Valve just published Steam Hardware Survey results for August, and the Radeon RX 9070 XT is now the favored AMD GPU. It ranks above its cheaper non-XT counterpart, last-gen Radeon models, and even the RTX 3080 in terms of popularity, but GeForce graphics cards are still dominating the sample machines.
AMD's upper mid-range graphics card is sadly more expensive than it was at launch, with the cheapest I can find being a Gigabyte model for $749 at Amazon. If you mosey over to Newegg, though, you can at least grab an ASRock Steel version for $769.99 that comes with Onimusha: Way of the Sword for free.
In the August Steam Hardware Survey results, you'll find the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranked 24th with a percentage share of 1.46%. Keep in mind that this is based on a smaller sample size of participants and is representative of the user base as a whole, but it does reflect a 0.06% uptake compared to last month's stats.
Does this mean the RX 9070 XT is gaining traction as a best graphics card contender? Well, perhaps, but the RTX 3060 is still sitting at the top with 3.92% of the survey's participants apparently using the Ampere card. Meanwhile, the Radeon card's rival, the GeForce RTX 5070, is sitting third with a 3.77% share.
It should be noted that there was a hiccup with Valve's stats previously that lumped cards like the Radeon RX 9070, its XT sibling, and the 9060 in together, but that has since been resolved. These new stats should represent a more accurate figure, at least with regard to the limited sample size.
The part that I find surprising is that while the RX 9070 XT is climbing the ranks, it's still quite far back considering its respectable launch price and mid-range abilities. I suspect the fact that it's now sitting way higher at just under $800 at places like Newegg is hampering uptake right now, which could be leading players to pick up cards like the RTX 3070 second-hand.
I guess the fact that there's now a "new" 12GB RTX 3060 could help drive relevancy for the last-gen card too, even if people are picking up the original over the more expensive newcomer. If stock of the RX 9070 XT and its siblings can emerge for less, AMD cards might continue to gain traction in the Steam Hardware Survey, especially as we approach the sale season, but otherwise, I reckon the list will be dominated by anything that's remotely affordable.
Check out the best CPUs for gaming and best RAM if you're upgrading your entire rig.
