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Six-core CPUs are now more popular than quad-core chips on Steam
The latest Steam survey has been released, and a key takeaway from the latest data is that the core capabilities of gaming PCs are slowly moving forward. Quad-core CPUs always seem to be the most popular chips, but according to March data, Six-core chip finally wins (pass through Swede). progress.
This is only true if you’re talking about Windows PCs, as OSX and Linux users lean a little bit. When the two platforms are included, the quad-core product managed to maintain its lead at 33.52%, while the six-core chip was at 33.42%.
Octa-core chips are also gaining popularity, although quad- and six-core chips have just over half the market share, and it will be a while before they become the norm. Apple actually helped a lot here, because the M1 is an octa-core chip, so when they upgraded to the latest hardware, they jumped straight to a more powerful chip.
Going back to focusing on Windows PCs, we’re mostly thankful for AMD’s move to higher core counts, as its Zen architecture and Ryzen chips really facilitate higher core counts. Intel is also being forced to follow suit, which means anyone looking to upgrade their machine now will at least consider a six-core CPU. For example, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X and Intel Core i5 12400 are both 6-core chips.
This is good news for PC gaming, as the market shift to more cores will allow developers to start taking better advantage of those cores. This should lead to better AI and physics and a more efficient engine. It also means that any new gaming PC should see at least six-core chips.
Valve’s own Steam Deck is a slightly contrarian machine, featuring a quad-core, eight-thread CPU. It’s a bit peculiar, though, and probably won’t have much of an impact on those numbers given the volume shipped in March. Still, don’t be surprised to see it lower the average core count, at least for Linux machines.