32GB dethrones 16GB as top RAM capacity in gaming rigs despite memory shortage

Despite being in the midst of an unprecedented memory chip shortage, it seems that gamers are still willing to invest in their gaming PCs to extract the best performance out of their favorite titles. The September 2026 Steam Survey results show that 42.22% of the surveyed units now have 32GB of system RAM — a 4.77% increase compared to the previous month — while 16GB configurations have shrunk by 3.38%, falling to just 37.82%.

We’ve also seen increases in “weird” memory configurations — 24GB has grown to 2.56%, increasing by 0.34%, while 48GB inched up to 1.46% after a 0.26% increase.

This comes as a surprise, as some manufacturers have reintroduced laptops with 8GB of RAM even as Microsoft called 16GB the new “practical starting point,” and recommended 32GB as the future-proof “no worries” configuration for gaming. It should be noted, though, that the company quietly erased this suggestion after it released 8GB base models for its Surface laptops a few months later.

It’s quite possible that memory capacities were always destined to increase for gamers, especially as titles become more demanding. Minecraft, which hasn’t updated its system requirements for 17 years and is known for being potato-PC-friendly, even increased its recommended memory to 16GB earlier this year, forcing players on older systems to switch to the Java Edition or play retro games instead. Because of that, the memory shortage may have merely postponed the inevitable reign of 32GB RAM on gaming PCs.

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(Image credit: Steam)

(Image credit: Steam)

Another metric we’ve been following in the survey results is AMD’s slow but relentless march toward taking away Steam Survey market share from Intel. Team Red’s 48.37% market share across all platforms is the highest we’ve seen so far this year, with Team Blue now at just 51.63%. The May 2026 Steam Survey showed AMD at a little under 45% — at this pace, it’s possible that it will overtake Intel in just a matter of months.

If we break it down by operating system, 52.59% of Windows users are on Intel, while 47.41% use AMD. Intel may have an advantage here compared to the overall result, but it’s just a tiny margin, and the trend shows that AMD is gaining ground month after month. The difference between Intel and AMD is more glaring when it comes to Linux users, with an overwhelming 66.18% preferring Team Red over Team Blue’s 33.71%.

The Steam Survey is far from scientific and may not even reflect the broader movement of the overall PC market. But with Steam reporting a peak of more than 38 million concurrent players at the time of writing, the survey still offers a useful snapshot of what’s happening in the gaming PC market.

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