Escapades into the World of CoD Game Cheating

On By MuttiIn Hardware hacking, Random

Building a Dual-PC DMA Hardware Setup: Components, Wiring, and Configuration

I was recently asked by someone to help setup their gaming computer for Direct Memory Access cheating for Call of Duty. I don’t play CoD or run game cheats, but this request peaked my interest because of the technique deployed. The goal is to give the video game player an advantage over their gaming opponents by using cheats like, knowing where opponents are located or automatic gun aims. All this must be done without the game publishers detecting the gamer’s computer has any hardware or software cheats installed. A way to achieve this is to install a PCIe card that can access the gaming computers RAM, and send this to a second machine, that reads the dumped memory, and analyze it for data structures related to the game.

Below is a brief capture of the parts and sites used in helping to put the rig together.

Setting up a dual-computer Direct Memory Access (DMA) environment requires coordinating PCIe hardware, video signal fusion, and serial USB input bridging between two separate machines. By offloading memory reading, overlay rendering, and input processing onto a secondary computer, the primary gaming desktop remains dedicated strictly to running the main application.

In this post, I break down the hardware ecosystem, physical cabling layout, driver and firmware steps, and the reference websites I used during my research and build process.

💻 Hardware Architecture & Components

The setup revolves around two computers connected via three hardware intermediaries: a PCIe DMA board, a hardware video fuser, and an ESP32-based USB mouse emulator.

  • Primary Gaming PC: Alienware Aurora R15 Desktop (houses the internal PCIe DMA card and runs the primary application).
  • Secondary Control PC: Windows Gaming Laptop (handles background loaders, radar/overlay processing, and serial COM port communication).
  • DMA Board: DICHEN Official 100T FPGA DMA Card (Silver Gray, PCILeech-compatible) with USB-C connectivity.
  • Video Overlay Fuser: DICHEN 4K DisplayPort 1.4 Mixer (Powered by AMD), capable of blending two video signals into a single monitor output (supports up to 4K @ 120Hz, 2K @ 240Hz, or 1080p @ 360Hz).
  • Input Controller: Immortal MAKCU (MAKCM V3) ESP32 DMA Mouse Emulator featuring pre-flashed Passthrough v3 firmware and stability-enhanced V3 PCB capacitors.

> [Insert Photo: DICHEN 100T FPGA DMA Card, DICHEN 4K DisplayPort Fuser, and MAKCU V3 Box & Cables]

🔌 Step-by-Step Physical Cabling

Getting the physical routing right is essential before installing any drivers or opening diagnostic tools. Here is how the three hardware bridges connect the two systems:

1. Installing and Routing the 100T DMA Card

  1. Power down the Alienware Aurora R15 desktop and install the DICHEN 100T FPGA DMA Card into an open PCIe slot on the motherboard.
  2. Plug the high-speed USB-C data cable into the rear bracket port of the DMA card.
  3. Connect the other end of the data cable directly into a USB 3.0 or Type-C port on the secondary laptop.

> [Insert Photo: Rear I/O of the Alienware Aurora R15 showing the installed DMA bracket and connected USB/Display cables]

2. Connecting the 4K Video Fuser

  1. Connect the primary GPU output from the Alienware desktop into Input 1 on the DICHEN 4K Fuser using a DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.1 cable.
  2. Connect the video output from the secondary laptop into Input 2 on the 4K Fuser.
  3. Run a single output cable from the 4K Fuser directly into the primary gaming monitor.
  4. On the secondary laptop, press Win + P and select Extend these displays so the laptop outputs a dedicated secondary display feed into the fuser without mirroring its main screen.

3. Wiring the MAKCU V3 Mouse Emulator

The MAKCU V3 uses a three-port USB 2.0 bridging layout (USB1, USB2, and USB3) with 1.5m shielded USB 2.0 cables:

  1. USB1 (Game PC Output): Connect from the USB1 port on the MAKCU V3 to a rear USB port on the Alienware desktop. The desktop recognizes this connection as a standard physical mouse.
  2. USB2 (Management/Control Port): Connect from the USB2 port on the MAKCU V3 to a USB port on the secondary laptop for serial COM communication.
  3. USB3 (Physical Mouse Input): Plug the physical gaming mouse (Logitech G series) directly into the USB3 port on the MAKCU V3 unit to complete the hardware passthrough loop.

> [Insert Photo: Overhead view of the full desk setup showing the Alienware desktop, secondary laptop, 4K Fuser, and MAKCU V3 wiring]

⚙️ Software, Firmware, and Driver Configuration

Once all cables are seated and both systems are powered on, the software configuration takes place entirely on the secondary control laptop:

  • DMA FPGA Firmware Flashing: The 100T FPGA board uses custom 1:1 emulated firmware (configured to mimic a standard PCIe peripheral such as a Wi-Fi or audio card) flashed via its JTAG port using a CH347 FPGA programming tool.
  • CH343 Serial Driver Installation: Install the WCH CH343 USB UART driver on the secondary laptop so Windows recognizes the MAKCU V3 connection under Ports (COM & LPT) in Device Manager.
  • MAKCU Diagnostic & Port Verification: Open the browser-based MAKCU Toolkit on the laptop to verify that all three ports are communicating properly in Forwarding or Direct mode and note the assigned COM port number ( ensuring only one application accesses the COM port at a time).
  • Loader & COM Port Synchronization: Launch the client configuration profile (Blurred.gg) on the secondary laptop and assign the identified CH343 COM port number inside the loader settings panel to synchronize input adjustments with the MAKCU V3 unit.

🌐 Websites & Resources Used

During the build and troubleshooting process, I relied on the following portals for wiring diagrams, drivers, and hardware documentation:

  • MAKCU Official Toolkit & Documentation (https://makcu.com/toolkit/ & https://makcu.com/): Used on the secondary laptop to verify the three-port USB wiring layout (USB1 to Game PC, USB2 to Control PC, USB3 to Mouse), check firmware status, and test passthrough responsiveness.
  • Immortal Tech Support (https://immortaltech.net): Referenced for MAKCU V3 ESP32 hardware documentation, Passthrough v3 release notes, and CH343 serial driver downloads.
  • Dichen Technology Official Portal (http://www.dckj686.com & https://dichen.store): Listed on the FPGA video processor packaging; used for 100T DMA board specifications, 4K Fuser resolution/refresh rate modes, and hardware setup guides.
  • Blurred Software Platform (https://blurred.gg): Used on the secondary laptop to manage the software loader profile, configure overlay settings for the video fuser, and bind the MAKCU COM port.

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