Download Speed bottoming out

[Bigg Doug]

I know this has been a thing but I figure I would try and ask, but recently whenever I try to download a game it goes way low to a dead stop and then back to a low speed. We have 500Mb internet so I'm fairly sure this shouldn't be happening. I've gone into the command prompt, device manager, file explorer, switched Ethernet ports on the router, changed Ethernet cables and uninstalled steam and nothing seems to work.

11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-11700K @ 3.60GHz
GTX 4070
32GB 3200 MHz RAM
MSI Z490-A PRO motherboard

[MonkehMaster]

you are right, its been a thing and for years.

that being said, the only thing i have ever found that helps it capping steam download bandwidth, which kept the download speed running maxed, without any dropping during the process.

i have 400mb download speed (ie... 50MB, or in steam measurements lol... 50,000KB), so i simply just capped it at 40MB (40,000KB for steam), leaving 10MB free for use while said downloads are happening.

worth a try, as you wont find any other ways to fix the issue and some seem to think its not a steam issue, but our issue, despite telling them all the things they mentioned arent happening or arent there, new or old, ect...

[ArcTheWolf]

Have you tried clearing your download cache on Steam? Typically when you have download speeds bottoming out it means your download cache is getting entirely too large. You'll find this in Steam Settings>Downloads: in there will be a clear cache button. It will sign you out and restart Steam when you do this. You will have to log back in and authenticate if you have Steam Guard enabled so be prepared for that. After clearing your cache you should see the problem be rectified. If not it's potentially a problem with your storage medium having writing issues, downloads tend to get bottlenecked by writing speeds. Don't know if you're on a mechanical drive or an SSD but if your speeds are slow and clearing the cache doesn't fix it then it's most certainly a drive issue.

[MonkehMaster]

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Have you tried clearing your download cache on Steam? Typically when you have download speeds bottoming out it means your download cache is getting entirely too large. You'll find this in Steam Settings>Downloads: in there will be a clear cache button. It will sign you out and restart Steam when you do this. You will have to log back in and authenticate if you have Steam Guard enabled so be prepared for that. After clearing your cache you should see the problem be rectified. If not it's potentially a problem with your storage medium having writing issues, downloads tend to get bottlenecked by writing speeds. Don't know if you're on a mechanical drive or an SSD but if your speeds are slow and clearing the cache doesn't fix it then it's most certainly a drive issue.

meh, i run a m.2 for OS and steam/games (os on its own m.2 and steam/games on their own m.2), dont have anything that would conflict with steam, cleared cache, switched regions, new or old drives, drives filled or not, isnt my isp, ect.. ect.. ect.., not once has the issue been fixed in all the years this has been an issue.

the issue also persisted over many different pc's with different hardware.

as mentioned the only thing i found helping was capping steams download bandwidth.

[Bigg Doug]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Have you tried clearing your download cache on Steam? Typically when you have download speeds bottoming out it means your download cache is getting entirely too large. You'll find this in Steam Settings>Downloads: in there will be a clear cache button. It will sign you out and restart Steam when you do this. You will have to log back in and authenticate if you have Steam Guard enabled so be prepared for that. After clearing your cache you should see the problem be rectified. If not it's potentially a problem with your storage medium having writing issues, downloads tend to get bottlenecked by writing speeds. Don't know if you're on a mechanical drive or an SSD but if your speeds are slow and clearing the cache doesn't fix it then it's most certainly a drive issue.

meh, i run a m.2 for OS and steam/games (os on its own m.2 and steam/games on their own m.2), dont have anything that would conflict with steam, cleared cache, switched regions, new or old drives, drives filled or not, isnt my isp, ect.. ect.. ect.., not once has the issue been fixed in all the years this has been an issue.

the issue also persisted over many different pc's with different hardware.

as mentioned the only thing i found helping was capping steams download bandwidth.

I have cleared the cache and sadly it did nothing. Steam on my D drive or my OS drive doesn't fix anything.

[ArcTheWolf]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Have you tried clearing your download cache on Steam? Typically when you have download speeds bottoming out it means your download cache is getting entirely too large. You'll find this in Steam Settings>Downloads: in there will be a clear cache button. It will sign you out and restart Steam when you do this. You will have to log back in and authenticate if you have Steam Guard enabled so be prepared for that. After clearing your cache you should see the problem be rectified. If not it's potentially a problem with your storage medium having writing issues, downloads tend to get bottlenecked by writing speeds. Don't know if you're on a mechanical drive or an SSD but if your speeds are slow and clearing the cache doesn't fix it then it's most certainly a drive issue.

meh, i run a m.2 for OS and steam/games (os on its own m.2 and steam/games on their own m.2), dont have anything that would conflict with steam, cleared cache, switched regions, new or old drives, drives filled or not, isnt my isp, ect.. ect.. ect.., not once has the issue been fixed in all the years this has been an issue.

the issue also persisted over many different pc's with different hardware.

as mentioned the only thing i found helping was capping steams download bandwidth.

If you're having to cap speed that likely means at least in your case an issue with your ISP. I've been on Spectrum way longer than I'd like to and they definitely have their issues from time to time where the speed they are sending down my line is faster than what I'm supposed to be getting, this causes the flow to be incorrect so the ISP compensates by slamming the brakes every now and then. This in turn results in an unstable speed that isn't consistent and causes problems on Steam's end as well. If you're certain all your hardware is fine and you've had this issue accross numerous PCs then you absolutely should contact your ISP and have them send someone out to troubleshoot. Weather changes also tend to cause these kinds of issues in a line as well so your flow could be out of wack for what you're supposed to be getting that's causing the issue.

[ArcTheWolf]

Originally posted by Bigg Doug:

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

meh, i run a m.2 for OS and steam/games (os on its own m.2 and steam/games on their own m.2), dont have anything that would conflict with steam, cleared cache, switched regions, new or old drives, drives filled or not, isnt my isp, ect.. ect.. ect.., not once has the issue been fixed in all the years this has been an issue.

the issue also persisted over many different pc's with different hardware.

as mentioned the only thing i found helping was capping steams download bandwidth.

I have cleared the cache and sadly it did nothing. Steam on my D drive or my OS drive doesn't fix anything.

Well the only other issue like I just mentioned for Monkeh is that it's an issue on your ISPs end. If it's not on your ISPs end then there's something going wrong with your hardware most likely. But if you're certain that your hardware is in perfect condition without any issues then it has to be your ISP. So you should get in touch with them and see what they can do to try and address the issue.

[ArcTheWolf]

What NAT type are you using on your network by chance? NAT2 or NAT3? If you're using NAT3 you could switch to NAT2 to see if it helps. While yes NAT2 is slightly less secure than NAT3 if you don't have any actual concerns of people trying to break into your network switching to NAT2 could help.

[MonkehMaster]

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

meh, i run a m.2 for OS and steam/games (os on its own m.2 and steam/games on their own m.2), dont have anything that would conflict with steam, cleared cache, switched regions, new or old drives, drives filled or not, isnt my isp, ect.. ect.. ect.., not once has the issue been fixed in all the years this has been an issue.

the issue also persisted over many different pc's with different hardware.

as mentioned the only thing i found helping was capping steams download bandwidth.

If you're having to cap speed that likely means at least in your case an issue with your ISP. I've been on Spectrum way longer than I'd like to and they definitely have their issues from time to time where the speed they are sending down my line is faster than what I'm supposed to be getting, this causes the flow to be incorrect so the ISP compensates by slamming the brakes every now and then. This in turn results in an unstable speed that isn't consistent and causes problems on Steam's end as well. If you're certain all your hardware is fine and you've had this issue accross numerous PCs then you absolutely should contact your ISP and have them send someone out to troubleshoot. Weather changes also tend to cause these kinds of issues in a line as well so your flow could be out of wack for what you're supposed to be getting that's causing the issue.

already said it wasnt my isp and i even called them and asked, not to mention i know one of the technicians who work at my isp and any slight issue on my internet, they come out and check everything on the line, from my house into the box, box to the pole, booster to main line down the road... my internet is fine.

as for weather... i doubt my weather (which goes from hot summers to cold winters, rainy and dry.., just like other peoples regions) would keep steam constantly 24/7 for years, running slow speed or dropping out while updating games.... games that despite size update slow, while others bigger or smaller dont do it.

its something with steam and either the way devs have their updating set up, as there are 2 ways to setup your updates to be sent out too customers, the newer one mention issues when setting it up wrong... but who knows, it sure aint on my end.

[Bad Advice]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

you are right, its been a thing and for years.

that being said, the only thing i have ever found that helps it capping steam download bandwidth, which kept the download speed running maxed, without any dropping during the process.

i have 400mb download speed (ie... 50MB, or in steam measurements lol... 50,000KB), so i simply just capped it at 40MB (40,000KB for steam), leaving 10MB free for use while said downloads are happening.

worth a try, as you wont find any other ways to fix the issue and some seem to think its not a steam issue, but our issue, despite telling them all the things they mentioned arent happening or arent there, new or old, ect...

Yeah, the same. Been a little lazy about ordering a high speed card and cat 6 cable to get it higher. Maybe after my next paycheck.

[Bigg Doug]

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Originally posted by Bigg Doug:

I have cleared the cache and sadly it did nothing. Steam on my D drive or my OS drive doesn't fix anything.

Well the only other issue like I just mentioned for Monkeh is that it's an issue on your ISPs end. If it's not on your ISPs end then there's something going wrong with your hardware most likely. But if you're certain that your hardware is in perfect condition without any issues then it has to be your ISP. So you should get in touch with them and see what they can do to try and address the issue.

I would agree except nothing else, including another computer with steam, is being throttled. Just my stuff.

[ArcTheWolf]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

If you're having to cap speed that likely means at least in your case an issue with your ISP. I've been on Spectrum way longer than I'd like to and they definitely have their issues from time to time where the speed they are sending down my line is faster than what I'm supposed to be getting, this causes the flow to be incorrect so the ISP compensates by slamming the brakes every now and then. This in turn results in an unstable speed that isn't consistent and causes problems on Steam's end as well. If you're certain all your hardware is fine and you've had this issue accross numerous PCs then you absolutely should contact your ISP and have them send someone out to troubleshoot. Weather changes also tend to cause these kinds of issues in a line as well so your flow could be out of wack for what you're supposed to be getting that's causing the issue.

already said it wasnt my isp and i even called them and asked, not to mention i know one of the technicians who work at my isp and any slight issue on my internet, they come out and check everything on the line, from my house into the box, box to the pole, booster to main line down the road... my internet is fine.

as for weather... i doubt my weather (which goes from hot summers to cold winters, rainy and dry.., just like other peoples regions) would keep steam constantly 24/7 for years, running slow speed or dropping out while updating games.... games that despite size update slow, while others bigger or smaller dont do it.

its something with steam and either the way devs have their updating set up, as there are 2 ways to setup your updates to be sent out too customers, the newer one mention issues when setting it up wrong... but who knows, it sure aint on my end.

Listen dude I'm just trying to help as best I can with my own knowledge and experience. If you're 100% certain it's not your ISP, then it's your hardware, because the reality is nearly nobody is having this problem. And the ones who do have this problem have solved it by clearing the cache in most scenarios. So either you are a hardware anomaly that is uniquely experiencing a problem that nearly nobody else is having or there is in fact a problem with your ISP or hardware. If this was a greater issue on Steam's end there would be threads like this all over the forum right now. I don't know what else to tell you, hopefully you find a solution.

[MonkehMaster]

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

already said it wasnt my isp and i even called them and asked, not to mention i know one of the technicians who work at my isp and any slight issue on my internet, they come out and check everything on the line, from my house into the box, box to the pole, booster to main line down the road... my internet is fine.

as for weather... i doubt my weather (which goes from hot summers to cold winters, rainy and dry.., just like other peoples regions) would keep steam constantly 24/7 for years, running slow speed or dropping out while updating games.... games that despite size update slow, while others bigger or smaller dont do it.

its something with steam and either the way devs have their updating set up, as there are 2 ways to setup your updates to be sent out too customers, the newer one mention issues when setting it up wrong... but who knows, it sure aint on my end.

Listen dude I'm just trying to help as best I can with my own knowledge and experience. If you're 100% certain it's not your ISP, then it's your hardware, because the reality is nearly nobody is having this problem. And the ones who do have this problem have solved it by clearing the cache in most scenarios. So either you are a hardware anomaly that is uniquely experiencing a problem that nearly nobody else is having or there is in fact a problem with your ISP or hardware. If this was a greater issue on Steam's end there would be threads like this all over the forum right now. I don't know what else to tell you, hopefully you find a solution.

well trying to help and assuming the issue, despite being told its not on our end.... isnt helping.

i have been dealing with this issue for years, you aint telling me anything i already havent heard or tried and done and nothing has fixed it across several isp's and several different computers with different hardware.... dont ignore whats said, in favor of explaining your opinion on the issue.

i already mentioned a solution, it was capping the speed in steam, cause steam sure isnt going to fix the issue, despite having it being complained about for years buy tons of people....

edit: and it sure aint malware like you mentioned below....

[ArcTheWolf]

Originally posted by Bigg Doug:

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Well the only other issue like I just mentioned for Monkeh is that it's an issue on your ISPs end. If it's not on your ISPs end then there's something going wrong with your hardware most likely. But if you're certain that your hardware is in perfect condition without any issues then it has to be your ISP. So you should get in touch with them and see what they can do to try and address the issue.

I would agree except nothing else, including another computer with steam, is being throttled. Just my stuff.

Have you ruled out malware on your system? And I'm not trying to be insulting by suggesting it could be malware I know some people absolutely scoff at the suggestion. If you have two PCs on the same network able to do the same things but only one is having issues then something on that troubled PC is different from the one not experiencing issues. Malwarebytes [www.malwarebytes.com] is a solid free option to get a good check to make sure you don't have something messing with your system.

[ArcTheWolf]

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Listen dude I'm just trying to help as best I can with my own knowledge and experience. If you're 100% certain it's not your ISP, then it's your hardware, because the reality is nearly nobody is having this problem. And the ones who do have this problem have solved it by clearing the cache in most scenarios. So either you are a hardware anomaly that is uniquely experiencing a problem that nearly nobody else is having or there is in fact a problem with your ISP or hardware. If this was a greater issue on Steam's end there would be threads like this all over the forum right now. I don't know what else to tell you, hopefully you find a solution.

well trying to help and assuming the issue, despite being told its not on our end.... isnt helping.

i have been dealing with this issue for years, you aint telling me anything i already havent heard or tried and done and nothing has fixed it across several isp's and several different computers with different hardware.... dont ignore whats said, in favor of explaining your opinion on the issue.

i already mentioned a solution, it was capping the speed in steam, cause steam sure isnt going to fix the issue, despite having it being complained about for years but tons of people....

Well first off dude I wasn't even talking to you in my initial response. I'm over here trying to help Bigg Doug. Didn't even read your response you posted before, I saw Bigg Dougs thread and responded to it. So if you wanna take things so personally then be my guest. You do whatever you gotta do I'm not here to try and help you. The only reason I responded to you is because you replied to me first, so I tried to a decent person and go through the standard troubleshooting practices. Please have a nice day.

[MonkehMaster]

Originally posted by ArcTheWolf:

Originally posted by MonkehMaster:

well trying to help and assuming the issue, despite being told its not on our end.... isnt helping.

i have been dealing with this issue for years, you aint telling me anything i already havent heard or tried and done and nothing has fixed it across several isp's and several different computers with different hardware.... dont ignore whats said, in favor of explaining your opinion on the issue.

i already mentioned a solution, it was capping the speed in steam, cause steam sure isnt going to fix the issue, despite having it being complained about for years but tons of people....

Well first off dude I wasn't even talking to you in my initial response. I'm over here trying to help Bigg Doug. Didn't even read your response you posted before, I saw Bigg Dougs thread and responded to it. So if you wanna take things so personally then be my guest. You do whatever you gotta do I'm not here to try and help you. The only reason I responded to you is because you replied to me first, so I tried to a decent person and go through the standard troubleshooting practices. Please have a nice day.

not taking anything personally, though always going straight to blaming the user, or something on their end and deflecting blame where it should be... on steam, is the usual around these forums... im sure the OP has seen and heard it all as well.

fyi, this issue doesnt happen anywhere else but steam, no other platforms have this problem.