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CRAM, a Linux compressed-memory service that Meta engineer Gregory Price was scheduled to present at the Linux Plumbers Conference in Prague on 5 October 2026, will not make a Steam Deck faster in its current form. The approach depends on hardware-offloaded compression that the current Deck does not have, a SteamOS update alone would not supply it, and the headline benchmark figures measure memory operations rather than games.
What CRAM is
CRAM (Compressed RAM) is a compressed-memory service for Linux. The conference session description identifies the work as a tested service in the kernel source file mm/cram.c. Its defining feature is that the compression work is offloaded to hardware, rather than performed in software by the kernel. The session description is the presenter’s own account of the work, not an independent audit, and it does not describe a shipping product or a release date.
The presenter’s central design claim is that compressed memory can stay usable as memory. According to the session description, compressed pages can remain mapped and present in the page cache, and software can access them at byte or cacheline granularity without a software decompression step on each read. The same description says the service was tested for page-cache correctness under most in-tree filesystems.
How CRAM differs from zram and zswap
zram and zswap are established Linux memory-compression features. The session description characterizes their read path as software decompression on access, and it presents CRAM as a different model. The comparison below reflects only what the session description and the reporting on it state.
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| Aspect | zram / zswap (as characterized in the session description) | CRAM (as presented) |
|---|---|---|
| Where compression happens | Software | Hardware-offloaded |
| How compressed data is read | Software decompression on read | Byte or cacheline access without a software decompression step on read |
| Mapping and page-cache presence | Not stated in these sources | Compressed pages can remain mapped and page-cache present |
| Hardware requirement | None stated | Specialized hardware, which the current Steam Deck is reported not to have |
| Published evidence | Not stated in these sources | TAOBench and FIO results cited in the session description; memory-operation ratios reported by Notebookcheck |
The table is a comparison of design models, not a verdict on which approach is better. The sources do not establish a general winner across systems or workloads.
What the benchmark numbers measure
The conference abstract: near-native DRAM performance
The session description says the service achieves near-native performance to DRAM under TAOBench and FIO benchmarks. TAOBench is a benchmark tied to a data-access workload, and FIO is a storage I/O benchmark, so neither is a game test. The abstract’s statement is the presenter’s own description of the planned talk.
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Notebookcheck’s figures: 452 times and 5.4 times
Notebookcheck reports that CRAM was up to 452 times faster than ZRAM in read-only memory operations. With a 20% write workload, it reported CRAM was 5.4 times faster. Notebookcheck also says read-only operations approached the speed of uncompressed RAM. These are ratios from specialized memory tests, measured against ZRAM in those tests. They are not population statistics, and the session description itself does not list these numbers.
The original setup and exact test hardware are not described in enough detail to reproduce the 452× and 5.4× results independently. A read-only result of 452× should not be read as a typical speed-up, and a 20% write result is a different condition from the read-only one.
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- Operating System: SteamOS 3.0
Why a SteamOS update would not enable it
Notebookcheck says the current Steam Deck lacks the specialized hardware that the described implementation relies on, and it states that a simple SteamOS update therefore would not be enough. That is Notebookcheck’s wording, not a statement from Valve or a hardware vendor. No Deck-compatible CRAM module or memory upgrade has been identified, and a Steam Deck purchase does not add the missing hardware.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What it means for games
None of the cited sources shows CRAM improving a Steam Deck game’s frame rate, load time, stutter, or memory footprint. Memory-operation throughput is one input to performance, but it does not translate directly into game results, and the figures above should not be read as predicting them.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Valve is entering the gaming console marketplace with the new Steam Deck, a console geared towards PC gamers. The Steam Deck can be docked to a monitor, and used as a PC, or docked to a TV.
- Players can play a huge variety of games at any time with the comfort of a console and the freedom of a PC. Not anti-glare screen.
- Like the name suggests, the Steam Deck will include upgraded 1TB storage, and will include a carrying case. A micro SD slot will also enable expanded storage.
- Valve partnered with AMD to create a specialized APU optimized for handheld gaming, and Valve says the chip will deliver performance to run AAA gaming titles.
- The Steam Deck is outfitted with a 7-inch touchscreen, and two trackpads under the control sticks that allow gamers to operate games never designed outside of mouse and keyboard capabilities.
What remains unknown
- Whether CRAM will be supported upstream in a generally available Linux kernel, and when.
- Whether any consumer memory device or future Steam Deck model will implement the required hardware.
- Whether Valve has any plans for CRAM-style compression on Steam Deck. No official Valve statement on the subject has been identified.
- How the 452× and 5.4× figures would hold up under independently documented test conditions.
What Deck owners can take from this now
- Treat CRAM as a research-stage Linux memory design with hardware requirements, not as a SteamOS feature in waiting.
- Do not buy hardware on the expectation that CRAM will improve Deck performance.
- Watch for official SteamOS release notes and Linux kernel announcements, which are the places a real change would appear first.
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