Nvidia’s RTX 5070 seemingly crushes memory shortages to reign supreme as Steam’s number one GPU — but there are questions about why
Source: Tom’s Hardware
Image credit: Nvidia
Defying the ongoing global memory shortage, the GeForce RTX 5070 remains one of the best graphics cards. Despite a 15 % price hike over its $549 MSRP, the upper‑midrange Blackwell powerhouse has reportedly clinched the top spot on Steam as the most popular gaming graphics card.
Steam Hardware & Software Survey – February 2026
The latest Steam Hardware & Software Survey for February 2026 shows the GeForce RTX 5070 at 9.42 % market share, a 6.55 % month‑over‑month jump. With Steam’s more than 36 million concurrent users, a single percentage point translates to hundreds of thousands of gamers.
Previously, the GeForce RTX 4060 held the crown. The rapid rise of the Blackwell‑powered RTX 5070 is unusual and appears linked to activity in China.
Image credit: Valve
Chinese Influence
- 54.6 % of surveyed users in February were from China, a 30.74 % increase over the previous period.
- The surge coincides with the seven‑day Chinese New Year holidays, giving millions of Chinese gamers extra playtime.
- Historical data (Sept 2024 – Feb 2026) shows a consistent bump in graphics‑card usage around the Chinese New Year window.
Internet gaming cafés, prevalent in China, likely amplify these numbers. A single café can host hundreds of users on the same hardware, potentially skewing survey results if duplicate systems aren’t filtered.
Other Notable Survey Takeaways
- 32 GB system memory usage rose by 18.91 %, despite a global memory shortage and soaring prices. Modern games increasingly list 32 GB as a minimum, prompting upgrades.
- Windows 11 share among Steam gamers fell by 10.43 % in February 2026.
- Windows 10 share grew by 12.46 %, even though Microsoft ended support in October 2025.
These trends suggest a shift back toward the more familiar Windows 10 platform among gamers.