- Valve’s new Steam Hardware & Software survey showcases a gradual decline in 16GB RAM utilization and a rise in 32GB RAM utilization
- This comes as extra really useful system necessities for video games embody 32GB of RAM
- 32GB of RAM may help enhance body occasions and scale back stutters in poorly optimized video games
With new video games launching on PC every year, avid gamers are sometimes met with poorly optimized titles, even on the very best gaming PCs, or larger {hardware} calls for in the end impacting weaker spec {hardware} – and that is why customers are upgrading one essential element of their methods.
As reported by Tom’s Hardware, Valve’s newest Steam Hardware & Software survey outcomes showcase a gradual decline in 16GB RAM utilization from 43.12% to 41.67% and a gentle enhance in 32GB RAM utilization from 32.85% to 35.42%, between March 2025 to August 2025.
While it is not significantly an enormous drop for 16GB RAM utilization, the two.57% enhance on the 32GB of RAM aspect should not come as a shock. A big variety of new triple-A video games advocate 32GB of RAM for good efficiency. This doesn’t suggest 16GB of RAM is not viable in gaming situations, however avid gamers are greater than seemingly going to run into stutters or hiccups in video games that depend on extra RAM.
This is notable in video games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Dragon’s Dogma 2. All of these titles are poorly optimized and are yet to receive thorough performance patches to quell stuttering and low FPS issues, but 32GB of RAM instead of 16GB eases things up with better frame times.
It’s also worth noting that more handheld gaming PC manufacturers are releasing 32GB RAM configurations, and while handheld gamers may not make up a significant portion of PC gamers overall, it’s a market that’s growing rapidly.
It’s also no secret that Microsoft’s Windows 11 has background processes happening constantly, some of which are unnecessary for gaming – so systems should have more RAM to compensate for this. Fortunately, RAM upgrades are affordable, at least compared to other components like the CPU or GPU.
Analysis: even if 16GB of RAM is fine for you, future proofing with 32GB of RAM is ideal
Having upgraded from 16GB of RAM to 32GB on both my main gaming PC and my handheld (Asus ROG Ally to Lenovo Legion Go S Z1 Extreme), I can say that the difference is certainly noticeable. While performance results are negligible in well-optimized games with minor frame rate gains, it’s certainly a bigger deal in games that run poorly on PC.
I’ve noticed that most of the latest games I’m playing on my Nvidia RTX 4080 Super rig are pushing far beyond 16GB of RAM – and yes, that’s while having other applications, like Mozilla Firefox, open in the background, and gaming at a 3440×1440 resolution on max graphics settings, but that just proves my point.
If you already have a powerful GPU and CPU, or you’re planning on upgrading in the near future, you’re likely going to be gaming at higher graphics settings and a higher resolution than 1080p. You may also have other content playing simultaneously, like I do, and that’s where 32GB of RAM will come into play.
Sooner or later, the majority of triple-A games will have 32GB of RAM as recommended for system requirements, so I advise acting on it now, before the current price hikes get worse.