Is Can You Run It safe? What PC requirement checkers actually download

By chicksaw · Updated November 2, 2026 · 6 min read

Short answer: the well-known checkers are legitimate sites run by real companies. The real question is how each one learns what is in your PC: some let you pick your parts from a list and download nothing, some download a small detection program, and doesitrun reads your Steam library or runs a short script you can read before you run it. All of them only need four things: processor, graphics card, RAM and VRAM. A checker never needs your passwords, files or browser data.

Three ways a site can learn your hardware

1. You pick the parts yourself. The site shows lists of graphics cards and processors and you choose yours. Nothing is downloaded. The catch: you need to know your parts, and laptop chips with the same name as a desktop card are easy to mix up. How to check your PC hardware shows where Windows lists them.
2. A detection program. You download a small executable, run it, and it reads the hardware through Windows and reports back to the site. This is convenient and, with the established sites, harmless, but you are running a program whose source you cannot see.
3. A readable script, or no program at all. A script in plain text can be read in a text editor before you run it, and if you play on Steam, a site can read your public game list through Steam without touching your PC at all.

How the common checkers do it

• Can You Run It (System Requirements Lab, by Husdawg, LLC) has been the best-known checker for many years. It downloads a small detection applet, commonly seen as Detection.exe, which reads processor, RAM, graphics card, sound card, Windows version and DirectX version and then shows a pass or fail per component. The site's FAQ says it collects no personally identifiable information and that the applet can be deleted after the scan. Windows only.
• PCGameBenchmark (from the publisher behind PCGamesN) compares your parts with the requirements of a large game database on the site. It also offers an optional desktop app, distributed through the Overwolf platform, that tracks your FPS while you play. You do not need the app for the website check.
• Technical City works entirely from lists: you select your graphics card and processor and the site shows a verdict per game. There is nothing to download.
• doesitrun (this site) offers three routes. Sign in with Steam and it reads your public library, wishlist and friends' libraries through Steam, so nothing runs on your PC. Or run the hardware detector: a PowerShell or shell script in plain text that you can open and read first; it reads only CPU, GPU, RAM, Windows version, free disk space and the number of installed Steam games, shows you the result and sends it only when you confirm, and installs nothing. Its current VirusTotal report is linked from the site. Or type your parts in by hand.

Each approach fits a different person. If you know your parts, a list is fastest. If you want the site to find them for you, a detection program or script is more convenient; the difference is whether you can read what it does.

How to check any detection download before you run it

• Download only from the site itself, never from a third-party "mirror" or a link in a forum post. Fake copies of popular tools are the usual way malware spreads.
• Upload the file to VirusTotal before running it. It scans the file with dozens of antivirus engines. One or two detections on an unsigned tool are often false positives; many detections are not.
• Check the publisher. Right-click the file › Properties › Digital Signatures. A signature from the company that runs the site is a good sign; no signature means you rely on the reputation of the site alone.
• Ask what it needs. Reading hardware does not require administrator rights, your Steam password or access to your documents. If a tool asks for more than that, close it.
• Delete it afterwards. A detection tool has done its job after one run. Hardware does not change until you upgrade.

What a checker can and cannot tell you

Every checker compares your parts with the minimum and recommended requirements the publisher lists on the store page. That gives a yes or no, and the publisher rarely says which resolution and frame rate that minimum means. Whether a game runs well is a different question. doesitrun adds an estimate of the frame rate in 1080p, 1440p and 4K per game, checked against measured benchmarks where they exist, and a confidence rating that says how reliable each estimate is. How to check Steam system requirements explains what minimum and recommended actually mean.