System operates at 10GbE connectivity issue
System operates at 10GbE connectivity issue
Hello, your setup offers a solid connection and decent hardware. With an 8.5/1.5 Gbps link and a 10GbE card, you're close to the theoretical limit. Your CPU (i7-9700K) at 100% clock speed of 5.1GHz seems to struggle with decompression during downloads. To achieve full 1000MB/s speeds, you might need a faster CPU or more cores. Consider upgrading to a multi-core processor with higher clock speeds or better memory bandwidth. Your RAM (16GB) and NVMe SSD should help, but increasing the CPU power or using a dedicated GPU could further boost performance.
The 9700k often fell short in multi-core speed. The R9 7900x offers 12 cores and performs well for gaming, making it a solid upgrade option. The i7-13700k provides 8 performance cores plus 8 efficiency cores, delivering good multicore results and strong gaming capabilities.
Could 12 cores deliver 8.5 Gbps download speeds on Steam? It depends on your setup and connection quality. Using all cores might help maximize performance, but actual speeds also rely on your internet plan and network conditions.
Don't expect 8.5Gbit from Steam—it's too high. The download will likely end before it even starts, no matter what the other side can handle. You're also overlooking that the servers you're connecting to might only support 10Gbit upload and are shared among many users, so speed changes depending on how many others are downloading at once. Some games consist of many small files, which slows things down further if they're downloaded separately. The biggest slowdown usually comes from game updates, especially patching, which can be improved with a faster CPU. Even with a gigabit connection and a powerful SSD, I can finish a game faster than updating an existing one. Often this happens when several files are updated at once, causing each patch to pause the download and prevent it from reaching full speed. Real broadband performance is better when multiple users share the same connection, not just one person trying to maximize it.
Does the Steam client perform well under multithreading? AFAIK it shouldn't, but IPC might actually improve download and unpack speeds instead of relying on more cores.
It's tough to pinpoint since games don't always bundle files consistently. I'll keep an eye out when I set up Starfield. A quick search hints Steam might attempt 20 simultaneous download segments, which could mean more cores work better for downloading, though decompression might actually need the opposite. On a modern machine, I'm pretty certain the updates are the main issue.
Are you certain the problem lies with your device? You only experience those speeds within your ISP range. After your data leaves the ISP network, it depends on the other service providers handling the traffic. Also, services such as Steam won’t offer unlimited bandwidth—you need to share resources with all users who use Steam.