12:41Machine-translated from Azerbaijani by AIRead in Azerbaijani
Steam Survey: 32 GB of RAM Is the Most Common Choice, With a 42.22% Share
In the “Steam” platform’s hardware survey for September 2026, 32 GB of RAM was the most common memory capacity for the first time. Of the computers included in the survey, 42.22% have 32 GB of RAM. This figure increased by 4.77 percentage points in 1 month. The share of computers using 16 GB of RAM decreased by 3.38 percentage points. Their overall share fell to 37.82%. RAM is temporary memory used by programs while they are running.
Despite a severe shortage in the memory chip market, gamers are moving to higher RAM capacities. The share of computers using 24 GB of RAM increased by 0.34 percentage points. As a result, their share reached 2.56%. The share of 48 GB configurations also rose by 0.26 percentage points to 1.46%. At the same time, some manufacturers have begun releasing laptops with 8 GB of RAM again. “Microsoft” had called 16 GB of memory a practical starting point and 32 GB a comfortable choice for gaming. However, the company removed this recommendation after releasing “Surface” models with 8 GB of memory. One of the main reasons for growing RAM demand is that new games require more memory. “Minecraft,” whose system requirements had remained unchanged for 17 years, also raised its recommended RAM capacity to 16 GB earlier this year. Those using older computers have to switch to the “Java Edition” version or make do with older games. It appears that the memory shortage has not stopped the transition to 32 GB of RAM, but has merely delayed it.
The survey also shows that the gap between “AMD” and “Intel” in the processor market has narrowed. Across all platforms, “AMD” has a 48.37% share, while “Intel” has a 51.63% share. In May, “AMD’s” figure was slightly below 45%. If this growth continues, the company could become the leader within a few months. On “Windows” computers, “Intel” has a 52.59% share and “AMD” has a 47.41% share. The difference is larger among “Linux” users. On this operating system, “AMD” processors accounted for 66.18%, while “Intel” processors accounted for 33.71%. The “Steam” survey is not a scientific study and may not fully represent the entire computer market. Nevertheless, the fact that more than 38 million gamers are active on the platform at the same time makes the results noteworthy for the gaming PC market.
Despite a severe shortage in the memory chip market, gamers are moving to higher RAM capacities. The share of computers using 24 GB of RAM increased by 0.34 percentage points. As a result, their share reached 2.56%. The share of 48 GB configurations also rose by 0.26 percentage points to 1.46%. At the same time, some manufacturers have begun releasing laptops with 8 GB of RAM again. “Microsoft” had called 16 GB of memory a practical starting point and 32 GB a comfortable choice for gaming. However, the company removed this recommendation after releasing “Surface” models with 8 GB of memory. One of the main reasons for growing RAM demand is that new games require more memory. “Minecraft,” whose system requirements had remained unchanged for 17 years, also raised its recommended RAM capacity to 16 GB earlier this year. Those using older computers have to switch to the “Java Edition” version or make do with older games. It appears that the memory shortage has not stopped the transition to 32 GB of RAM, but has merely delayed it. The survey also shows that the gap between “AMD” and “Intel” in the processor market has narrowed. Across all platforms, “AMD” has a 48.37% share, while “Intel” has a 51.63% share. In May, “AMD’s” figure was slightly below 45%. If this growth continues, the company could become the leader within a few months. On “Windows” computers, “Intel” has a 52.59% share and “AMD” has a 47.41% share. The difference is larger among “Linux” users. On this operating system, “AMD” processors accounted for 66.18%, while “Intel” processors accounted for 33.71%. The “Steam” survey is not a scientific study and may not fully represent the entire computer market. Nevertheless, the fact that more than 38 million gamers are active on the platform at the same time makes the results noteworthy for the gaming PC market.