16GB GPUs overtake 8GB cards in Steam survey

Valve’s July 2026 Steam Hardware & Software Survey records two firsts: 16GB graphics cards have overtaken 8GB models, while eight-core CPUs have moved ahead of six-core processors among Steam users.

Nvidia still dominates the GPU market, accounting for 72.77% of systems. AMD holds 18.74%, while Intel reaches 8.08%.

The GeForce RTX 3060 remains the most common individual graphics card, with a 3.71% share, although its position is gradually weakening. Newer RTX 5060-series cards are gaining ground: the GeForce RTX 5060 reached 2.85%, up 0.42 percentage points, while the RTX 5060 Ti reached 2.26%, up 0.31 points.

The GeForce RTX 5070 posted the largest increase among the listed cards. It now accounts for 0.53% of Steam systems, making it the most popular model in Nvidia’s 5000 series, according to the survey.

Memory and processor changes

Graphics cards with 16GB of VRAM are now the most widespread configuration, at 25.9%. They passed 8GB cards for the first time; the latter fell to 25.32%. The shares of cards with 12GB and 24GB of VRAM are also continuing to rise.

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The CPU breakdown has shifted in a similar way. Eight-core processors now lead for the first time, appearing in 27.85% of Steam systems. Six-core CPUs declined to 27.52%.

For system RAM, 16GB remains the most common capacity, installed in 40.97% of systems. Computers with 32GB continue to gain share and reached 36.93%.

Windows 11 and display resolutions

Windows 11 is installed on 70.26% of Steam gaming PCs, an increase of 0.5 percentage points in one month. Windows 10 fell to 23.3%. Linux accounts for 4.01%, and macOS for 2.32%.

Full HD remains the most common display resolution at 51.1%, but its share is gradually shrinking. 2560 × 1440 continues to gain popularity and now reaches 21.46%, while 4K monitors account for 4.95% of systems.