Valve explained why replacing RAM in Steam Machine is so difficult

Despite the possibility of self-upgrading, replacing RAM in the Steam Machine turned out to be much more difficult.

A Reddit user recently complained about the difficulty of replacing RAM in the Steam Machine, which sparked an active discussion in the community.

Although the device allows you to independently replace the SSD and RAM, in practice, access to the drive is much simpler. To get to the two SO-DIMM slots, you need to remove the fan and power supply, as well as disconnect four cables and several antenna cables.

User Prtsk wondered why Valve didn't place the memory slots as conveniently as the SSD. In response, the community recalled developer interviews, which indicated that the company was not enthusiastic about such a solution.

Valve engineer Yazan Aldehayyat previously stated that moving the slots would degrade signal integrity, and the idea of making a separate service cover was rejected for security reasons.

Valve recommends using DDR5-5600 or faster SO-DIMM modules and not mixing memory with different capacities, frequencies, and timings. However, increasing RAM capacity itself does not guarantee a performance boost, especially if the standard 16 GB is already sufficient for gaming.