Supported graphics card chipsets for BioShock

[neildittmar]

I was recently updating my common questions, problems, and solutions post and did a Google search to find desktop graphics card chipsets that BioShock supports.  Unfortunately, it seems there is no clear cut list as there is with most games.  Hopefully this post will remedy that

Desktop graphics card chipsets that BioShock DOES support

The following chipsets are known to be DirectX 9.0c compliant.  That is, they support Shader Model 3.0 in hardware and are suitable for use with BioShock.  They also meet the minimum performance requirements for the game.

ATI Radeon x1300 series
ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 edition (Radeon x1300 core, PCI-Express Version)
ATI Radeon x1600 series
ATI Radeon x1650 series
ATI Radeon x1800 series
ATI Radeon x1900 series
ATI Radeon x1950 series
ATI Radeon x2400 series
ATI Radeon x2600 series
ATI Radeon x2900 series
ATI Radeon x3850 series
ATI Radeon x3870 series

nVidia GeForce 6600 series
nVidia GeForce 6700 series
nVidia GeForce 6800 series
nVidia GeForce 7300 series
nVidia GeForce 7500 series
nVidia GeForce 7600 series
nVidia GeForce 7800 series
nVidia GeForce 7900 series
nVidia GeForce 7950 series
nVidia GeForce 8300 series
nVidia GeForce 8400 series
nVidia GeForce 8500 series
nVidia GeForce 8600 series
nVidia GeForce 8800 series

Desktop graphics card chipsets that BioShock DOES NOT support

Graphics cards containing the following chipsets are NOT suitable for use with BioShock.  In most cases, these chipsets are not DirectX 9.0c compliant and therefore do not support Shader Model 3.0 in hardware.  However, some DirectX 9.0c compliant cards are listed here because they don't meet the minimum performance requirements for the game or for other technical reasons.

ATI Radeon x1550 series
ATI Radeon x1050 series
ATI Radeon x850 series
ATI Radeon x800 series
ATI Radeon x700 series
ATI Radeon x600 series
ATI Radeon x550 series
ATI Radeon x300 series
ATI Radeon 9800 series
ATI Radeon 9700 series
ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 edition (Radeon 9600 core, AGP Version)
ATI Radeon 9600 series
ATI Radeon 9550 series
ATI Radeon 9500 series
ATI Radeon 9250 series
ATI Radeon 9200 series
ATI Radeon 8500 series and lower

nVidia GeForce 6200 series
nVidia GeForce 5900 series
nVidia GeForce 5800 series
nVidia GeForce 5700 series
nVidia GeForce 5600 series
nVidia GeForce 5500 series
nVidia GeForce 5300 series
nVidia GeForce 5200 series
nVidia GeForce 4800 series and lower

A note about mobile chipsets and BioShock

As with most PC games, mobile versions of the chipsets listed as supported should also be suitable for the game.  This is assuming that the mobile version of the series supports all of the hardware features that its desktop counterpart does and performs at approximately the same speeds.

[motoboy]

looks like Neil is putting together and testing his comp

[D.gaica]

I have a Dell 4550 I know its old that has 4 PCI slots and 1 AGP slot.  I recently installed Windows 7 and I like it but Im stuck with no Aero which just makes it look crappy.  I get a resounding "1" on my Windows Experience Index.  I had an old GeForce 6200 PCI that I tried and it brought my "Gaming Graphics" up to a 3 but my Desktop Graphics were still at a 1 so it didnt work.  Is there a cheap video card that I could buy that would definitely enable Aero?  I play no games on the computer so I want it solely for Aero.