and both used a 2007 engine, World in Conflict was released about this time two years ago, and uses a 2007 Engine.

    //Stupid Consoles ruin the gallant march of Technology.
    Reply