Steam Hardware Survey July 2024: Insights

Steam’s monthly hardware and software survey has long been a barometer of the gaming landscape, revealing the shifting preferences of millions of gamers worldwide. The July 2024 survey offers a snapshot of the current trends in PC gaming hardware, showcasing everything from dominant resolutions to the types of CPUs and GPUs most gamers use. Let’s delve into the data and draw some conclusions about the current state of PC gaming.

1080p: The Resolution That Won’t Quit

One of the most striking statistics from the July 2024 survey is the continued dominance of 1080p as the primary display resolution for 57.38% of users. This enduring preference raises the question: why has 1080p remained the resolution of choice for so long?

The answer lies in a combination of factors. First and foremost, 1080p strikes the perfect balance between performance and visual fidelity for the majority of gamers. Most gaming rigs, particularly those in the mid-range category, can handle 1080p gaming at high frame rates without breaking a sweat. For competitive gamers, higher frame rates often trump higher resolutions, making 1080p the sweet spot.

Moreover, while 1440p and 4K monitors have become more affordable, they still represent a significant investment, not just in the display itself but also in the accompanying hardware. Higher resolutions require more powerful GPUs to maintain smooth gameplay, and as we’ll discuss later, many gamers are not equipped with the ultra-enthusiast tier of graphics cards required to push beyond 1080p.

The Elusive High-End Graphics Cards

One of the most telling statistics from the survey is the minuscule percentage of users (less than 0.90%) with ultra-enthusiast GPUs like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090. This begs the question: why are these top-tier cards so out of reach for the average gamer?

Nvidia and other GPU manufacturers built their reputations on delivering cutting-edge gaming performance, yet their flagship models are increasingly inaccessible. The primary reason is cost. The RTX 4090, for instance, is priced well beyond the budget of most gamers, often costing more than an entire mid-range gaming PC.

Additionally, the diminishing returns on performance for gamers playing at 1080p or 1440p make it hard to justify the investment in such high-end hardware. The reality is that most games do not fully utilize the power of these top-tier cards, especially at resolutions below 4K. For the average gamer, a more modest GPU like the RTX 3060, which is currently the most popular card among survey participants (5.71%), offers more than enough power to run modern games at high settings.

The Decline of Dual-Core CPUs

Another significant shift in the gaming hardware landscape is the near extinction of dual-core CPUs, which now account for less than 6% of users. This marks a dramatic fall from grace for a processor configuration that once dominated the market in the early 2000s.

The decline of dual-core CPUs is a direct response to the limitations of Moore’s Law and the increasing demands of modern gaming. As games have become more complex and graphically intensive, the need for more processing power has grown. This is where multi-core CPUs come into play.

The survey shows that 6-core CPUs are now the most popular choice among gamers, representing 32.86% of users. When combined with 8-core CPUs, they account for approximately 52% of all users. This shift towards multi-core processors is not just about raw power; it’s about efficiency. Multi-core CPUs can handle more tasks simultaneously, which is critical for modern games that require more from the CPU, especially in scenarios involving complex AI, physics calculations, and real-time streaming.

Interestingly, even enthusiast-level CPUs with 10, 12, 16, and 24 cores are beginning to carve out a niche, now accounting for 17.41% of users. These processors, while not necessary for most gaming applications, are popular among gamers who also engage in content creation, streaming, or other tasks that benefit from additional cores.

Storage Wars: The Rise of 1TB+ Drives

The survey also highlights another trend: the increasing storage demands of modern gamers. A majority of users (55.89%) now have over 1TB of total hard drive space. This reflects the growing size of game installations, which often require tens or even hundreds of gigabytes of storage space. With the rise of 4K textures, expansive open-world games, and digital game libraries, the need for substantial storage capacity has never been greater.

Moreover, 21.78% of users report having 100GB to 249GB of free space, suggesting that many gamers are regularly managing their storage, likely uninstalling and reinstalling games as needed. This highlights a growing challenge for developers and gamers alike: managing large game libraries within the constraints of available storage.

VR: Niche But Growing

Finally, the survey provides insights into the adoption of VR headsets. The Oculus Quest 2 remains the most popular headset, used by 39.66% of those who own VR equipment. While VR remains a niche within the broader gaming community, its steady growth suggests that it’s here to stay.

VR adoption has been slow due to high costs and the need for powerful hardware, but the increasing affordability and accessibility of headsets like the Quest 2 are beginning to lower these barriers. As more developers create content specifically for VR, we can expect this segment to grow, albeit at a gradual pace.

Conclusion: The Mid-Range Reigns Supreme

The July 2024 Steam Hardware Survey underscores a key point: the majority of gamers are operating within the mid-range of hardware, opting for configurations that offer the best value for performance. While the high-end, ultra-enthusiast gear gets the headlines, it’s the mainstream hardware—1080p displays, mid-range GPUs, and 6-core CPUs—that truly defines the PC gaming landscape.

As developers continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible in gaming, it will be interesting to see how these trends evolve. Will 1440p or 4K finally overtake 1080p? Will ultra-enthusiast hardware become more accessible? Only time will tell, but for now, it’s clear that value and practicality are the driving forces behind the choices of most PC gamers.