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posted by martyb on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:08AM   Printer-friendly
from the time-to-start-their-own-arcade-subsidiary dept.

AMD says Valve is underestimating its success in the Steam Hardware Survey

AMD's hardware – especially its processors – seem to be on a roll, but every month the Steam Hardware Survey, which publishes data on the type of hardware PC gamers using Steam are running, suggests AMD is failing to catch up with Intel and Nvidia – and AMD thinks it knows why.

In a recent interview for Hot Hardware, AMD's Scott Herkelman suggests that a bug introduced in August 2017 caused AMD systems be underestimated – and he suggests the problem is still affecting results.

The error involves Steam counting every individual login at internet cafes (which are particularly popular in Asian countries) as separate PC configurations. So, if 10 people log into Steam on a single Intel-powered PC at an internet café – and opts in to the Steam Hardware Survey – then the survey will count it as 10 separate machines.

With AMD hardware not as widely used in internet cafes, Herkelman claims that this has resulted in AMD's hardware popularity being under represented compared to its competitors. This could explain why AMD seems to be doing so well recently – especially with its processor – yet recent Steam Hardware Surveys don't show a corresponding growth in AMD adoption.

Related: VR Usage Approximately Doubled in 2018
Linux Gaming is on a Life-Support System Called Steam
Internet Cafés on the Decline in Most Asian Countries


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:19AM (7 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:19AM (#872175) Journal

    It doesn't matter what the polls say. I think AMD is at least equal to Intel, and maybe superior. I know that the AMD corporation is superior to Intel. Maybe I should log into Steam a few thousand times a day, to boost AMD stats? Or, a few thousand times per minute. Surely, there's a script for that . . .

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  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:30AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:30AM (#872183)

    That script is monopolized by intel.

  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:55AM (1 child)

    by captain normal (2205) on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:55AM (#872190)

    I agree with your opinion of AMD an Intel. AMD is by far the best processor. I wouldn't bother logging into Steam. To me that is a waste of Time and bandwidth.

    --
    When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday July 29 2019, @04:33PM

      by Freeman (732) on Monday July 29 2019, @04:33PM (#872704) Journal

      Which is why we need things like Net Neutrality, because we don't want other people given the choice over our computer time/bandwidth habits. Provide me the bandwidth, don't complain how I use my bandwidth. Provide me my electricity, don't complain about what I use it for.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 2) by Username on Sunday July 28 2019, @06:00AM (2 children)

    by Username (4557) on Sunday July 28 2019, @06:00AM (#872213)

    Yes, I think AMD did catch up, but were far far behind for a long time. AMDs drivers were horrible, and their chips were not designed well for thermal dissipation or power regulation. They would let asus and other motherboard manufactures do anything with their chip sets, meaning anything to save 1c, giving to poor quality boards. I remember paying $400 for a high end dual socket AMD board by ASUS. It came with heatsinks half attached and connectors unsoldered, and the seller would only give me a refund if ASUS would take it back, and they refused because of "worn screw holes." on a $400 board. I haven't purchased a single ASUS item since. And I only bought two AMD boards afterwards before completely switching to intel. The difference in quality was night and day. I have a strong feeling most others had similar experiences. Almost everything gaming was intel for a good decade. It's hard to forgive past experiences and I haven't tried anything recent from AMD, but after my current setup becomes obsolete, I probably will considering the new zerodays, quality drops and offshoring of jobs.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @09:30AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @09:30AM (#872243)

      I have a strong feeling most others had similar experiences.

      Err, no.... I have a strong feeling that most had an opposite experience.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:56PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @03:56PM (#872315)

      How is that an AMD problem? Intel allows other manufacturers make Intel compatible boards aswell.
      You are barking up the wrong tree here.

  • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @12:15PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 28 2019, @12:15PM (#872270)

    It doesn't matter what the polls say. I think AMD is at least equal to Intel, and maybe superior.

    And it doesn't matter what Runaway says. I think he is at least equal to Donald, maybe better in a flash-arc situation. But mostly, his opinion is worthless, unhelpful, and ignorant.