By Walter Jobs, Technology writer and editor · Published 9 October 2026
Short answer: you do not need a detection tool, because you can read your own two part names in under a minute and type them in. Any checker that works from a dropdown gives you the same answer without running an executable on your machine. We publish one of these ourselves, so take the comparison below with that in mind, and it includes the cases where ours is not the right choice.
Why people look for an alternative
The long standing tool for this asks you to install a small program so it can read your hardware. There are three reasonable objections, and one of them is not what you might expect.
Running an executable to answer a trivial question. You are installing software with permission to inventory your machine in order to learn something you could have typed. That is a poor trade even when the software is entirely legitimate.
It often will not run anyway. Detection relies on browser plugin mechanisms that modern browsers have steadily removed, which is why so many people arrive at these pages having already failed to get the scan working.
Pass or fail is the wrong output. This is the real problem. Knowing you “meet the recommended spec” tells you nothing about your frame rate, because the requirement never said which resolution it meant. You can pass and be disappointed, which is covered in my PC meets the requirements but the game runs badly.
The options, and what each is actually for
| Approach | Download? | What it gives you | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| The game’s own store page | No | The publisher’s requirements, always current | You just want the authoritative table |
| A dropdown based checker | No | A verdict, and sometimes a frame rate | You know your two parts and want an answer |
| Detection based scanners | Yes | A pass or fail, with your parts filled in | You genuinely do not know what is in the machine |
| A benchmark video for your card | No | Measured frame rates in that exact game | You want real numbers rather than an estimate |
| The game’s own demo | The demo | Certainty, on your machine | A demo exists. Nothing beats this |
The last two rows deserve more attention than they get. A benchmark video from someone running your card gives you measured numbers, which beats any model including ours. And if a demo exists, running it is not an estimate at all, it is the answer.
What to look for in a checker
Most of these tools look alike and differ in ways that matter once you rely on them.
- Does it ask for your resolution? A tool that does not is answering a question about 1080p and not telling you. This is the single biggest divider between useful and decorative.
- Does it give a frame rate or just a verdict? A verdict with no number cannot help you decide whether to buy anything.
- Does it show the publisher’s requirements as published? If you cannot see the source figures, you cannot check the tool’s reading of them.
- Does it say when the data was collected? Requirements change with patches, and undated data is of unknown age.
- Does it explain its method? Every one of these is a model. The ones worth trusting say so and show their working.
Our own, and when not to use it
Our Can I Run It checker takes your processor, graphics card, resolution and memory from dropdowns and returns an estimated frame rate plus the publisher’s requirements reproduced underneath, with the Steam listing linked so you can verify them. Nothing to install.
Three situations where it is the wrong tool, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.
You do not know what is in your PC. Ours needs you to pick your parts. If you cannot, either read them off first with how to find your PC specs, which takes about a minute, or use a detection tool, which is the one job they are genuinely better at.
Your game is not in our list. We cover a set of popular titles rather than every game on Steam. If yours is missing, the store page has the requirements and that is the authoritative source anyway.
You need a measured figure rather than an estimate. Ours is a model. If you are deciding on an expensive purchase, a benchmark from someone running your exact card in that exact game is better evidence than anything we produce, and we would rather you used it.
The fastest route, if you want one answer
Open the game’s store page and read the requirements. Press Windows and R together, type dxdiag, and read your processor and graphics card off the first two tabs. Compare. That takes two minutes, needs nothing installed, and uses the publisher’s own figures rather than anybody’s interpretation of them.
Everything else, ours included, exists to save you those two minutes and to add the frame rate estimate that the requirements table leaves out.
Frequently asked questions
Is Can You Run It safe to use?
It is a long established tool from a known company rather than anything disreputable. The objection is not safety but necessity: you are installing software that inventories your machine to answer a question you could answer by reading two model names. Whether that trade is worth it is a judgement about convenience rather than risk.
Can I check game requirements without downloading anything?
Yes, in two ways. The game’s own store page carries the publisher’s requirements and needs no account. Any dropdown based checker, including ours, gives you a verdict from part names you type in. The only thing a download buys you is not having to know what is in your own machine.
Why do different checkers disagree about the same game?
Because each is a model with its own assumptions, and few state them. One may assume 1080p while another assumes your chosen resolution, one may assume high settings and another medium, and they map hardware onto different performance scales. Check what resolution and preset a tool is assuming before comparing its answer with another’s.
What is the most accurate way to know if a game will run?
Play it. A demo, a free weekend or a refund window gives you certainty that no model can match. Failing that, a benchmark video from someone with your card in that game is measured data. Everything else, ours included, is an estimate and should be read as one.
Do I need to know my exact graphics card model?
The model name is enough, and the memory figure alongside it matters too, since a card sold in 8 GB and 16 GB versions behaves differently in games that are tight on memory. Press Windows and R, type dxdiag, and the Display tab gives you the name in seconds.
We publish a checker of our own, so this comparison is not disinterested and we have tried to say where ours is the weaker option. Our estimates are modelled rather than measured, and how we calculate this sets out the method and its limits.