This is why the Steam Machine’s RAM upgrade is so complicated

With the Steam Machine, Valve aims to combine the simplicity of a console with the flexibility of a gaming PC. That also means owners can replace or upgrade the system's SSD and RAM themselves. In practice, however, upgrading the memory is nowhere near as straightforward as it would be on a traditional desktop PC.

Reddit user u/Prtsk recently installed a second RAM module in their Steam Machine. While the SSD is relatively easy to access, the RAM upgrade required disassembling much of the system. The reason is the location of the two SO-DIMM slots. According to Aftermath, users must remove the cooling fan and power supply, disconnect four ribbon cables and several antenna cables before they can even reach the memory slots.

The community knows why the RAM upgrade is so complicated

"I don't understand why Valve didn't choose to make the memory as accessible as the SSD," u/Prtsk wrote on Reddit, asking whether there was a technical reason behind the design. Other Reddit users quickly provided the answer. Several commenters pointed to interviews and hardware analyses suggesting that Valve itself was not entirely happy with the placement of the memory slots.

In an interview with Tom's Hardware, Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat explained that the company had explored making the RAM easier to access during development. However, relocating the memory slots would have compromised signal integrity, while adding a dedicated service hatch through the power supply area was ruled out for safety reasons.

Choosing the right RAM module is just as important

The installation process is not the only challenge – the choice of memory also matters. In a response from Steam Support, Valve recommends using at least DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM modules. The company also advises against mixing modules with different capacities, speeds or memory timings.

That could explain why u/Prtsk says they have not noticed any gaming performance improvements so far. On the other hand, the lack of a measurable upgrade may simply be because the original 16 GB of RAM was never fully utilized by the games they tested. After all, adding more memory does not automatically result in higher frame rates.