Lately there has been a small debate about the amount of VRAM memory that graphics cards should have. Many claim that they should carry more, especially those from NVIDIA, thinking about 4K. Well then, NVIDIA has responded to this and with data, indicating that the 77% of Steam users play in 1080p or lower resolution.
Steam statistics should not be taken as something precise, they are an image close to reality. Although it maintains outdated data, it allows you to see how video game fans move. We can say that, currently, it is the best and most reliable source of information we have.
An image and two ciphers serve to dismantle many “theories”. They also serve as a reminder for its main competitor in the graphics card market: AMD.
Criticism for low memory in NVIDIA graphics
For a few weeks there has been talk of the amount of memory integrated in NVIDIA graphics. A debate that has been fueled by AMD, who promises mid-range and entry-level graphics cards with a large amount of VRAM.
NVIDIA has collected the data published by Steam, which refers to April 2023. The data shows that the 64% of users play one 1080p resolution. They also show that 77% of users play with this resolution or even less, such as 720p resolution. Steam makes it clear that only 12.5% of users play on 1440p and alone 2.75% of users play on 4K resolution.
We are going to transfer this to absolute figures. On average, every day there are 32 million users connected to the largest video game platform. This assumes whatand 25 million users play in 1080p or lower resolutions than this. Only 4 million users play in 1440p resolution and 880,000 users play in 4K.
Anyone can check out the NVIDIA graphics card catalog and see that there are solutions for everyone. Obviously, as the niche of users who play games at 1080p, the amount of offer will be higher.
The data of the most used graphics card
Leaving aside this empty controversy about the amount of VRAM and the resolution, perhaps the most interesting fact is the following. NVIDIA points out that 4 out of 5 graphics cards present in Steam are an NVIDIA xx60. This data is brutal, since it means that the rest of the graphics cards are of little relevance to users.
It tells us that models like the GTX 1660, GTX 1660 Ti, RTX 2060 and RTX 3060, among others, are the most used. Precisely, all these cards have between 6 GB and 8 GB of VRAM, more than enough to play in 1080p resolution.
The company itself already, when it markets its products, usually indicates which public it is focused on. Remember that the RTX 3090 was presented as the first graphics card designed for gaming in 8K resolution (we will not go into whether or not this makes sense). To play in 1440p, we already have the RTX 3070/RTX 4070 and to play in 4K the RTX 3080/RTX 4080 and higher models, with larger amounts of VRAM.
In the end, it all comes down to the fact that, according to NVIDIA, they more than satisfy the needs of the market. Another thing, which we can discuss at another time, is the price of the products, which are increasingly expensive.
