Players will need a graphics card that supports ShaderModel 3.0 when the change is implemented next year.

It looks like you might need to update your graphics card if you plan on playing EVE Online next year. CCP Zulu just announced in a dev blog that graphics cards with ShaderModel 3.0 support will become the minimum required graphics cards to run the game in the second quarter of 2011. The change is being made to boost EVE's appearance and performance.

So which graphics card will you need to play EVE Online? You can choose between Nvidia GeForce series 6 or higher; Ati Radeon X1300 (Radeon R520 chips) or higher; Intel GMA X3000 or higher; or Intel G965 or higher. If you're not sure which card you have, CCP suggests that you download and run this small app to see if your card supports ShaderModel 3.0.