Steam Client Beta fixes incorrect VRAM reporting in Hardware Survey
© STEAM (Modified) Steam has patched a hardware reporting issue that affected its monthly Hardware and Software Survey. Valve says VRAM on some graphics cards was not reported correctly, which could skew VRAM distribution data shown in survey results.
The fix is included in the Steam Client Beta update dated February 24, 2026. Valve does not quantify how many systems were affected, but the patch notes confirm the survey could record incorrect VRAM values on certain GPUs.
Valve also adjusted how Steam selects a GPU to display and report when a system has multiple display adapters. In that scenario, Steam will now pick the adapter with the most VRAM, which should reduce cases where an integrated GPU or secondary adapter is reported instead of the primary discrete card.
© STEAM Hardware Survey and its issues
Steam’s January 2026 survey showed a large share of systems reporting 8 GB of VRAM. It is unclear how much the bug affected that breakdown, but Valve’s acknowledgement suggests at least some entries were misreported before the fix.
The Hardware Survey has its critics, and I believe the most common issue raised is incorrect reporting on Radeon systems. Some users may ask whether this update also addresses multi-GPU misdetection and will give better Radeon detection. That scenario can still happen on modern PCs that run both a discrete graphics card and an integrated Radeon GPU, such as many Ryzen 9000 systems paired with GeForce RTX 50 series cards, where multiple display adapters and drivers may be present.
Because this change is currently limited to the Steam Client Beta, it is unlikely to directly affect February’s survey results. The bigger impact should come once the patch reaches the stable Steam client. Even then, it may take at least one full survey cycle for the corrected reporting to show up consistently in Valve’s published data.
Source: Steam
