Question Head Scratcher: Steam reading and writing on 2nd SSD is slow

[Richard_68]

Steam is making my 2nd SSD operate slow. At 5mb/s the SSD is said to be at 100% capacity, which i know is not true.
The way it's setup, Steam is operating on the SSD drive C: and there's a couple of games on that drive, which work perfectly. The rest of my games on another SSD drive, D: Those launch but throttle my SSD to 5mbs read or write.
This problem affects:

• Gaming on Steam
• Loading games on Steam
• Verifying files from Steam
• Backing-up games on Steam

Things i've tried:

• Move the game to another drive - no problem.
• try another game launcher - no problems
• test SSD speed (nominal results (550mbs)
• test SSD temperature (nominal results 28C)
• test all temperatures - no related issues
• Change game settings - wasn't the issue.
• Reinstall Steam - didnt solve
• Format entire PC - didntt solve
• Kingston diagnostic software - no problems at all.
  
  Edit:
  More things i've tried:
  
  • Move Steam client to the D: drive - same problem.
  • Turn on/off page file - same problem.
  • Test a wide range of steam games - Some are not affected, 4/10 games are affected, the rest are either fine or simply too old games to be sure.
  • Switch SATA cables around - same results.
  • clearing more disk space - same results.

I would appreciate the help.

Full specs:
MOBO Asus Maximus Ranger VIII
Intel i7 6700
RAM 16GB Hyperx Fury
VGA Gigabyte 2070 super
PSU Thermaltake 750W
OS: Windows 10
STORAGE: 2 SSDs and 2 HDDs
--C: |OS, and program files/application| Kingston SH103S3480G (480GB)
--D: |More storage for Steam| Kingston SA400S37960G <<< where the problem lies
--E: (storage) HDD by WD 2TB
--F: (storage) HDD by WD 1TB


here's what it looks like, http://prntscr.com/q5lgin

 

[rgd1101]

how full is the ssd?

 

[Richard_68]

how full is the ssd?

After formatting, drive was empty, i had the problem with the 1st game i tried. I was keeping an eye on the issue.

Currently:
200GB free on D:
300GB free on C:

 

[Ketchup79]

So you have Steam games on two different drives? IIRC Steam doesn't like that. I know there are some discussions about this, and all the ones I see seem to say it works in some games, but not in others. Personally, I have all steam games on a standard platter drive and it works just fine.

 

[USAFRet]

So you have Steam games on two different drives? IIRC Steam doesn't like that. I know there are some discussions about this, and all the ones I see seem to say it works in some games, but not in others. Personally, I have all steam games on a standard platter drive and it works just fine.

I've had zero issues with Steam games on multiple drives.
I even have a second drive as the default install location. That function is built into the client.

 

[Richard_68]

So you have Steam games on two different drives? IIRC Steam doesn't like that. I know there are some discussions about this, and all the ones I see seem to say it works in some games, but not in others. Personally, I have all steam games on a standard platter drive and it works just fine.

Yes i do. So for your sake i uninstalled steam and moved it to the 2nd SSD which i intend to store the games on.
Now everything is on 1 drive and guess what? Same problem. Steam doesn't like this specific SSD even though there's nothing wrong with it.

This screenshot is of a speed test:
http://prntscr.com/q5o9nc

Right after, i launched a game and these were speeds i recorded while the game was struggling to load textures and sounds
http://prntscr.com/q5o8kd

This is what the manufacturer's diagnostic app tells me about the SSD
http://prntscr.com/q5ofac

 

[Ketchup79]

I've had zero issues with Steam games on multiple drives.
I even have a second drive as the default install location. That function is built into the client.

Oh good. They really should considering game libraries will grow over time, I just haven't had the need for it yet

 

[Richard_68]

More things i've tried:

Changing the 2nd SSD cable

Figured out the best way to test what speed i will be getting is by doing a 'verify file integrity' from steam.

Moved Steam to same SSD as the games.

Oh good. They really should considering game libraries will grow over time, I just haven't had the need for it yet

But you are on to something... some games perform as if nothing is wrong. Squad and Assetto Corsa are doing 350mb/s if needed.
While Conan Exiles, and GTA5 can't go above 6mb/s
All on the same drive. WTF steam?

Something to do with how some games are compressed?

 

[Ketchup79]

According to your image, the D drive is carrying a page file. That could be part of the problem.

 

[Richard_68]

According to your image, the D drive is carrying a page file. That could be part of the problem.

I highly doubt that according to my research. Also did you take into account that everything else works fine. In fact some Steam games do work well from the same drive. It seems this has to do with the way files are compressed, i don't have confirmation of that and it's well beyond my knowledge level.

 

[Ketchup79]

Well, here is my game drive, and as you can see, no page file:

To check:
Control Panel, System, Advanced System settings, Advanced tab, Settings button in the Performance section, Advanced, the Change button in Virtual Memory. Tell me what it shows for D:.

 

[Richard_68]

Well, here is my game drive, and as you can see, no page file:

To check:
Control Panel, System, Advanced System settings, Advanced tab, Settings button in the Performance section, Advanced, the Change button in Virtual Memory. Tell me what it shows for D:.

Ah yes i remember now, i set it up manually just a few days ago to see if it makes any difference, it didn't; i had the problem before and after. I'll remove it now since it didn't solve anything and see if there will be changes.
http://prntscr.com/q6trdz

Edit: Removed the Page File, i had some boot trouble but sorted that out in Bios.
Results are the same. I don't have this issue with all the games, some will run at 350mbs+ from the same drive, from steam. If i move those files to another drive, even if it's not C: , there will be no issue.

 

[Ketchup79]

... If i move those files to another drive, even if it's not C: , there will be no issue.

Can you explain this part? Are you saying games will run better/worse, depending on what drive they are on?

 

[Richard_68]

Can you explain this part? Are you saying games will run better/worse, depending on what drive they are on?

Yes, the affected games will run fine from any other drive, even though it's been proven there's nothing wrong with the drive they're on. They can't possibly run worse than 5mb/s tho.
I have 4 total. 2 HDDs and 2SSDs.