Steam Machine buyers will receive different RAM configurations, Valve confirms

Valve has recently unveiled the price of the Steam Machine, and as gamers are deliberating the value offering given the higher-than-normal price, it may be worth noting that not every Steam Machine will ship with the exact same component configuration, thanks to the AI boom.

In an interview with Gamers Nexus, Valve confirmed that the Steam Machine's official specifications list states it features 16GB of DDR5-5600 system memory, but that the total memory capacity will be available in two configurations: a single RAM stick or two sticks.

Why does that matter?Objectively, dual-channel memory configurations perform better than single-channel configurations. However, during the same interview Valve claimed the performance delta between the two memory configurations was negligible, enabling them to ship the PC/console hybrid in both configurations.

The fact that Steam Machine owners won't know what memory configuration they will get until they open their Steam Machine at home raises other questions, such as the disadvantage 2x 8GB sticks owners face if they want to upgrade. For example, if a single 16GB owner only needs another single 16GB stick for 32GB of RAM, while a 2x 8GB owner will need to replace both to achieve the same capacity.

Why is this happening?Valve attributed the inconsistent memory configurations to the memory supply it has available to them, which isn't very much at all, as it's all being consumed by AI companies purchasing the attention of memory manufacturers.

Notably, Valve hasn't indicated that customers will be able to choose between the two memory configurations.