- Valve has said that each Steam Machine has a stick with 16GB of RAM
- This is a correction to an earlier statement in which Valve engineers indicated that some models had two 8GB sticks
- There is no ‘RAM configuration lottery’, but Valve may switch to dual sticks in the future — and that could be another reason to hold off on a purchase for some
We’ve learned more about the Steam Machine’s RAM configuration – and I have to wonder if the latest leaked details might convince more gamers to hold off on buying the living room gaming PC for now.
The Verge reports that Valve has come forward to clarify that each Steam Machine has a single stick of 16GB of system memory. In an interview with the YouTube channel earlier, Valve engineers had indicated that there were two possible configurations with its gaming PC: either two 8GB RAM sticks or a 16GB module (with the latter being more common).
Now Valve has told Gamers Nexus: “We misspoke here – all devices will actually have a 16GB stick of RAM.”
This requires a little explanation in case you missed it, as there is a subtle difference between these configurations. In both cases, you still get 16 GB of memory, but when split into two 8 GB sticks, you get the benefit of dual-channel memory (RAM sticks work in parallel).
Therefore, gamers were annoyed that they didn’t know what they would get in their Steam Machine and whether or not they would get the boost from the dual-channel configuration (although there is more to this argument, and also an advantage of having a single stick, which I will return to in a moment).
Anyway, it’s all now a moot point, although things could be different down the line, as in its latest statement, Valve added: “It’s possible this could change in future builds, but the devices customers are currently signing up for will all come with a 16GB stick of RAM.”
Valve actually wanted to use the two 8GB stick configuration for the Steam Machine, and the reason it didn’t is because the company simply couldn’t source the required supply levels – hence the switch to more 16GB modules. So when acquiring 8GB memory sticks is less of a problem, Valve will go this route.
Analysis: a better upgrade path vs dual-channel boosts
As mentioned, there are pros and cons to both RAM configurations. If you have a pair of 8GB sticks, you get a performance boost from the dual-channel setup as mentioned. But the catch is that in many scenarios the framerate increase isn’t that much, and Valve claims it’s not noticeable in the main with DDR5 RAM – and I understand that argument, fair enough.
But as I discussed earlier this week, there are scenarios where there can be a significant enough performance difference, especially away from 4K resolution, or with games that stress the CPU (and concerns about additional throttling are also a tricky additional issue here).
To me this means that a one stick configuration is suboptimal and I know that if I bought a Steam Machine this setup would upset me somewhat.
That said, as some players point out, the advantage of a single 16GB stick is that it leaves room for an upgrade. This is because there are two RAM slots in the Steam Machine, and if you have a pair of 8GB modules, both are full. Want to upgrade? You need to buy a couple of 16GB sticks and get rid of the 8GB modules (you can sell them used).
On the other hand, with a single 16GB stick, all you have to do is buy a (matching) 16GB module to put in next to it (since you have an empty slot). Therefore, you only pay for one 16GB stick rather than two (minus what you get back for selling the 8GB modules in the latter case). That’s a pretty handy benefit for those who envision filling up their Steam Machine to be a 32GB PC in the future when games that require that loadout become more and more common.
However, I see a few problems here. First, it’s a fairly common scenario that people buy a PC with the intention of upgrading the RAM and never bother. It’s a nice idea, but then procrastination sets in and before you know it, the appliance is on its way out anyway and you’re looking for a new one.
Second, compounding this – and compounding any procrastination – is the fact that doing the RAM upgrade with the Steam Machine isn’t easy. Well-intentioned upgraders may be put off when they find that you have to pull out a lot of stuff to get to the memory slots, which really isn’t ideal.
I’m not sure how many gamers will really benefit from the better upgrade path to 32GB realistically, with the single 16GB setup – while it’s clear enough what the gain (no effort) is with a pair of 8GB sticks.
So knowing that two 8GB modules may very well be the default configuration in the future – as it always should be – my thought is that this is yet another reason to wait for a Steam Machine. Consider further, as Tom’s Hardware pointed out, that we just learned that the Steam Machine was originally going to be priced at or just below the $750 mark in the US, before the RAM crisis kicked in full force and threw the bill of materials (the cost of the components) out of whack.
Now I wonder how many gamers, seeing the initial sub-$750 target price and these fresh details on the RAM configuration, feel they’d rather wait and buy a Steam Machine when the PC returns towards the target price, running a couple of 8GB sticks.
All of this certainly seems to have introduced an increased level of reluctance on the part of potential buyers. As one Redditor puts it, “The more I hear, the more I want to keep my money.” Granted, others in that thread are saying they’re happy to get a single 16GB stick for the future upgrade reasons mentioned – I’m just not convinced this will apply to many buyers out there, versus the benefits of dual-channel.
Whatever the case, there’s certainly an argument to be made that exercising some patience and holding off on purchases for now could pay off with the Steam Machine in the end. Of course, there’s always the option of building your own version of Valve’s gaming PC, which is another route that some people might consider as an alternative.
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