Mass Effect 2 system requirements revealed

Bioware and Electronic Arts have unveiled the hardware requirements for the PC version of Mass Effect 2, which is due out on January 26 for the PC and Xbox 360.

The DRM situation has also been fully explained, with Mass Effect 2 using the same system as Dragon Age: Online - a simple disc check with no online authentication. Bioware explains that digital retailers will use their own copy-protection methods possibly, but is presumably planning to use DLC as an incentive for customers to buy legitimate copies, just as it did with Dragon Age.

Minimum System Requirements
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
Video Card: 256 MB (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support).
Supported Chipsets: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 or greater; ATI Radeon X1600 Pro or greater.
Hard Drive: 15 GB
OS: Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7
DVD ROM: 1x Speed
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c August 2008 (included)
Input: Keyboard / Mouse

Recommended System Requirements
Processor: 2.6+ GHz Core 2 Duo Intel or equivalent AMD CPU
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Video Card: ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT, or better recommended
Sound Card: 100% DirectX compatible sound card and drivers
DirectX: DirectX August 2008
OS: Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista SP1 / Windows 7

Intel and S3 video cards are not officially supported in Mass Effect 2, reads a corollary to the requirements. Bioware also warns that laptop or mobile versions of the above hardware are not supported. NVIDIA GeForce 7300, 8100, 8200, 8300, 8400, and 9300; ATI Radeon HD3200, and HD4350 are below minimum system requirements.

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