The September Steam Hardware Survey is out, and it's packed with interesting trends. We're seeing a noticeable move towards Windows 11, and in a first, a mobile GPU has taken the top spot in the graphics card rankings. The most striking change is the GeForce RTX 4060 for laptops claiming the number one position, pushing all desktop models down the chart. The desktop RTX 3060 and RTX 4060 secured second and third place, respectively.
Despite this, NVIDIA's overall share on the platform saw a slight dip, losing some ground to competitors. On the other hand, AMD's CPUs set a new record, continuing to grow their presence in gamers' PCs. You can now find Team Red's processors in over 41% of systems.
Another key takeaway is the ongoing migration from Windows 10 to Windows 11. The newer Microsoft OS saw a jump of over 2.5% in the last month, now sitting at a 63% share. The approaching end of official support for Windows 10 is clearly on users' minds. This is further highlighted by developers like Capcom, who have already stated they won't optimize new projects for the older OS.
Interestingly, the latest survey data doesn't show any of AMD's newest Radeon RX 9000 series cards, despite their growing popularity with European retailers. Their market share is likely still too small to make a visible impact. As for other hardware trends, gamers are gradually moving away from 6-core CPUs in favor of 8-core models. The slow but steady shift from 1920x1080 resolution to wider displays also continues.
For gamers checking if their PC is ready for new releases, a handy new feature announced by Valve is now live directly in the Steam client. You no longer need to dig into your BIOS to verify that critical features like TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot are enabled for games like Battlefield 6. It's just a couple of clicks away in the "Help" menu.
