In the July 2026 Steam Hardware & Software Survey published by Valve, the 16GB graphics memory (VRAM) tier reached 25.90%, surpassing the 8GB tier's 25.32% by 0.58 points. This made 16GB the single largest tier by VRAM capacity. However, this does not mean that a majority of Steam users are running 16GB GPUs. To avoid mistaking this small monthly shift for a direct statement about games' VRAM requirements or the performance hierarchy of GPUs, it's important to separate what the survey actually counts from the range of products that fall under "16GB GPU."
16GB Takes the Lead, But Only by 0.58 Points Over 8GB
In July's breakdown by VRAM capacity, 16GB stood at 25.90%, up 1.40 points from the previous month. 8GB came in at 25.32%, down 0.32 points month-over-month. Calculated from Valve's published figures, the gap between the two is just 0.58 points. 12GB registered 12.88%, and 24GB came in at 5.43%.
Combined, 16GB and 8GB account for 51.22%. What this shows is that these two large capacity tiers are running neck-and-neck—not that 16GB alone has become the majority. The fact that 16GB became the "most common tier" and the claim that "more than half of users have 16GB" are two different statements. 4GB stood at 5.94%, 6GB at 5.65%, and 2GB at 4.46%, meaning the capacity distribution isn't composed solely of 8GB and 16GB either.
The capacity-based survey doesn't break down GPU generation, product names, or whether the hardware is a laptop or desktop. So this month's table alone can't tell us whether the increase stems from new sales, upgrades from existing systems, an influx of used hardware, or shifts in the survey's respondent composition. There's also no basis for pinning down a single reason behind the shift toward 16GB.
VRAM Capacity Alone Doesn't Determine GPU Performance Rankings
It's also worth keeping in mind that the same GPU lineup can include both 8GB and 16GB versions. AMD's Radeon RX 9060 XT, for instance, comes in both 16GB and 8GB variants, both featuring 32 compute units and a boost clock of up to 3.13GHz. At launch, the suggested retail price was $349 for the 16GB version and $299 for the 8GB version.
These two products illustrate a case where capacity is simply a choice within the same product family. VRAM figures alone can't be used to rank overall GPU compute performance, generation, or per-game frame rates. AMD's own specification sheet makes it concrete that capacity cannot be treated as a performance tier in itself.
NVIDIA, too, has released both 16GB and 8GB versions of the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti from the Blackwell generation. Multiple product lines and configurations can fall under the "16GB" category. That's why the fact that Steam's 16GB share has overtaken 8GB reflects the ratio of capacity configurations—it is not an indicator of unit sales or performance superiority for any specific GPU.
An Opt-In Survey, and a Measurement Change in February
The Steam Hardware & Software Survey is a monthly tally, conducted by Valve, of the hardware and software running on Steam users' computers. Participation is voluntary and anonymous, and the standard display on the official page combines figures across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Both the scope and methodology differ from statistics that track overall market shipment volumes or the global installed base of PCs.
Furthermore, in a Steam Client Beta update on February 24, 2026, Valve stated that it fixed an issue where VRAM was not being correctly reported for certain graphics cards. For systems with multiple display adapters, Steam was also updated to select and report the adapter with the largest VRAM. When reading long-term trends in VRAM capacity, some caution is warranted regarding whether figures before and after February are truly comparable under the same conditions.
As a result, while July's 16GB lead stands as the confirmed official tally for that month, treating the difference from past months as a continuous trajectory of adoption rates requires care. Valve's July page doesn't disclose a breakdown of which GPU models or form factors contributed to the increase in 16GB.
CPU Core Count and System RAM Are Moving in Different Directions
In the same July survey, the 8-core physical CPU tier stood at 27.85%, up 0.38 points from the previous month. The 6-core tier came in at 27.52%, down 0.12 points, putting 8-core slightly ahead. While not quite as close as the 16GB-versus-8GB VRAM gap, CPU core counts also show two closely matched tiers sitting side by side.
However, the system RAM figures don't move in the same direction as VRAM. 16GB system RAM stood at 40.97%, down 0.60 points, while 8GB system RAM rose 0.22 points to 7.98%. Given that GPU VRAM at 16GB increased while system RAM at 16GB decreased in the same month, the two trends can't be explained by a single common factor.
What July's survey confirms is the current standing: 16GB VRAM has taken sole first place. Whether that gap holds or widens next month remains undetermined. Nor does this give game developers grounds to drop 8GB support. Looking ahead, the key things to watch in next month's data will be whether the gap between 16GB and 8GB persists, and whether Valve discloses a breakdown of which models or form factors are driving the growth in 16GB.