Valve’s monthly Hardware and Software Survey for September 2026 shows 32GB of system memory has become the most common configuration among Steam users. These systems accounted for 42.22% of all sampled gaming rigs that month. That’s a 4.77-point rise from August, when 16GB still held the top spot.

The shift appears across Windows, Mac, and Linux machines, though it shows up most clearly on Windows. Roughly 43% of Windows gaming PCs in the September sample ran 32GB, up 4.81 points from the previous month. Sixteen-gigabyte systems dropped to 37.6% of Windows machines, a decline of 3.47 points.

Eight-gigabyte configurations ranked third overall at just over 6%. Around 1% of systems still used 4GB. At the high end, almost 4% of devices carried 64GB, and about 0.5% used more than that.

Windows remains the clear leader for Steam gamers. It powered 95% of all participating devices in September. Linux came next at 3%, though the fragmented nature of its distributions kept any single one from reaching double-digit share. macOS accounted for only 1.92% of the sample.

Within Windows, version 11 continued its climb and sat at 71% of devices—a small gain over August. Windows 10 held 23.6% of the group.

Memory Configurations at a Glance

Across the full Steam sample the ranking looked like this:

  • 32GB: 42.22%
  • 16GB: the previous leader, now second and declining on Windows
  • 8GB: just over 6%
  • 4GB: around 1%
  • 64GB: almost 4%
  • Above 64GB: about 0.5%

These figures come from the September 2026 Steam Hardware Survey and reflect the systems Steam users actually run when they launch games.