About CanMyPcPlay

What we do

We maintain a structured database of PC system requirements for games and applications, alongside specifications for the graphics cards and processors people actually own. A compatibility engine compares the two and reports which specific component is holding a machine back — because “no” is not useful, but “your graphics card is the limit and here is what clears it” is.

The catalogue is curated rather than exhaustive. We would rather hold a smaller database where every entry is sourced than a huge one full of figures nobody has checked. It is designed to scale to many thousands of entries, and it grows steadily.

How compatibility checks work

Your CPU, GPU, memory and operating system are compared against the publisher's own published minimum and recommended tiers. Because requirements name parts rather than numbers, we hold a relative performance index for every part so that comparisons across different brands and generations are possible.

That index is an editorial estimate, not a benchmark score, and we label it as such everywhere it appears. The full methodology page explains exactly how it is used and where the uncertainty lies.

How requirements are verified

Every requirement record stores the source it was transcribed from. Records start unverified and stay that way until a person has re-checked them against that source, which is when the verification date is recorded. Pages showing unverified data say so plainly rather than hiding it.

How performance estimates work

Where we hold a cited benchmark for a specific game, resolution and preset, we use it and show the citation. Where we do not, we fall back to a transparent model anchored on the publisher's recommended specification and label the result as a model-based estimate with a wide range and low confidence. We do not invent benchmark numbers.

Reporting incorrect information

Every requirements page carries a Report an issue button. Tell us what is wrong, what the correct value should be, and ideally link the publisher's own page. Reports with a source are reviewed first, and corrections are applied to the database rather than patched on a single page.

How this site is funded

The site is free and intended to be supported by advertising. Ad slots are placed in fixed containers away from navigation and buttons, and the layout is designed to work with them empty — which is how it currently ships. We do not run affiliate links, and hardware suggestions come from the published requirement rather than from any commercial arrangement. If that ever changes, it will be disclosed on the page where it applies.

What we are not

We are not a benchmark site, and we do not run hardware tests ourselves. We do not claim to hold every game or every application. And we do not publish specifications for unannounced PC releases, however much traffic that would attract.