Steam Machine loses up to 20% of its performance with its out-of-the-box single 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM

Thanks to the AI boom, Valve has opted to ship the Steam Machine with a single 16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM to offset supply issues in the current memory market. Sadly, this configuration also causes performance regressions due to the Steam Machine's memory sub-system not running in a dual-channel configuration. Gamers Nexus on YouTube benchmarked the performance difference between the Steam Machine's out-of-the-box single-channel setup and its dual-channel configuration by filling both slots. They found performance improvements of up to 20% from the extra bandwidth afforded by the extra RAM stick.

Gamers Nexus tested the Steam Machine with the two aforementioned memory configurations in a variety of benchmarks, including some non-gaming-related tests. 7-Zip file compression showed the strengths of the dual-channel DDR5 configuration the most, with a 19% performance improvement with two sticks compared to a single stick. This behavior was reversed, however, with file decompression, where the two configurations were essentially tied.

In Baldur's Gate 3, the dual-stick configuration was 15% faster, achieving 69.4 FPS vs 60.2 FPS. In Resident Evil 4, the dual-stick configuration was 10% faster, achieving 129.9 FPS vs 118.1 FPS. In Black Myth: Wukong, Stellaris, and Final Fantasy XIV, performance was essentially tied between the two memory configurations. In The Outer Worlds 2, the dual-stick configuration was 14% faster, and in Starfield, the two-stick configuration was 3% faster.

Contrary to Valve's initial claims, Gamers Nexus' benchmark results show that the Steam Machine does benefit from having both SO-DIMM slots full. Valve previously stated to Gamers Nexus that the performance difference between having one SO-DIMM or two SO-DIMMs in the Steam Machine would be negligible.

In the video above, Valve also clarified to Gamers Nexus that all Steam Machines being shipped to customers right now will come with just a single DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM. Previously, Valve stated it would be shipping a mixture of 2x8GB and 1x16GB DDR5 SO-DIMM configurations with the Steam Machine, but this information proved to be incorrect.

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Luckily, the performance impact of having only a single SO-DIMM in the Steam Machine is not the end of the world, and the console still provides more than capable gaming performance with a single stick, so owners shouldn't have to worry about rushing to buy extra RAM for their device. Regardless, performance regressions are real, and more committed Steam Machine owners will need a memory upgrade to get the most out of their console.