4 ms·

> If you look at the Steam Hardware Survey results, their statistics indicate an even worse situation, with over half of gaming users still stuck at 1920x1080.

> If you look at the Steam Hardware Survey results, their statistics indicate an even worse situation, with over half of gaming users still stuck at 1920x1080. Are these the natural resolution of the monitor or just what people play games at? I suspect the latter because the most popular gards are more mid level / entry level cards. The 1650 is still at #4.

wtallis 2y ago
The Steam Hardware Survey samples the system when Steam is launched, not while a game is playing. For most users, Steam starts when they log in to the computer. I think the unfortunate reality is that a very large number of gamers are still using 1920x1080 as their everyday ordinary screen resolution for their primary display, though a few percent at least are probably on laptops small enough that 1920x1080 is somewhat reasonable.
- gruez 2y ago
  >The Steam Hardware Survey samples the system when Steam is launched, not while a game is playing Who's installing steam on their non-gaming computer?
  - dragonwriter 2y ago
    I still have Steam installed on the laptop that was long ago replaced as my gaming computer but which is occasionally used for other purposes, because I have no particular reason to remove it.
  - wtallis 2y ago
    Not all gamers have a computer entirely dedicated to that purpose. Even among those that do, it's not uncommon to also play games or run Steam on another machine.
  - ycombinatrix 2y ago
    I have it installed on a non-gaming laptop. There are lots of lightweight games that I might play when traveling.
  - mvdtnz 2y ago
    How is that relevant? The question was whether the resolution figure in the survey is hardware resolution or software settings, and it's the former.
    - wtallis 2y ago
      It's actually probably reporting the software-configured resolution, not the hardware capability. The important distinction is whether it's a system-wide resolution setting or a game-specific setting that may not apply to browser contexts (except for the ones used by Steam itself).
      - DeathRay2K 2y ago
        What makes you think that it’s more likely reporting a software-configured resolution? It is after all a hardware survey, and focused on what user hardware supports.
        wtallis 2y ago
        It's vastly simpler, and more useful, for Steam to detect the current resolution. Trying to detect the maximum supported resolution is non-trivial, especially when there are devices that will accept a 4k signal despite having fewer pixels.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
mananaysiempre 2y ago
Plenty of gaming monitors are native 1080p. Compared to a higher-res normal monitor at the same price, you usually get a higher refresh rate and better pixel response times. Or you used to, anyway—looks like that part of the spec sheet has been effectively exhausted in the recent couple of years, and manufacturers looking to sell something as “gaming gear” are slowly moving on to other parts of it. As long as they’re raising the baseline for all of us, I’ve no beef with them.

wtallis 2y ago

The Steam Hardware Survey samples the system when Steam is launched, not while a game is playing. For most users, Steam starts when they log in to the computer. I think the unfortunate reality is that a very large number of gamers are still using 1920x1080 as their everyday ordinary screen resolution for their primary display, though a few percent at least are probably on laptops small enough that 1920x1080 is somewhat reasonable.

gruez 2y ago
>The Steam Hardware Survey samples the system when Steam is launched, not while a game is playing Who's installing steam on their non-gaming computer?
- dragonwriter 2y ago
  I still have Steam installed on the laptop that was long ago replaced as my gaming computer but which is occasionally used for other purposes, because I have no particular reason to remove it.
- wtallis 2y ago
  Not all gamers have a computer entirely dedicated to that purpose. Even among those that do, it's not uncommon to also play games or run Steam on another machine.
- ycombinatrix 2y ago
  I have it installed on a non-gaming laptop. There are lots of lightweight games that I might play when traveling.
- mvdtnz 2y ago
  How is that relevant? The question was whether the resolution figure in the survey is hardware resolution or software settings, and it's the former.
  - wtallis 2y ago
    It's actually probably reporting the software-configured resolution, not the hardware capability. The important distinction is whether it's a system-wide resolution setting or a game-specific setting that may not apply to browser contexts (except for the ones used by Steam itself).
    - DeathRay2K 2y ago
      What makes you think that it’s more likely reporting a software-configured resolution? It is after all a hardware survey, and focused on what user hardware supports.
      - wtallis 2y ago
        It's vastly simpler, and more useful, for Steam to detect the current resolution. Trying to detect the maximum supported resolution is non-trivial, especially when there are devices that will accept a 4k signal despite having fewer pixels.
        deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]

mananaysiempre 2y ago

Plenty of gaming monitors are native 1080p. Compared to a higher-res normal monitor at the same price, you usually get a higher refresh rate and better pixel response times. Or you used to, anyway—looks like that part of the spec sheet has been effectively exhausted in the recent couple of years, and manufacturers looking to sell something as “gaming gear” are slowly moving on to other parts of it. As long as they’re raising the baseline for all of us, I’ve no beef with them.