Mass Effect 3 might only be the thing of dreams at this point, but a lot of factors are coming together to make this dream seem all the more tangible. While nothing can compare to the news that a ME3 demo is on the horizon, set for release in February, some presumed PC specs for the game have been released that should help any mouse and keyboard gamers get prepared to battle the Reapers.
Now the biggest catch with these specs is the fact that they are for the aforementioned Mass Effect 3 demo, not the finished BioWare game, but we imagine the two are interchangeable. If your PC can't run the demo one has to figure it can't run the game at all.
Specs are always the latest rage for PC gamers because not only do they help them see if their rig is up to snuff, but they can help even console gamers get a sense of just how much of a workhouse a certain game is. Obviously Mass Effect 3 is no Battlefield 3 or Crysis 2 but it does have the potential of looking the best on the PC -- and here are the minimum and recommended specs for achieving optimum visuals.
Minimum Spec:
OS - Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1, Win 7
*Supported chipsets: NVIDIA 7900 or better; ATI X1800 or better. Please note that NVIDIA GeForce 9300, 8500, 8400, and 8300 are below minimum system requirements, as are AMD/ATI Radeon HD3200, HD3300, and HD4350. Updates to your video and sound card drivers may be required.
CPU - 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (equivalent AMD CPU)
RAM - 1GB for XP / 2GB RAM for Vista/Win 7
Disc Drive - 1x speed
Hard Drive - 15 GB of free space
Video - 256 MB* (with Pixel Shader 3.0 support)
Sound - DirectX 9.0c compatible
DirectX - DirectX 9.0c August 2009 (included)
Recommended Spec:
OS - Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1, Win 7
CPU - 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (equivalent AMD CPU)
RAM - 2GB for XP / 4GB RAM for Vista/Win 7
Disc Drive - 1x speed
Hard Drive - 15 GB of free space
Video - AMD/ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB or greater, NVidia GeForce 9800 GT 512 MB or greater
Sound - DirectX 9.0c compatible
While there's nothing too mind blowing contained within the specs (our focus is more on the game requiring Origin for the PC) there's still plenty in there for fans to nitpick, and that's okay. PC gaming has slowly been on the rise of the late with titles like The Witcher 2 showing that a great disparity is forming between the consoles and their forefather once again.
Console owners shouldn't worry too much though since Mass Effect 3 is, after all, a console-first game, and wasn't even opened up to the PS3 until last year. No matter how you play Mass Effect 3 it's sure to look on par, if not a little better, than its predecessor, but our biggest concern is if its content is better.
What do you make of these Mass Effect 3 PC specs? Should a highly anticipated game like this require a little more oomph from its platform?
Mass Effect 3 releases March 6, 2012 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
Source: BioWare Forums