How do DMA cheats work? The full chain, from card to screen

A DMA cheat works by reading the game's memory from outside the game. A card in your main PC reads the memory, a cable carries it to a second computer, and software there turns it into things you can see, like players through walls. Nothing runs on the PC you play on except the card.

Step 1: the game keeps everything in memory

While you play, your main PC's memory holds everything the game knows: where every player is, their health, the loot around you. It has to, because the game needs it to draw the next frame. The game can't hide this from your own PC.

Step 2: the card reads that memory

A DMA card sits in a PCIe slot in your main PC. PCIe devices are allowed to read memory directly, which is what DMA (direct memory access) means. The card uses that to read the game's memory over PCIe, without asking the processor. What is a DMA card?

Step 3: the firmware decides what the card looks like

Every PCIe device tells your PC what it is when it starts up: a network card, a sound card, a drive. The card's firmware decides what it says. Good firmware makes the card look and act like an ordinary device, so it doesn't stand out. This is why firmware matters more than the card, and why different games need different builds. Which DMA firmware should you buy?

Step 4: the data goes to a second computer

The card sends what it reads down a USB-C cable to a second computer, at up to around 200 MB/s on a USB 3.0 card like the GODLIKE 100T. Second PC for DMA covers what that computer needs.

Step 5: software turns memory into a picture

The software on the second computer knows where the game keeps each thing in memory. It reads player positions, works out where they'd be on your screen, and draws them. That's ESP, a radar, and anything else it offers. Most DMA software is built on open-source libraries called LeechCore and MemProcFS. ESP, radar and aimbot explains the features, and PCILeech and MemProcFS explains the libraries.

Step 6: you see it, and maybe it aims

• Seeing it.
  On a second monitor, or over your game with a video fuser, which lays the software's picture over your game's.
• Aiming.
  The software can't touch your main PC, so to move your mouse it needs an aim device like MAKCU or FERRUM. It sits between your mouse and your main PC, and your second computer sends it moves.

How anti-cheats look for DMA

Anti-cheats know all this, and they look for DMA in a few general ways. This is all public, and game makers talk about it openly.

• Checking the devices in your PC.
  An anti-cheat can read what every PCIe device reports about itself and compare it with what real hardware looks like. A card showing known cheat patterns, or one that doesn't behave like the device it claims to be, stands out.
• Turning on memory protection.
  IOMMU lets the system control which memory each device can reach. Games like VALORANT can make you turn it on before you play. In late 2025, Riot said Vanguard enforces IOMMU on accounts it links to DMA devices, and that it worked with board makers on BIOS updates where IOMMU wasn't set up early enough in boot. What is IOMMU?
• Watching how you play.
  The game sees how your aim moves and what you seem to know. That works no matter what hardware you use. Can anti-cheat tell how you aim?
• Banning hardware, not just accounts.
  Some anti-cheats ban the PC or the device, not just the account. Is DMA detectable? covers account and hardware bans.

Anti-cheat makers say DMA isn't undetectable. FACEIT said so publicly in 2025, and PUBG's maker says it permanently banned about 260,000 DMA users in 2025. We agree with them: everything can and will be detected eventually, no matter what anyone says. Our firmware has had a good track record so far, and if a firmware gets detected, we stop sales and alert everyone on it. Device detected or blocked? explains what happens then.

Common questions

• Does a DMA cheat run on my gaming PC?
  No. The software runs on the second computer. Only the card is in your main PC.
• Why do I need a second computer?
  The card has to send its data somewhere, and running the software away from the game is the point of DMA. Can you use a DMA card with only one PC?
• Is a DMA cheat the same as an external cheat?
  No. An external cheat still runs on your gaming PC, just outside the game. DMA runs on a different computer. DMA vs software cheats.
• Can a DMA cheat aim for me?
  Only with an aim device. Without one, it can show you things but not move anything.
• Which games does it work on?
  It depends on the anti-cheat and your firmware. Which anti-cheat does my game use?

Ready to build one? DMA for beginners goes through what you need, in order.