16GB GPUs and 8-core CPUs officially become the most popular configs on Steam — Latest hardware survey shows modern gaming's growing hunger for more resources
For the first time in Steam history, 8-core CPUs have overtaken 6-core CPUs and GPUs with 16GB of VRAM have overtaken 8GB GPUs. Even though the hardware survey doesn't represent everyone, it still indicates a paradigm shift for the mainstream market.
The popularity of hardware configurations on Steam has shifted significantly in July 2026, according to the latest hardware survey. 8-core CPUs now represent 27.85% of the userbase, surpassing 6-core chips for the first time. GPUs with 16GB of VRAM have become the most common, accounting for 25.9% of all Steam users, a 1.4% increase from June.
This marks the first time in the storefront's history that 16GB GPUs have surpassed 8GB GPUs, which now make up 25.32% of the userbase. The trend of demanding more resources for gaming has been ongoing since at least last year, with sales figures indicating a preference for 16GB GPUs. The obsolescence of 6-core CPUs and 8GB GPUs is not sudden but a gradual decline that has been observed in global customer preferences.
Factors contributing to this shift include the increasing reliance on ray tracing in modern games and the general trend of consumers opting for higher memory configurations, despite rising costs.
Written by urgent.news from Tom's Hardware's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
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