Valve's October 2026 Steam Hardware Survey puts a five-year-old GPU back at number one, walks back September's RTX 50 series spike, and shows Linux closing in on 4%. Here's every number that matters for PC players.
Valve just dropped its Steam Hardware and Software Survey for October 2026, and the most popular graphics card on Steam is once again the GeForce RTX 3060. Yes, the card that launched back in 2021.
At the same time, Linux climbed to 3.95% of Steam users, up 0.90 points in a single month, as first spotted by VideoCardz.
GeForce RTX 3060 retakes top spot on Steam as Linux approaches 4% share
, VideoCardz.com (@VideoCardz) November 2, 2026
🔗https://t.co/YdtouoP0e8 pic.twitter.com/UpY6L1X40u
What you need to know: GPUs
Here’s the top of the October chart, straight from Valve’s video card breakdown, with the change from September:
| GPU | October share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 | 3.78% | +0.12 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 | 3.78% | -2.37 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Laptop GPU | 3.60% | +0.10 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 | 3.51% | -0.38 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 | 3.25% | +0.35 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 | 3.15% | -1.25 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti | 2.70% | -1.36 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU | 2.68% | +0.23 |
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 | 2.44% | +0.25 |
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti | 2.30% | -0.55 |
- The RTX 3060 and RTX 5070 are tied at 3.78%, with Valve listing the 3060 first.
- September’s RTX 50 series surge got walked back. The RTX 5070 had jumped to 6.15% in September and fell back to 3.78% in October. The RTX 5060 (4.40% to 3.15%) and RTX 5060 Ti (4.06% to 2.70%) dropped back the same way, landing right around their summer numbers.
- Old cards keep hanging on. The GTX 1650 (2.44%), GTX 1060 (1.45%) and GTX 1050 Ti (1.14%) are all still in the top 30.
- AMD’s best showing is the RX 9070 XT at 1.59%, up 0.17. The RX 9060 XT is at 0.89%.
- The high end is a small club. The RTX 5080 sits at 1.78%, the RTX 4090 at 0.70% and the RTX 4080 at 0.67%.
What you need to know: operating systems
From the main October survey page:
- Windows: 93.70% (down 1.33)
- Linux: 3.95% (up 0.90)
- macOS: 2.35% (up 0.43)
- Windows 11 64-bit is the most used OS version at 72.51% (up 1.17). Windows 10 64-bit is down to 21.11% (down 2.50).
- The top Linux flavors: CachyOS (0.65%), SteamOS Holo (0.55%), Arch Linux (0.35%), Linux Mint 22.3 (0.33%), a separate SteamOS 64-bit entry that’s new this month (0.32%) and Bazzite (0.27%).
One thing to keep in mind: the Steam survey is optional and based on a random sample, so month-to-month swings like September’s RTX 50 spike can be sampling noise rather than a real change in what people own.
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OnPoint’s take: The RTX 3060 back at number one tells you everything about where PC gaming is right now. Most players aren’t running a 5090. They’re on midrange and older cards, and with RAM and CPU prices climbing, a lot of people are holding onto what they’ve got. That’s why DLSS, FSR and solid PC ports matter so much. Developers, optimize for the 3060 crowd, because that’s the real audience.
The Linux number is the other big story. Almost 4%, up nearly a full point in one month, is a real jump, and SteamOS plus gaming-focused distros like CachyOS and Bazzite are a big reason why. Valve is building something real there.
But look at the bottom line: Windows is still over 93% of Steam, and Windows 11 alone is at 72.51%. That’s home turf for Xbox. Game Pass on PC, the Xbox app and Play Anywhere all live on Windows, and Microsoft keeps leaning into the Xbox experience on Windows 11. If you’re a PC player on Windows, Xbox is already built into your setup. What a time to be an Xbox fan on PC.
Image: Nvidia / OnPoint 4 Gamers graphic
