Every DMA term explained in plain English
Plain-English definitions of the terms a DMA setup uses: FPGA, DTB, MMAP, DNA ID, donor, shadow config, FT601, CH347, EDID, fuser and HID.
Short answer
DMA terms come from FPGA development hardware: the FPGA is the card's chip, and firmware is the image flashed onto it. The DNA ID is that chip's serial, an MMAP is a memory layout file, and the DTB is the page-table address the reader must find. FT601 and CH347 are the card's two USB bridges, and EDID is the display description a fuser fakes.
On this page6
Why do DMA terms sound so unfamiliar?
None of this hardware was designed for games: a DMA card is an FPGA development board, and its flashing tools come from electronics work. The memory-analysis layer traces back to forensics software, and the vocabulary came with these parts. As a result, a first setup feels harder than it is, because the steps are simple but the terms are borrowed.
What each hardware part does
Each physical part of a DMA setup has a single job, and the table below lists all of them. If a support reply mentions a part that is not listed here, ask what it does before you buy it.
| Term | What it is | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| FPGA | A reprogrammable chip. The big square part in the middle of a DMA card. Its size class (35T, 75T, 100T) is how much logic it can hold. | On the card |
| DMA card | A PCIe or M.2 board built around that FPGA. It reads physical memory and streams it out over USB. | Game PC |
| FT601 | An FTDI USB 3 bridge chip. On most cards this is the data path — the port the second PC reads through. Needs the FTDI driver. | On the card |
| CH347 | A WCH USB-to-JTAG/SPI bridge. On most cards this is the flashing path — the port you push firmware through. Needs the CH347 driver. | On the card |
| Fuser | A small HDMI or DisplayPort box that mixes the second PC's overlay into the game PC's video signal, so ESP lands on your main monitor. | Between PC and monitor |
| HID device | Anything that presents itself to the game PC as a USB mouse or keyboard: KMBox, MAKCU, Teensy, Arduino. This is what moves the cursor. | Between mouse and game PC |
| Second PC | A separate Windows machine that runs the cheat software and talks to the card. Also called the cheat PC or reader PC. | Next to the game PC |
What the software terms mean
Four of these terms appear in error messages. Three of the five most common support tickets come from someone meeting one of them for the first time.
| Term | What it is | When you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| Firmware | The bitstream flashed onto the FPGA. It decides what PCIe device the game PC thinks it has plugged in. | Before anything works at all |
| DNA ID | A unique serial burned into the FPGA. Custom firmware is built against one DNA ID, so an image for someone else's card will not run on yours. | When ordering custom firmware |
| Donor / shadow config | The identity the firmware claims: the vendor ID, device ID and config space of a real PCIe card. A generic identity is easier to spot than a plausible one. | Reading a firmware product page |
| DTB | Directory Table Base — the CPU register value that points at the Windows kernel page tables. The software has to find it before it can resolve a single game address. | "Unable to locate valid DTB" |
| MMAP | A memory map file describing which physical address ranges are real RAM. It stops the reader probing addresses that make the machine hang. | Slow scans, missing ESP, DTB failures |
| EDID | The block of data a monitor sends upstream to describe itself. A fuser has to present a convincing one or you get a black screen. | Fuser gives no picture |
Warning
Why reading memory cannot move your mouse
The most useful distinction to learn is the one between reading memory and sending input. Reading memory gives you information, such as a radar, an ESP box or a loot list, but it cannot move your mouse. Moving the mouse needs a separate device that the game PC accepts as a real USB mouse. If a listing promises aim assistance but never mentions an input device, the setup is not complete, and you will end up buying twice.
Questions new buyers ask first
Is a DMA card the same thing as a cheat?
No. A DMA card is hardware that can read memory, and on its own it displays nothing and does nothing in a game. It needs firmware before the game PC can see it at all. It also needs game-specific software on the second PC to turn raw memory into a radar or ESP.
Do I need two computers?
For DMA, yes: the card sits in the gaming machine, and the software runs on a second Windows machine. That second machine can be a mini PC or a laptop, and it does not need a graphics card.
What does FPGA size change?
Size decides how much logic the firmware can contain and how much read throughput headroom the card has, so a 100T can hold a more complex image than a 35T. It is not a stealth rating, and a larger FPGA is not automatically safer.
Why does firmware have to be built for my specific card?
Custom firmware is bound to the FPGA's DNA ID, and the board layout also decides which USB bridge and flash chip the image has to drive. As a result, an image built for a different board can fail to enumerate or leave the card unresponsive.
Is any of this undetectable?
No, and anyone who says otherwise is trying to sell you something. Moving the cheat off the gaming PC removes a local software footprint. However, the PCIe device, the input device's USB descriptor and your behaviour in the match are all still there. Detection risk depends on firmware quality, configuration and how you play.
Sources
The FT601, CH347, DTB and MMAP entries come from the team's own bench work, as do the notes on which terms show up most in support tickets.
- 01AMD/Xilinx DS180, 7 Series FPGAs overview
the 35T, 75T and 100T size classes and how much logic each holds
docs.amd.com
- 02
- 03PCI configuration space overview (Wikipedia)
the vendor ID, device ID and config space a donor identity copies
en.wikipedia.org
- 04VESA E-EDID standard, release A2
what an EDID block is and what a monitor sends upstream
glenwing.github.io
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