Slow disk speeds only when downloading on steam

[Keo frogman]

why is it that when i am downloading on steam i get slow disk speeds (around 20-30 MB/s)
I have checked task manager while downloading to see if anything else is using my disk up under processes, but it doesnt seem like it, it seems pretty low (around 20%) However when i look under performance, my disk is at 100%. It doesnt do this when downloading on any other app only steam.
ive tried downloading on a different drive (ssd this time), and its about as fast as my internet (4-6MB/s), (is that because im downloading an entirely new game, instead of just updating??)

more info if it helps: i noticed that every so often since building my pc, it makes the sound that something got ejected? when nothing did, and it never seemed to cause/interrupt what i was doing so i have just left it (thinking maybe loose cable?) However, since playing Elden Ring, whenever the eject sound happens, my game stutters and freezes for a second and returns to normal. Now this occurs like once an hour maybe less. Could this be my slow hard drive problem, or something completely different?

[crunchyfrog]

Simple - because that's how it works.

Steam downloads games both encrypted an compressed. For this reason it means that more resources are dependent upon this, not just your intenert connection. So, your hard drive, I/O, CPU, and so on.


So as you say your Task Manager says it's maxing at 100%, then there's your problem. Your hard drive is too slow to keep up with the throughput. So you can fix that if you wish by getting a faster drive.

As for your USB disconnection ping, that is commonly caused by either poor USB connection (if they're loose at the plug or socket) or a driver issue under some circumstances. And yes it will likely stutter at that point because your system is trying to disconnect and reconnect it, briefly hoggin resources.

So it may be a whole lot of issues there,. Not just your hard drive, but maybe some loose cabling, or even duff drivers or more.

As it's a new build you should perhaps have a thorough go over the whole system if you know what you're doing.

[Keo frogman]

ok thank you, but im not quite sure that these were the speeds i was getting before (when i said new pc build i meant built maybe late last year sometime, so ive had it for a bit now), my hdd is seagate barracuda 2tb. test results with CrystalDiskMark says around 200MB/s. so shouldnt my speeds im getting on steam be similar?
on epic games, writing disk speeds seem to be around 150MB/s, while my read mostly stays at 0, but will occasionally jump around 100-200MB/s. (that is normal tho right, just giving more info) like i said before, while downloading on anything other than steam, my hard drive seems fine, as in its sits around 20% in the performance tab.
thanks for the help!

[Iceira]

Maybe ppl dont know this anymore why data was compressed, and that why you need cpu and disk space to unpack it, you do not want raw data, trust me on this, maybe you dont get it, game devs dont program anymore they use design tool's and they file size get so big without super compressed files.

maybe you should go see youtub video what rendring video is, then you will learn fast, and why old pc can get huge issue if they did not do that , you can simple stand still for not have the power to play at all. ( this is no diffrece and why the pack files to get most out of floopy disk and what ever media type later ) its simple why things matter in get data in smallest size possible , and now you think but i have 1GB network , yeah so what maybe lookup what ISP has fiber highway with millions of user and if that was not made smallest as possible then net wont be big enough ever. ( this is a rough explanation in why data compression matter, and that has nothing to do with steam. )
ISP move TERA flop . steam is a kid in that world view. and what stream do or not do wont change global network and compressed files, between big companys among isp themself.

ps.
even seen steam, or was it game devs repack a old game to new format, long time ago cant remember name of it, but dont use box dvd-rom, because its a waste of time and redownload all anyway in the new packed standard. ( so even compressed file format has changeand the total size of it. i bet. )

[Elucidator]

Автор сообщения: kurtis

it makes the sound that something got ejected?

A hard drisk drive's seek pin is controlled by electromagnetism. You may hear it if the arm holding it gets pulled back (to reset position) after an error happens. This also usually causes the spin speed to temporary slow down and seeking to start over.

I recommend running crystaldiskinfo (not mark) and see the drive health. Also defrag the drive.

As to why that happens, no clue. It can be due to bugs or some electricity shortage (temporarily) or other reasons. Maybe it's rotary engine got too hot, idk.

the SMART should have registered stuff if it was an error at least. Maybe windows decided to control the disk like that for some reason. It could be due to a number of reasons at least.

[crunchyfrog]

Автор сообщения: kurtis

ok thank you, but im not quite sure that these were the speeds i was getting before (when i said new pc build i meant built maybe late last year sometime, so ive had it for a bit now), my hdd is seagate barracuda 2tb. test results with CrystalDiskMark says around 200MB/s. so shouldnt my speeds im getting on steam be similar?
on epic games, writing disk speeds seem to be around 150MB/s, while my read mostly stays at 0, but will occasionally jump around 100-200MB/s. (that is normal tho right, just giving more info) like i said before, while downloading on anything other than steam, my hard drive seems fine, as in its sits around 20% in the performance tab.
thanks for the help!

Twio things - that shows your TOP speed possiblwe for your drive but as I said, it's ALL those variables, not just that.

So you should look at the graph on the downloads page and your Task Manager to see how they ALL behave at the same time.

Second, what other services do is totally different. Because Steam downloads games encrypted and compressed. Others don't.

Anywho, Elucidator's points above are good to follow too. Note the part about the seek pin on a drive - if you can hear it ticking fairly easily that's a pretty common sign things aren't going too well. At worst you should maybe be hearing one click once in a blue moon.