NVIDIA's Laptop GPU Reclaims Top Spot in Steam Hardware Survey, AMD's Radeon RX 9000 Still Absent
As autumn draws to a close, a familiar face has once again ascended to the pinnacle of Steam's hardware survey: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU. After a brief hiatus from the top spot in October, this mobile powerhouse has reclaimed its throne, showcasing its enduring popularity among PC gamers. This shift signifies a dynamic interplay at the top of the charts, with the RTX 3060, last month's leader, now settling into a close second.
Mobile Dominance and Shifting Sands
The RTX 4060 Laptop GPU now boasts a commanding 4.44% share, marking a 0.14% increase and underscoring its dominance in the portable gaming arena. Following closely is the RTX 3060, which experienced a slight dip of 0.14% to 4.33%, suggesting a simple rotation of leadership rather than a significant decline. The desktop variant of the RTX 4060 also holds a strong position, albeit with a minor 0.02% decrease, settling at 4.15%. This top-tier battle highlights the ongoing preference for NVIDIA's mid-range mobile solutions.
NVIDIA's New Generation Gains Traction
The latest generation of NVIDIA's graphics cards is steadily making inroads into the Steam hardware landscape. While the RTX 5060 Laptop variant remains stagnant, other newer models are showing promising growth. The desktop RTX 5070 has emerged as a significant gainer, climbing 0.35% to a 2.23% share. Close behind are the RTX 5060 (1.62%; +0.32%), RTX 5060 Ti (1.2%; +0.21%), and RTX 5070 Ti (1.14%; +0.19%). Notably, the RTX 5070 has surpassed the RTX 4070 (2.16%; +0.04%) and is now knocking on the door of the top 10, currently occupying the 11th position. This upward trend for NVIDIA's newer offerings suggests a gradual but consistent adoption by the gaming community.
VRAM Trends and Integrated Graphics Surge
Beyond specific GPU models, the survey also reveals evolving trends in VRAM allocation. Integrated graphics, with an impressive 512GB of video memory, have seen a 0.24% increase to 7.31%. Graphics cards featuring 12GB of VRAM also experienced a solid 0.25% rise to 19.22%, while those with 16GB saw the most substantial growth, up 0.65% to 8.13%. Despite this expansion of higher VRAM capacities, the majority of users (33.36%) still rely on GPUs with 8GB of memory, though this segment has seen a slight decrease of 0.1%.
AMD's Continued Struggle in the Dedicated GPU Market
The situation for AMD's dedicated graphics cards remains a point of concern. Even with the launch of their latest architectures, discrete Radeon GPUs are conspicuously absent from the top tiers of the Steam hardware survey. The most popular offerings, the RX 6600 (0.89%; -0.03%) and RX 7800 XT (0.88%; +0.13%), languish far down the rankings. Even more strikingly, the much-anticipated Radeon RX 9000 series has yet to make any significant impact, despite some visibility at major retailers. This continued underperformance paints a bleak picture for AMD's discrete GPU market share, which struggles to break beyond 6%. This is a disheartening scenario given that several months have passed since their release.
AMD's Processor Strength Contrasts GPU Weakness
In stark contrast to their GPU woes, AMD is enjoying considerable success in the processor market. Ryzen CPUs continue to gain ground, capturing 42.61% of the market (+0.52%) and steadily eroding Intel's dominance, which now stands at 57.3% (-0.52%). This trend is unlikely to reverse until Intel unleashes its next generation of promising processors. This duality highlights AMD's strengths in one area and their significant challenges in another.
Windows 11 Ascends as Windows 10 Declines
On the operating system front, Windows 11 continues its upward trajectory among Steam gamers, now accounting for 65.59% of users, a substantial 2.02% increase. This surge comes at the expense of Windows 10, whose share has dipped below the one-third mark, falling to 29.06% (-2.08%). This migration is noteworthy, especially considering recent reports of potential performance dips in Windows 11 for gaming. It appears the allure of the latest OS, perhaps driven by new features or a push from Microsoft, is outweighing these concerns for many gamers.
Economic Headwinds Loom for GPU Market
Looking ahead, the current trends appear relatively stable, with no immediate seismic shifts expected. However, the recent surge in memory prices presents a looming economic headwind. This inflationary pressure is anticipated to translate into higher costs for components that rely heavily on memory, including graphics cards, potentially impacting adoption rates for even the most popular GPUs in the coming months.
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