Streaming data from Steam occurs very gradually.
Streaming data from Steam occurs very gradually.
I've faced this problem for more than a month now and have tried nearly everything possible. My connection speed is around 400-450mbps, yet Steam only reaches up to 3mb/s, which is usually a bit slower. The issue appears only with Steam—Battlenet and Epic Games download at full speed, while other devices connected to my router can download at full speed too. I've restarted my PC, cleared the Steam download cache, reinstalled Steam, followed their installation guide, reset my router, replaced the Ethernet cable, updated Windows and drivers, turned off the firewall and antivirus temporarily, switched download servers, and even tried a Steam reinstall. The fix only lasted 10-15 minutes, even without launching any games. I haven’t made any hardware changes and don’t think it’s a hardware problem, considering it’s exclusive to Steam.
I hope the download restriction isn’t configured in Steam’s settings. Most problems I’ve faced have been fixed by removing my "config.cfg" file located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\userdata." I’m not sure which one is correct, so deleting both might help. I’m not sure if this is the best solution, but I checked other websites and found no alternative steps. If you’re concerned, there may be more information available online.
The key point about speed tests is they assess your full bandwidth from your ISP to your home. If Steam consumed all of it, there would be no internet for the rest of your house. Also, are you uploading to a hard drive? Hard drives are slower, and clearing the cache only provides short-term relief. When downloading games, keep an eye on your computer's usage. Steam tends to perform better with single-core processors and works more efficiently on faster single-core CPUs.
I own an SSD and an HDD; it doesn't matter which I use since both operate at roughly 2.5mb/s. Regarding the speed issue, removing user data only provided a short-term fix, bringing the download back to about 2.5mb/s or slightly less. I recognize Steam won’t monopolize all bandwidth, but it shouldn’t be consuming under 10% of available capacity if it hasn’t before. Checking Task Manager during downloads shows these performance metrics. My system specs include a Ryzen 5 3600 with 6 cores and 3600MHz RAM, an RTX 2060 GPU, and a Samsung 870 EVO 1TB SSD.
Interesting. The only thing I’ve got in mind right now is verifying the Steam server you’re using. It sometimes forces downloads through a server far away from me, even though there’s one nearby. To boost speeds, I’ve set games to use both my SSD and HDD via symlink folders. It’s not easy to explain, but I’ll share the video link. While he’s on Windows 11, it functions on Windows 10 because that’s my version.
The server is located in the same country as me, roughly 2-3 hours away, which is the nearest option available. I tried creating a symlink, but it didn’t help much. Right now, I’m considering giving up. The only solution left is to reinstall Steam, which only lasts about 10 minutes and resets settings for certain games.