Mass Effect - Any suggestions if I'll be able to play it?

NeilF

NeilF

NeilF

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My machine is getting quite old now, but TBH (since having kids) I really don't play many games. The only thing I do play is TF2, which I run on quite low settings...

Mass Effect does look interesting, but the question is will my machine (see sig) be able to run it?

Anyone have a clue?

I really can't be bothered to spend £1000+ to play a game... :rolleyes:
 
Have you tried BioShock or Unreal Tournament 3 on your rig ? If they run fine i expect Mass Effect will too.
 
TF2 is based on source engine which been around for while (even with updates, source is not Unreal engine or CryEngine 2).

Best to try demos of recent high end games to make sure. From my experience with it on 360, I imagine it will require a high spec.

Otherwise if you have 360 get it on that, probably get it pre-owned for cheaper
 
your rig looks capable of playing most of the stuff out these days, just not super fast.
Maybes grab a 2nd hand graphics card as an upgrade.

You dont need to spend £1000s nowadays, you can grab a cheap 2nd hand c2d for £40 thatll do 2x3ghz, then grab a mobo+2gb ram with change from £100. £100-£120 on a graphics card(8800GT or 9600GT?) then whack it in with rest of rig and hey presto, extremely capable rig.
 
peetee said:
your rig looks capable of playing most of the stuff out these days, just not super fast.
Maybes grab a 2nd hand graphics card as an upgrade.

You dont need to spend £1000s nowadays, you can grab a cheap 2nd hand c2d for £40 thatll do 2x3ghz, then grab a mobo+2gb ram with change from £100. £100-£120 on a graphics card(8800GT or 9600GT?) then whack it in with rest of rig and hey presto, extremely capable rig.
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I have the fast CPU possible in my machine... And the faster graphics card possible in my machine I believe... (We're talking 533 bus and AGP here!)
 
There a much faster cards than the X800 you have at the moment, like the X1950XT or 3850.
 
Although specs have not been announced officially, I think your card only handles Pixel Shader 2.0. If this game is going to be like Bioshock or R6 Vegas (both use Unreal) it will require Pixel Shader 3.0. If so, then you will need an upgrade.

To be sure try Bioshock demo (no R6 Vegas PC demo available to my knowledge), but my guess is it won't work :(
 
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Tombo said:
There a much faster cards than the X800 you have at the moment, like the X1950XT or 3850.
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Aha! How about a Gainward Bliss 7800 GS+ 512MB AGP Silent? The question is, is it actually going to be much faster than my existing card (keep in mind my MB is AGPx4).
 
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NeilFawcett said:
I have the fast CPU possible in my machine... And the faster graphics card possible in my machine I believe... (We're talking 533 bus and AGP here!)
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you could get the x1950pro still, my post was pointing out that it would be really easy for you to upgrade to a lot faster for just a little over £200.

X800 doesnt support pixel shader 3.0 as said above, though its usually fairly easy to turn stuff like that off in config files tbh.
 
24 pipelines doesnt mean anything mate. Its the shaders these days and the x1950pro has the shader power to handle the new games.
 
You seem to want to buy an AGP card for your system; however whichever one you choose will only realistically have a life of six months max.

You may as well consider Petee's advice and get Core2, mobo and DX10 graphics card, they are really affordable now (not like when I bought them :() and great for at least a couple of years. Otherwise you will have to do a full upgrade anyway six months down the line.

Embrace the future my friend :) don't forget Mass Effect 2 will be out in 2009 (fingers crossed)
 
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lunarwolf said:
The 7900 series also has 24 pipelines, but some reviews seem to rate the X1950pro better than 7900GS (I assume is at least as good as a 7800GS)

http://www.trustedreviews.com/graphics/review/2006/10/19/Sapphire-X1950-Pro/p1

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/x1950pro-gf7900gs.html

I also think the X1950 at less than a £100 is cheaper than the Gainward, unless you get a good price on a second hand, the same holds true for the X1950

Here's my 2 cents

Good luck with your choice
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Thanks... Don't forget the Gainward Bliss one had 24 pipelines, where as all the others (eg: in your examples I think) have 20?

There's also the matter that the Gainward uses arctic cooling that I'm a big fan of, and could well be quieter/cooler. If I can get one second hand for well under £100 then I'll go that way...

In the case of the ATI 1950, I'd always be looking at the 3850 :)
 
lunarwolf said:
You seem to want to buy an AGP card for your system; however whichever one you choose will only realistically have a life of six months max.

You may as well consider Petee's advice and get Core2, mobo and DX10 graphics card, they are really affordable now (not like when I bought them :() and great for at least a couple of years. Otherwise you will have to do a full upgrade anyway six months down the line.

Embrace the future my friend :) don't forget Mass Effect 2 will be out in 2009 (fingers crossed)
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Issue there is not just MB + CPU + graphics card but also + PSU + hard drives + sound card (?) + case? + OS + setup hassles...

So suddenly instead of spending £100 - and keep in mind I really don't play many games and am not interested in 'max settings & max resolution', I end up spending four or five times that...?

If I was to go that way I'd just do a £1000 OC's ready built thingy...
 
you already have a PSU thats capable, hard-drives, soundcard, a case? an OS? etc?

You end up spending £220 for a core2duo, 2gb ram and a blisteringly fast graphics card compared to what you have.

Thats over double the processing power and god knows how much graphics horsepower.

You can recoup some of that £220 by selling current mobo cpu gfx
 
NeilFawcett said:
Issue there is not just MB + CPU + graphics card but also + PSU + hard drives + sound card (?) + case? + OS + setup hassles...

So suddenly instead of spending £100 - and keep in mind I really don't play many games and am not interested in 'max settings & max resolution', I end up spending four or five times that...?

If I was to go that way I'd just do a £1000 OC's ready built thingy...
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That is if you go all the way, but why a new case, PSU, OS and sound card? I am sure you can keep the ones you currently have (most mobo now have good integrated sound cards) and your PSU should be able to manage these components since new parts are more energy efficient than previous generations. Wouldn't be enough for SLI, but you aren't doing that. Just need to make sure PSU has the right connectors for new graphics cards.

Anyway this debate is short term vs medium term perspective. If you plan on using a PC in 2 years time then go with Petee's suggestion.

PS - by the way you can buy very good PCs fully built for about £500 delivered to your door, no need to spend £1000
 
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