Valve has published its Steam Hardware & Software Survey for October 2026, and the biggest moves are in memory. Sixteen gigabytes of RAM is once again the most common configuration among Steam users at 41.42%, up 3.60 points, while 32GB fell 5.16 points to 37.06%.
That swing lines up with what has been happening in stores. Memory prices have soared this year, and PC makers have been shipping more systems with smaller amounts of RAM while DIY builders struggle to find affordable larger kits. Video memory moved the same way, with 8GB cards edging back ahead of 16GB as the most common VRAM amount, according to Wccftech’s read of the data.
On graphics cards, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3060 is back at No. 1. September’s survey had shown a surprise surge for the RTX 5070, tied to a sudden spike in Chinese-language respondents, and that has settled down. Wccftech puts the RTX 3060 and RTX 5070 level at 3.78% each, so the top spot could change hands again next month.
Linux kept climbing to 3.95% of users, up 0.90 points, with CachyOS now the most common distribution in the survey ahead of SteamOS on the Steam Deck. Windows still dominates at 93.70%, with Windows 11 at 72.51% and Windows 10 sliding to 21.11%. macOS sits at 2.35%.
The VR table has a new arrival near the top. Valve’s Steam Frame headset launched in mid-September, and October was its first full month on the market. Its share of VR headsets jumped from 0.41% to 4.13%, PC Gamer notes, enough to pass the Rift S, PS VR2, original Vive and Bigscreen Beyond and land at No. 6. Meta’s Quest 3 still leads by a wide margin, and both Steam Frame models remain backordered. Overall, 1.75% of Steam users had a VR headset connected.
The Steam Frame is now Valve’s only headset on sale after the company discontinued the Valve Index in October. As always, the survey is opt-in and samples only a slice of Steam’s users, so month-to-month swings should be read as trends rather than exact counts.
