Premium/High-End

Mass Effect has very large scenes and even the most advanced and expensive multi-GPU solutions have modest results at the highest graphics quality settings. There are no obvious winners in the Premium category. The GeForce GTX 280 is better at 1280x1024 but loses its ground at the higher resolutions whereas the Radeon HD 4870 X2 maintains about the same speed at every resolution.

As for the multi-GPU subsystems occupying more than one PCI Express slot, the GeForce GTX 280 SLI is the only one of them to keep the bottom speed above 20fps at every resolution. The 3-way CrossFire subsystem (built out of a Radeon HD 4870 X2 and Radeon HD 4870 1GB) does not provide any performance benefits and becomes the loser in terms of price/performance ratio.

Performance-Mainstream Category

There are no leaders in this category at 1280x1024 resolution but the Radeon HD 4800 series goes ahead in higher resolutions. Therefore the best buy in this category is the Radeon HD 4850. At a modest price it delivers good performance at both 1680x1050 and 1920x1200.

Mainstream Category

The Radeon HD 3870 is almost as fast as the Radeon HD 4830 at 1280x1024 but its bottom speed drops at the higher resolutions due to its weak TMU subsystem. Nvidia’s solutions are no better, though. Thus, the Radeon HD 4830 is the best choice among inexpensive gaming cards for playing this game.