If you were on the fence about the Steam Machine, this RAM configuration
twist might push you off it straight into the build-your-own camp

Date:
Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:37:35 +0000

Description:
'This whole Steam Machine is the most depressing thing for me in the last 7 months. It's officially DOA': gamers hate the RAM configuration lottery with Valve's new PC.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter There's a hidden twist with the configuration of the Steam Machine's RAM Most devices have a single 16GB stick, but some have a pair of 8GB modules A single or dual configuration may not make much difference in many cases, but it can in some scenarios and
some gamers really aren't happy about this You may be aware that the Steam Machine has 16GB of RAM , but what you may not know is that it's likely present as a single stick of 16GB DDR5 memory, rather than the preferable configuration of twin 8GB sticks although you may get the latter.

Confused? I'll come back to that wrinkle in a moment, but in the main, it seems most Steam Machines have the single 16GB loadout, which as Digital Foundry explains is due to Valve having difficultly securing 8GB sticks of memory. As Steam Machine engineers Pierre-Loup Griffais and Yazan Aldehayyat said in an interview: "It was quite literally impossible to buy 8GB [sticks], at least at the quantities we're looking to buy mostly because everybody
wants higher storage, and that's more profitable, so all the capacity shifted to that." Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

In short, it was either go with 16GB sticks for the most part which were in more plentiful supply or shelve the Steam Machine project.

Why is a pair of 8GB RAM modules better? Because it makes use of dual-channel memory essentially both sticks working in parallel for a performance boost, which you obviously can't get with just one stick. So, your next question is likely to be: how much of a difference is there? You may like RAM crisis reaches new heights and our only hope is a consumer rebellion The Steam Machine looks close to launch and may get full-fat 4K 120Hz too Building a SteamOS streaming PC is the best choice I've made in years

A dual-channel setup is nothing like twice as performant for gaming, of course, but there is a (situational) boost, although Valve's engineers argue that, by and large, it's not a noticeable one with DDR5 memory.

Aldehayyat says that these two configurations (single or dual) are "pretty comparable" in actual games, as opposed to certain benchmarks where
weaknesses may show up in a more pronounced way for the single stick. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

In fairness to Valve, it's true that in a lot of gaming scenarios with the Steam Machine, having all your DDR5 RAM in one block won't make any real difference, at least not one that's noticeable in terms of the smoothness of your gaming experience. That's especially true at higher resolutions where
the likes of 4K puts much of the workload on the shoulders of the GPU.

However, in games which are more demanding on the CPU, that's less true, and you may find that the single stick configuration is a drag on performance, possibly hitting you with more stutter (dropping to much lower frame rates more often).

As Digital Foundry points out, an increasing number of games tax the CPU, notably heavyweight open-world titles such as Crimson Desert , or the likes
of Baldur's Gate 3 or Cities: Skylines . What to read next New 8GB Windows 11 laptops from Dell, Acer and Microsoft have me worried Valve is preparing a Steam Machine reservation system to beat scalpers Handheld gaming PCs were reawakening, but the AI boom is undoing it all Analysis: single or dual lottery although there's actually a benefit to the latter, too (Image
credit: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot) Let's return to the RAM lottery twist I mentioned at the outset, which is that as explained by Griffais in a separate Gamers Nexus video (which was flagged by Wccftech ), some Steam Machines have a pair of 8GB sticks (if this memory was available in certain regions at the time of production and it doesn't sound like it was in many cases).

There could be an upside to the single 16GB loadout, mind you, and that's if you intend to upgrade the RAM in the future. With a spare memory slot, you
can buy another 16GB stick to easily double up to 32GB down the line but if you have two 8GB sticks, that can't be done (you'll need to buy two 16GB modules, and entirely replace the existing ones, at a greater cost).

So, if you're worried about all this, should you be opening your Steam
Machine to check your RAM configuration, with a view to switching to a pair
of 8GB sticks if you have a single 16GB module (while selling the latter)? I don't think that's a great idea, because for starters, Digital Foundry makes it clear that getting to the RAM and replacing it "requires significant disassembly of the machine", and possible risks therein. It's certainly not something a relative tech novice will want to attempt, and honestly, the performance upside of switching to a dual-channel setup (if you have a single RAM stick) is not really worth all the hassle.

Overall, this is a less-than-ideal situation, between the single stick performance catch, and the RAM lottery aspect where you can't tell what hand you'll be dealt with your Steam Machine.

Unfortunately, Valve hasn't had much choice in the matter thanks to the
memory crisis. Ruling out using dual sticks in some cases would, of course, have limited supply further, when the situation is already bad enough to have forced the price of the entry-level Steam Machine over a grand.

So, once again, thanks to the giant memory hoover that is AI, PC buyers are getting the short end of the RAM stick (to put it politely).

Predictably, many gamers aren't happy to learn about this. One Redditor complains : "This is absolutely awful. They've done the thing that sh***y prebuilds do, which is have a single stick in single channel memory which affects CPU performance."

Another deflated Redditor simply states : "This whole Steam Machine is the most depressing thing for me in the last 7 months. It's officially DOA."

If this puts you off the Steam Machine even more coming on top of the steep MSRP pinned on the device, you may want to consider buying an alternative PC in the sales or indeed building your own , which to be fair to Valve, is something it's encouraging . Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best PC controllers Our top picks for the best PC gamepads

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