Source: Steam

Steam Hardware Survey August 2025: Key Changes, Trends, and Takeaways

RTX 4060 dethrones 3060, RTX 5070 leads current generation of Nvidia GPUs, Windows 11 60%+, RDNA 4 missing from GPU list, and other trends of Steam Hardware Survey Aug 2025.

By Simon Burov

Tech/Gaming Writer

September 8, 2025
10:50 pm
14 min read

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU Dethrones RTX 3060

The GeForce RTX 4060 is now the most common graphics card on Steam. According to the August 2025 Hardware & Software Survey, it accounts for 4.85%, ahead of the RTX 3060 at 4.79%; a narrow change at the top. These figures come directly from Valve’s public survey page.

The RTX 3060 was the fan-favorite mid-range GPU for months; let’s look at how the lead shifted recently (this sequence is documented across monthly recaps and community threads that track the Steam hardware chart):

The RTX 3060 led from September 2023 through January 2025.
In February, the desktop RTX 4060 graphics card briefly took the lead.
The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU led in April and June, while the RTX 3060 was back on top in May.
July swung back to the RTX 3060 video card, again.
And finally, in August, the desktop RTX 4060 GPU got top 1.

The takeaway is practical: Steam’s top GPU spot now rotates with supply cycles and laptop refreshes. Laptop hardware parts can temporarily lead the combined chart, but the mainstream desktop RTX 4060 GPU has now established itself as the most used model, while RTX 3060 is unlikely to be the top GPU again.

Nvidia RTX 5070 GPU is Current-Gen Leader Instead of RTX 5060

In Steam’s August 2025 Hardware & Software Survey, the GeForce RTX 5070 is the most-used 50-series card at 1.57% share. The RTX 5060 sits at 1.01%, with the RTX 5060 Ti and RTX 5070 Ti GPUs at 0.74% and 0.75%.

The pattern suggests early adoption clustering around the mid-upper SKU rather than the entry model. On Steam, the RTX 5070 is the leading current-gen Nvidia card, while the RTX 5060 sits below despite its lower price and 8 GB baseline.

Part of the slower uptake around the RTX 5060 GPUs likely originates from its 8 GB VRAM configuration, which reviewers flagged as a constraint (especially versus 16 GB variants) and, in some cases, linked to stutters, texture issues, or crashes in specific titles. Nvidia’s launch also drew criticism for withholding pre-release drivers, which limited independent day-one testing and raised skepticism among users.

That said, the RTX 5060 got a significant month-over-month gain in August (+0.41%), so the gap could narrow as supply improves and OEM/prebuilt models increase.

Few AMD Desktop GPUs Near Top and RDNA 4 Missing

In the August 2025 Steam Hardware & Software Survey, the top 21 discrete GPU models are all Nvidia. The first desktop AMD Radeon graphics cards appear further down the list: Radeon RX 6600 with 0.89%, after another nine Nvidia GPUs—Radeon RX 580 with 0.67%, and Radeon RX 6700 XT and 7800 XT at 0.65 and 0.64% of surveyed PCs. That positioning highlights how rare modern AMD cards are in the most-used tier on Steam right now.

AMD’s latest generation is also missing from the chart: RDNA 4 (AMD Radeon RX 9070/9060) doesn’t show up in the top for August at all. The pattern aligns with the market data: Nvidia dominates the discrete desktop GPU market with 94% share, while AMD gets the other 6%. This context aligns with what Steam’s usage snapshot reflects.

Partly a Survey Caveat

But there’s a caveat. As multiple Reddit users report, if you have both an AMD iGPU and an AMD discrete GPU (with the iGPU left enabled), Steam can record the iGPU as the primary hardware and skip the discrete graphics card. That partly explains the absence of some AMD desktop models and why entries of integrated AMD GPUs are as high as 2.11% for AMD Radeon(TM) Graphics and 1.92% for AMD Radeon Graphics.

It’s unclear whether the root cause is Steam’s detection, AMD’s drivers, or Windows’ device enumeration. Because of the existence of this problem, it’s only logical to assume that other, less visible or less frequent issues may also be affecting the survey results.

8 GB VRAM Is Still Most Common and Keeps Growing

8 GB of video memory remains the clear leader with 35.03% of respondents, up by 1.37% from the previous month. 12 GB holds second place at 19.30%, while 16 GB is still a single-digit share at 6.80% (albeit up slightly by 0.22%). These figures are from Valve’s official survey dashboard.

For modern AAA game settings and PC system requirements pages, this distribution matters. More than half of Steam’s active users are clustered in the 8-12 GB range, so Medium or High texture presets and streaming budgets should be designed to sit comfortably within that envelope, with 8 GB as the baseline that avoids sudden VRAM spikes, stutters, and FPS drops.

Ultra texture packs and heavier ray tracing should be reserved for 12-16 GB and above, with clear guidance in requirements, menus, and tooltips. For example, Techland recently posted unusually detailed PC specs for Dying Light: The Beast (and we analyze them in a dedicated guide).

The trend also explains why many 2025 AAA titles list 8 GB as the minimum and 12 GB as the recommended video memory. While the larger 12-16 GB VRAM tiers are slowly growing (+0.30%), the mass market is still limited to 8 GB due to hardware availability.

16 GB RAM Still on Top, But 32 GB Is Catching Up

In Steam’s August 2025 survey, 16 GB RAM remains the most common configuration at 41.88% (-0.04%). 32 GB of system memory continues to rise and has reached 36.46% (+1.31 %), narrowing the gap to 5.38%. 64 GB sits at 4.26% (+0.03%), while 8.11% (-0.92%) of Steam users are still using 8 GB of RAM.

For game performance guides and PC system requirements pages, this split supports a minimum RAM of 16 GB and a recommended 32 GB stance for modern AAA titles. Heavier presets (high-resolution textures, larger streaming pools, background capture/overlays) benefit from the extra headroom. At the same time, 16 GB remains serviceable for average settings when VRAM and CPU budgets are in check with background tasks minimized.

The multi-month trend favors 32 GB RAM setups: likely, 32 GB to overtake 16 GB as the most common system memory size before year-end, helped by decreasing DDR5 prices (while DDR4 keeps rising due to the market conditions) and new prebuilt systems shipping with higher RAM by default.

Windows 11 Crosses 60% on Steam

Now, Windows 11 accounts for 60.39% (+0.49%) of all respondents within the combined OS view, while Windows 10 64-bit is 35.08% (-0.11%). This locks in Windows 11 as the default target OS for modern PC gaming on Steam.

For developers, this shift justifies prioritizing Windows 11 features and defaults (modern DX12 paths, newer scheduler behavior on hybrid CPUs, and current WDDM stacks) while keeping Windows 10 as a compatibility baseline. The combined share also means compatibility and installer logic can assume Win11-ready systems in most cases, with clear fallbacks for remaining Win10 users.

Battlefield 6 targets Windows 11 by default at the recommended requirements, making it one of the first modern AAA titles to do so. BF6 also mandates security hardening (UEFI Secure Boot and TPM 2.0) for EA’s Javelin Anticheat, and other multiplayer shooters are signaling similar requirements now. Windows 10 remains a supported minimum, but if your PC is still running on legacy BIOS/MBR, moving to UEFI and enabling Secure Boot is quickly becoming a requirement for competitive online play.

CPUs: Six Cores Remains No. 1; Intel vs AMD Split 60-40

In the Steam Hardware & Software Survey (August 2025), 6-core CPUs lead at 29.81% (+0.52%), followed by 8-core at 24.74% (-0.11%). The share of 4-core CPUs is dwindling at 14.24% (-1.22%), driven mainly by older Intel Core processors. The 10-core tier continues to grow, reaching 7.37% this month (+0.64%).

Vendor share sits at Intel 59.76% (+0.24%) and AMD 40.16% (-0.23%), confirming a near-60/40 split among Steam users. Earlier this year, AMD CPUs gained momentum; that growth has now stalled. That said, AMD will likely regain some ground as two budget Zen 5 desktop CPUs reach retail, expanding low-cost AM5 options for DIY and prebuilts.

For 1080p/1440p game performance guidance, that distribution makes 6C/12T the practical baseline, with 8-core CPUs providing steadier 1% lows in CPU-bound scenes, background capture/overlays, or high-tickrate competitive multiplayer. Survey round-ups repeat the same picture: six cores remain the most common configuration among players, and Windows 11’s scheduler improvements continue to benefit hybrid Intel CPUs.

Crucially, many modern engines scale with threading and large L3 cache rather than pure core frequency. That’s why AMD’s 3D V-Cache chips top performance charts: the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (and earlier 7800X3D) consistently outperforms other CPUs.

Primary Display Resolution: 1080p Remains on Top

Steam’s August 2025 survey keeps 1920×1080 resolution firmly in the lead at 54.44% (+0.07%) of primary displays. 2560×1440 follows at 20.19% (+0.21%), while 2560×1600 (which is 16:10 instead of 16:9) continues to climb and now accounts for 5.09% (+0.51%), a rise driven mainly by modern gaming laptops and 16:10 monitors.

Read the trend as a steady move up rather than a jump to 4K. 1080p stays dominant because it hits performance targets on mainstream GPUs and pairs well with the budget 120 Hz+ monitors. 1440p keeps adding share as mid-range graphics cards handle it more comfortably, and upscalers lower the performance hit.

The quickest growth occurs at 16:10, with 2560×1600 resolution spreading to new gaming laptops and monitors, which boosts usage even without an explicit user choice. Expect 1080p to remain the baseline while 1440p advances at a measured pace; if you plan to switch to 16:10, double-check HUD scale/FOV sliders and text size to avoid clipping in your favorite games.

Storage: 250-499 GB Is Most Common Range of Free Disk Space Now

Steam’s August 2025 survey shows a slight but notable shift in free-space distribution: 250-499 GB is now the most common bar at 22.71% (+0.46%), narrowly ahead of 100-249 GB at 22.69% (+0.13%), 10-99 GB at third place with 14.46% (-1.04%). The 100–249 GB range of available space was the most popular (and unlikely intentional) for many months.

Whatever the reason: high-capacity SSDs becoming more affordable, or modern AAA games actually applying asset optimization (like Call of Duty, whose launcher got a lot thinner recently) and listing high-resolution texture packs as separate downloads (like Battlefield 6, as confirmed by its system requirements), Steam users finally have more available space on their SSDs.

The takeaway is straightforward for buyers and PC builders: 1-2 TB SSD is the sensible default for a gaming PC in 2025. Most modern AAA games are close to 100 GB now, and this does not include DLCs, post-launch content, and weighty patches, if we talk about live-service titles. For capacity-first builds, 8 TB NVMe options now exist in the consumer market, like Samsung’s new 9100 Pro 8 TB, but pricing keeps them in enthusiast territory for now.

VR on Steam: Headset Usage Increased in August

Steam’s August hardware survey shows “Steam users with VR headsets” at 1.63% (+0.22%). Within the headset mix, Oculus Quest 2 leads at 31.35% (-1.50%), Meta Quest 3 climbed to 23.21% (+6.99%), and Valve Index sits at 13.30% (-3.61%).

PC VR remains niche but active, with usage concentrated on the Quest ecosystem and a long tail of other headsets. Valve Index keeps losing positions, because there’s essentially the single game where you need it (Half-Life: Alyx, ideally with the Valve Index Controllers). At the same time, other VR options remain a lot more affordable without downsides.

TL;DR

August reshuffled the Steam hardware survey in several ways. The RTX 4060 moved past the RTX 3060 GPU, while the RTX 5070 leads the current 50-series Nvidia GPUs. VRAM continues to sit at 8 GB, while RAM is on a steady move from 16 GB to 32 GB. Windows 11 cleared 60%. Resolution trends remain mid-tier: 1080p holds first, 1440p keeps growing, and, surprisingly, 2560×1600 had the most significant gains. Free space shifted up a notch to 250-499 GB. AMD desktop GPUs are scarce near the top. VR rose a bit on the strength of the Meta Quest 3 headset.

For players, the picture is straightforward:

It’s finally time to move to Windows 11.
For a stable gaming experience with overlays, a browser, and Discord running in the background, 32 GB of RAM is becoming the practical target (16 GB still works, but with tighter headroom).
Large SSDs are getting cheaper, while more studios are trimming installs and splitting high-resolution textures—both working in the user’s advantage.
If you’re still on a 4-core workhorse like the Intel Core i7-7700K, plan an upgrade, because modern AAA games and engines scale with threads more than raw clocks.
As for VRAM, 8 GB will remain usable for a while, but expect to lower texture quality and skip heavier graphical settings more often.