In a notable shift for the gaming hardware landscape, AMD’s processors have crossed a symbolic threshold, now powering over 40% of gaming PCs surveyed in Valve’s latest Steam Hardware Survey. Meanwhile, longtime rival Intel has dipped below 60% for the first time in recent memory, signaling a gradual but steady transformation in the CPU market.
The July 2024 survey results reveal AMD’s share hit 40.42%—a modest but meaningful 0.78% month-over-month increase. Intel now sits at 59.58%, down from 60.27% in June. While Intel retains a majority, AMD’s persistent growth reflects its multi-year strategy to capture gamers with competitive pricing, core counts, and power efficiency in its Ryzen 5000 and 7000 series CPUs.
This reversal didn’t happen overnight. Just five years ago, Intel commanded over 80% of Steam users’ systems. AMD’s resurgence began with its Zen architecture in 2017, which closed the performance gap and forced Intel into uncharacteristic price cuts. Gamers, increasingly budget-conscious amid rising GPU costs, gravitated toward AMD’s value proposition. The trend accelerated with Ryzen 7000’s adoption of DDR5 and PCIe 5.0 support, outpacing Intel’s rollout.
For those tracking granular data, Valve’s official Steam Hardware Survey offers real-time insights into CPU, GPU, OS, and VR headset usage across its 130+ million monthly users. The survey, which anonymizes voluntary system reports, remains gaming’s most influential hardware benchmark.
Industry analysts attribute AMD’s rise to two factors:
- Desktop Dominance: AMD’s 45.7% share in desktop CPUs (vs. 35.1% in laptops) highlights gamers’ preference for its higher core counts in custom builds.
- Regional Momentum: In tech-forward markets like China and Germany, AMD’s share exceeds 45%, driven by aggressive retail partnerships.
Intel isn’t conceding quietly. Its recent Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" CPUs target AI-enhanced gaming, while aggressive bundling deals with OEMs aim to regain lost ground. Still, with AMD’s next-gen "Zen 5" Ryzen chips launching this fall and 80% of Steam gamers now on 6-core CPUs or better (a sweet spot for AMD), the underdog’s momentum seems poised to continue.
Why It Matters: For gamers, competition fuels innovation and affordability. For AMD, crossing 40% validates its challenge to Intel’s decades-long hegemony. As one hardware reviewer noted: "When Steam sneezes, the entire DIY market catches a cold." This survey confirms the fever for Team Red isn’t breaking soon.
Data source: Steam Hardware Survey, July 2024.