Mass Effect 2 - PC System Requirements & DRM

The system requirements and DRM for Mass Effect 2 has been revealed. They went with the old reliable for DRM. It's just your basic disc check. No online authentication or limited install hassles required to play the boxed/retail PC version of the game.

We know we have a lot of fans who are ready to pre-order Mass Effect 2, but are still waiting for information on whether their PC will run the game and what Digital Rights Management (DRM) Mass Effect 2 will use. Hopefully with the information below, you will now be able to pre-order your copy of Mass Effect 2 from your favorite retailer.

Minimum System Requirements

Operating System: 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 Space: 15 GB
DVD ROM: 1x Speed
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible
DirectX: 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.

Recommended System Requirements

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

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.

Digital Rights Management (DRM)

The boxed/retail PC version of Mass Effect 2 will use only a basic disk check and it will not require online authentication. This is the same method as Dragon Age: Origins. Digital versions will use the retailers protection system.