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

[Chika Ogiue]

Ah, someone kicked the hornet's nest. Don't ever try to state that Valve have the worst download speeds out there, because the rabid fanboys will eat you alive.

Even if it is true.

Take for example the rebooted (and not very good) Saints Row which was recently given away on EGS. I wanted to confirm version differences between the two stores (in my region there is a slight difference, that results in the game being about 500 megs smaller on EGS). But it's a size difference that's negligible for the relevance of this topic. Downloaded from EGS, the 60 odd gig game downloaded in 15 minutes. The same game on Steam downloaded in 3 hours. And that 500 megs of extra data isn't going to result in an additional download time of 2hours 45 minutes by itself.

Point is, every other site/launcher/system downloads significantly faster than Steam (even my consoles on a 2.4 wireless connection are faster!). A long time back, Valve had similar issues with their download speeds. It took them years to fix them. Seems, they've forgotten everything they learned back then, and have slipped back to ADSL speeds.

[Dango]

İlk olarak Chika Ogiue tarafından gönderildi:

Ah, someone kicked the hornet's nest. Don't ever try to state that Valve have the worst download speeds out there, because the rabid fanboys will eat you alive.

Even if it is true.

Take for example the rebooted (and not very good) Saints Row which was recently given away on EGS. I wanted to confirm version differences between the two stores (in my region there is a slight difference, that results in the game being about 500 megs smaller on EGS). But it's a size difference that's negligible for the relevance of this topic. Downloaded from EGS, the 60 odd gig game downloaded in 15 minutes. The same game on Steam downloaded in 3 hours. And that 500 megs of extra data isn't going to result in an additional download time of 2hours 45 minutes by itself.

Point is, every other site/launcher/system downloads significantly faster than Steam (even my consoles on a 2.4 wireless connection are faster!). A long time back, Valve had similar issues with their download speeds. It took them years to fix them. Seems, they've forgotten everything they learned back then, and have slipped back to ADSL speeds.

Thats the perfect way to describe it lol.

[Dango]

İlk olarak kitty tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Chika Ogiue tarafından gönderildi:

Downloaded from EGS, the 60 odd gig game downloaded in 15 minutes. The same game on Steam downloaded in 3 hours. And that 500 megs of extra data isn't going to result in an additional download time of 2hours 45 minutes by itself.

I just did a test just now and went to download ARK: Survival Evolved on Steam. I don't have all the DLC so the download for me is just about 255 GB. Over steam it just downloaded and installed a 255 GB game in 33 minutes. Your claim of Steam taking over 3 hours to download a 60GB game just doesn't compute and doesn't seem correct. Something is seriously wrong somewhere. The only thing I can think of is maybe your steam servers in Japan aren't allowed to download as fast as the ones in the USA possibly?

İlk olarak Chika Ogiue tarafından gönderildi:

Point is, every other site/launcher/system downloads significantly faster than Steam (even my consoles on a 2.4 wireless connection are faster!). A long time back, Valve had similar issues with their download speeds. It took them years to fix them. Seems, they've forgotten everything they learned back then, and have slipped back to ADSL speeds.

It seems to be perfectly fine, fast, and very speedy for me. There's probably something wrong with your system or location or maybe Steam's servers in your area aren't fast. Something is going on there. Steam should be capable of going much faster than you claimed. In theory.

See, this is the issue. Its the "it works for me so nothing is wrong" mindset. Just because you get your speed doesnt mean that something is wrong with our hardware or ISP.

[Komarimaru]

Depends on ya download region, ISP and nodes hopped to the download server you picked. Steam will flood my connection to over 127MB/s, that's well over the 1gbps I pay for.

[Axe]

İlk olarak kitty tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Axe tarafından gönderildi:

Errm I'm not sure at which point you think I don't already know this basic stuff as posted above especially as you have quoted it back to me.

It almost reads like you haven't read my post but maybe it's because I see you have been busy so I'll thankyou again for your posts and that you have fully understood them :-)

I did read your post. And you said that you were struggling to understand your ISP and internet speeds in general on a personal level so I thought I would take a moment and try to explain it to you.

Sigh...as I said. It appears you have missed or ignored my latest post... So...

Sorry but you missed whole points and nuances of all my posts and rambled on unnecessarily considering the content I posted as a whole... as I have said and have no need to reiterate.

I have no reason or desire to make these clarifications again so I'll once again thank you for your positive assistance in this thread :-)

[Dango]

İlk olarak Komarimaru tarafından gönderildi:

Depends on ya download region, ISP and nodes hopped to the download server you picked. Steam will flood my connection to over 127MB/s, that's well over the 1gbps I pay for.

Yes those things matter when selecting your download server but I have stated several times that selecting servers farther away have higher speeds when it should be the opposite. I get 400mbps and while thats not slow its just not what I get anywhere else on any other platform. The problem here is that steam is the only platform that does not even come close to gig speeds regardless of server, vpn enabled, or any other factor i change.

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

There is also the question of why switching steam server provides a slightly faster speed despite being further away than my default server. Still no response on that though.

i am on a comparably slow bandwidth and dont run into many speed problems
but i have had the experience of switching steam servers to get my full speed...
and its constant full speed... so not problems with hard drives and stuff..

switch to a timezone that is asleep and low in activity...

so even tho steam is capable of high speeds... are they limiting traffic..
because that would be a answer also...

how many times have we heard... steam is busy... try again later... and
steam is glitching due to traffic... and a sale is on things are going to be slow..

- no one is correcting these comments...

[Dango]

İlk olarak kitty tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

Yes those things matter when selecting your download server but I have stated several times that selecting servers farther away have higher speeds when it should be the opposite. I get 400mbps and while thats not slow its just not what I get anywhere else on any other platform. The problem here is that steam is the only platform that does not even come close to gig speeds regardless of server, vpn enabled, or any other factor i change.

Logically this means that steam is interacting with your computer in a different way than any other download service. It appears that your computer is not fast enough (somewhere) to be able to maintain a sufficient speed to keep up with whatever method it is that steam is using to download and install games.

I really don't know how anyone could type this and think it was accurate. If my computer were the one serving clients then yes this would make sense. However, it is not. Steam is serving me and if I can connect to different steam servers and observe wild swings in downstream data that indicates the steams upstream data isn't working as it should. This is basic networking theory. Even a spinner is capable of gig download speeds while decompressing files. The cope here is getting out of control.

Edit: and I can't believe I have to say this but steam isn't using some double secret method of transferring large files across the internet. We have these things called standards. They dictate the methods used to do this. Try running a wireshark and tell us what you see.

[Dango]

İlk olarak ragefifty50 tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

There is also the question of why switching steam server provides a slightly faster speed despite being further away than my default server. Still no response on that though.

i am on a comparably slow bandwidth and dont run into many speed problems
but i have had the experience of switching steam servers to get my full speed...
and its constant full speed... so not problems with hard drives and stuff..

switch to a timezone that is asleep and low in activity...

so even tho steam is capable of high speeds... are they limiting traffic..
because that would be a answer also...

how many times have we heard... steam is busy... try again later... and
steam is glitching due to traffic... and a sale is on things are going to be slow..

- no one is correcting these comments...

This is my experience also but the steam SIMPs seem to cope as hard as they can to deny steam servers could be having issues or simply throttling.

[Dango]

İlk olarak kitty tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

See, this is the issue. Its the "it works for me so nothing is wrong" mindset. Just because you get your speed doesnt mean that something is wrong with our hardware or ISP.

Instead of arguing with me perhaps try reading what I said and what Komarimaru just wrote.

I did read it and I responded with logical information that proves that point incorrect in this situation. Perhaps you should read what I said?

[( ( < < <🤖> > > ) )]

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak ragefifty50 tarafından gönderildi:

i am on a comparably slow bandwidth and dont run into many speed problems
but i have had the experience of switching steam servers to get my full speed...
and its constant full speed... so not problems with hard drives and stuff..

switch to a timezone that is asleep and low in activity...

so even tho steam is capable of high speeds... are they limiting traffic..
because that would be a answer also...

how many times have we heard... steam is busy... try again later... and
steam is glitching due to traffic... and a sale is on things are going to be slow..

- no one is correcting these comments...

This is my experience also but the steam SIMPs seem to cope as hard as they can to deny steam servers could be having issues or simply throttling.

so what do you do when someone else from
here can pull up a super max download speed and say its all A-ok...

i can also understand that if your in a place that has 100 nodes to get to
a server close by or just a server
then you click a sever on the other side of the world that works better...
that could be as simple as 20 nodes to the other side and 5 to the server
over there...

but again

you cant say steam is slow due to a sale or maintenance glitches...
and then say steam has no problems....
week in week out steam has glitches and problems that vary...

we as a customer can only do so much...
when logic says.. everything else is ok outside of steam..

[Chika Ogiue]

İlk olarak kitty tarafından gönderildi:

Your claim of Steam taking over 3 hours to download a 60GB game just doesn't compute and doesn't seem correct.

And yet it is correct. 1gpbs connection and Steam refuses to even reach ADSL speeds. And that fact I'm not the only one in this thread reporting similar experiences speaks a lot more than you insistence on people lying because it didn't happen to you. And the fact this is Steam specific in varying regions with varying ISPs also speaks volumes of where the fault lies. Hint: not on the customer side.

[Dango]

İlk olarak ragefifty50 tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

This is my experience also but the steam SIMPs seem to cope as hard as they can to deny steam servers could be having issues or simply throttling.

so what do you do when someone else from
here can pull up a super max download speed and say its all A-ok...

i can also understand that if your in a place that has 100 nodes to get to
a server close by or just a server
then you click a sever on the other side of the world that works better...
that could be as simple as 20 nodes to the other side and 5 to the server
over there...

but again

you cant say steam is slow due to a sale or maintenance glitches...
and then say steam has no problems....
week in week out steam has glitches and problems that vary...

we as a customer can only do so much...
when logic says.. everything else is ok outside of steam..

You can't do anything unfortunately. We are at the mercy of steams servers and their CDNs. Those that get their speeds always assume everything is peachy since it works for them. Its a bias they can't seem to get over.

[Satoru]

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

You can't do anything unfortunately. We are at the mercy of steams servers and their CDNs. Those that get their speeds always assume everything is peachy since it works for them. Its a bias they can't seem to get over.

If it was a CDN issue you could just change the download region and that would fix the issue

If changing your download region isnt fixing things its not the CDN

[Dango]

İlk olarak Satoru tarafından gönderildi:

İlk olarak Teh Dango tarafından gönderildi:

You can't do anything unfortunately. We are at the mercy of steams servers and their CDNs. Those that get their speeds always assume everything is peachy since it works for them. Its a bias they can't seem to get over.

If it was a CDN issue you could just change the download region and that would fix the issue

If changing your download region isnt fixing things its not the CDN

You must have missed the part where I said changing steam servers does that exact thing. I was able to get 600mbps from a different, farther away, server than my default server that's only providing 400mbps.