Key information
The September 2026 Steam Survey reveals that 32GB has overtaken 16GB as the most popular system RAM capacity in gaming PCs, reaching 42.22% after a 4.77% increase from the previous month. Meanwhile, 16GB setups dropped by 3.38% down to 37.82%, despite an ongoing unprecedented memory chip shortage.
Alternative memory configurations also saw growth, with 24GB rising to 2.56% and 48GB increasing to 1.46%. This shift occurs as increasingly demanding titles drive players to upgrade, alongside Microsoft previously recommending 32GB as a future-proof gaming configuration before later removing the suggestion.
In CPU market share on Steam, AMD reached a record 48.37% across all platforms, closing in on Intel which sits at 51.63%. The trend indicates AMD is steadily gaining ground, particularly on Linux where it holds an overwhelming 66.18% preference compared to Intel's 33.71%.
