The latest Steam Survey appears to show that gamers blessed with systems packing 32GB or more RAM and 1TB or more storage are a dwindling breed. This survey is posted without comment by Valve, as usual, but appears to show a significant proportional rise in gamers using 8GB and 16GB RAM PCs, which occurs largely at the expense of the 32GB brigade. The latest stats also show a noticeable increase in storage capacity poverty in the last month. Are the symptoms of the AI industry-induced components crunch now becoming evident among the PC gaming public?
The AI-pocalypse delivered components crunch has been in the headlines for months but it is still jarring to see it impact the vast PC gaming landscape. When we’ve browsed desktop and laptop PCs for the best gaming PC deals over the past months, the trend is clear. Systems that look like they are designed for gamers or enthusiasts are now frequently fitted with just 16GB of RAM as standard, and also feature smaller storage devices that one might have expected. But to see the Steam Survey suggesting that the share of 32GB systems has now collapsed by -5.16% is startling. Only last month, 32GB was the most popular configuration among gamers according to the same survey.
RAM is probably the hardest-hit component segment of AI-driven demand so far. We maintain a RAM price tracking page at Tom’s Hardware and the current state of the market means that DIYers or upgraders need to spend about $250 for 16GB DDR5 or $450 for 32GB DDR5.
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