THE CRUNCH
Gamers are upgrading their RAM even as a memory chip shortage bites. September 2026's Steam Survey shows 32GB configurations now lead the field at 42.22% of surveyed machines, up 4.77% on the previous month, while 16GB systems slipped 3.38% to 37.82%. The shift may have been coming regardless: even Minecraft, which has not updated its system requirements in 17 years, raised its recommended memory to 16GB earlier this year, a sign that games are steadily demanding more RAM.
The crossover comes despite an unprecedented memory chip shortage, which has pushed some manufacturers to reintroduce laptops with just 8GB of RAM. Oddball configurations are creeping up too: 24GB grew by 0.34% to 2.56%, while 48GB rose 0.26% to 1.46%.
Microsoft has called 16GB the new "practical starting point" and recommended 32GB as a future-proof "no worries" configuration for gaming, though it quietly removed that suggestion after releasing 8GB base models for its Surface laptops a few months later.
The same survey shows AMD closing in on Intel, reaching 48.37% share across all platforms, its highest this year, against Intel's 51.63%. Among Linux users the gap is far wider, with 66.18% on AMD. The survey is self-selected and far from scientific, but with Steam reporting a peak of more than 38 million concurrent players, it remains a useful snapshot of the gaming PC market.