HardwareGraphics CardsRadeon graphics cards maybe aren’t as popular as AMD might like us to think they are, at least according to the Steam HW SurveyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareGraphics CardsRadeon graphics cards maybe aren’t as popular as AMD might like us to think they are, at least according to the Steam HW SurveyWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Future)
Valve’smonthly analysis of its Steam Hardware Survey for Januarywas published the other day and the figures made for interesting, if not unexpected, reading. For example, Windows 11 was making small gains against Windows 10, and the number of CPU cores and amount of system RAM are all steadily increasing. I’ve been monitoring the survey since last July, particularly the distribution of graphics cards, and one thing stands out: AMD RDNA 3 cards are virtually nowhere to be seen.
And to make matters worse, there are more of the original RDNA cards (e.g. theRadeon RX 5700 XT) in all the samples I’ve looked at compared to the latest architecture.
There’s a total of seven models in the RX 7000-series, launched over 13 months. That’s not a huge portfolio but it’s more than enough to ensure that, if the range was successful, then they would stand a good chance of appearing in the survey’s statistics. But it’s just one, and the most expensive desktop graphics card that AMD currently has. So what’s going on here?
Nvidia’s desktop GeForce RTX 40-series is only a little more diverse, with ten models on offer, though they have been around longer (15 months).Laptop manufacturers have generally snubbed Radeonsas the GPU of choice for their gaming products, but AMD has enjoyed huge success in thehandheld PC sector, as almost all of them sport a Radeon graphics chip.
Swipe to scroll horizontallySteam Hardware Survey (GPU distribution)Header Cell - Column 0JulAugSepOctNovDecJanAmpere26.5%27.6%28.9%33.0%27.3%25.9%26.0%Pascal14.6%18.9%18.4%15.7%17.9%16.5%16.2%Turing17.2%17.0%17.8%18.8%15.8%15.2%14.6%Ada Lovelace3.7%5.7%6.7%9.5%9.0%9.1%10.3%RDNA 22.8%3.0%2.8%2.1%3.3%3.3%3.4%GCN 4.02.6%2.5%2.4%1.8%2.5%2.4%2.4%Maxwell2.3%2.1%2.0%1.5%1.9%1.8%1.7%GCN 5.01.2%1.1%0.9%0.7%0.9%0.9%0.9%Kepler0.6%0.6%0.6%0.4%0.5%0.5%0.5%RDNA0.5%0.5%0.4%0.3%0.5%0.4%0.4%RDNA 30.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%0.3%
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Steam Hardware Survey (GPU distribution)Header Cell - Column 0JulAugSepOctNovDecJanAmpere26.5%27.6%28.9%33.0%27.3%25.9%26.0%Pascal14.6%18.9%18.4%15.7%17.9%16.5%16.2%Turing17.2%17.0%17.8%18.8%15.8%15.2%14.6%Ada Lovelace3.7%5.7%6.7%9.5%9.0%9.1%10.3%RDNA 22.8%3.0%2.8%2.1%3.3%3.3%3.4%GCN 4.02.6%2.5%2.4%1.8%2.5%2.4%2.4%Maxwell2.3%2.1%2.0%1.5%1.9%1.8%1.7%GCN 5.01.2%1.1%0.9%0.7%0.9%0.9%0.9%Kepler0.6%0.6%0.6%0.4%0.5%0.5%0.5%RDNA0.5%0.5%0.4%0.3%0.5%0.4%0.4%RDNA 30.2%0.2%0.2%0.2%0.3%0.3%0.3%
There’s also the nature of Valve’s hardware survey to consider, too. For example, we have no idea how large the sample size is or what the geographic distribution of the results is like, but this is why I’ve been accumulating the figures over the months to try and get a look at the broader view.
I’ve not included any GPU architecture listed as ‘Other’ or those with a lower sample count than RNDA 3 in the above table, but one can see that across half a year of surveying, Valve has recorded very few Radeon RX 7000-series cards in its sampling.
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AMD enjoys better sales figures in some countries compared to others, and there’s always the possibility that these locations are under-represented in the sampling. Internet/gaming cafes in the Southeast Asia market can often skew the GPU results heavily towards Nvidia, but even accounting for that, you’d think there would be more than one Radeon 7000-series card in the listings. Especially since there are some really old and very obscure GPUs still turning up.
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
Your next upgrade
(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
(Image credit: Future)
Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
However, those figures are based on the number of benchmark results uploaded in a given period, and one user could theoretically submit hundreds of scores in a couple of weeks, making their graphics card look a little more popular than it is.
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