Question Why is Steam Capped at 170 Mbps Download Speed?

[InfamousTog]

I know this has been posted many times, but everyone's questions lead to more questions and nothing gets answered.

I am using a desktop gaming PC connected via ethernet, and my internet plan is 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) down and up. Using speedtest via the browser and Windows application gives me results around 900-1000 Mbps for both download and upload at all times, except during the afternoon when high demand makes it drop to around 750. Steam used to download things at gig speeds, typically ranging from 100 MB/s (~800 Mbps) to 108 MB/s (~900 Mbps). However, for the last year or more, my Steam application refuses to download anything above ~170 Mbps.

I've cleared cache files, changed download regions, disabled firewalls, double checked with my ISP that they don't cap speeds from Steam servers, and I've even opened ports on the router. Nothing works. I've moved houses as well, changed ISPs during the process, and the issue still persists.

My friends download things on Steam at gig speeds all the time. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, please help me out. One of the main reasons I pay for gig internet is to download huge games in no time at all. Downloading 115 GB at 170 Mbps takes 1.5 hours, instead of about 20 minutes or less with gig internet.

PC Specs:

• CPU: Intel i7-10700K (OC limit set to 4.5GHz)
• GPU: EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
• Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1200
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB (32GB) DDR4-3600 CL16
• Storage 1: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB m.2-2280 NVME SSD
• Storage 2: WD Black SN750 1TB m.2-2280 NVME SSD
• Storage 3: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2TB 7200RPM 3.5" HDD

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8g9rxs - Full list on PCPartPicker

I use Blue Ridge Mountain EMC as my ISP. I have no modem or gateway, BRM EMC uses a fiber to ethernet switch to connect my router directly. My old ISP was Comcast, and I used their gateway.

My router is the NETGEAR Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7000) - AC1900

I am the only occupant of my home and am the only one with full admin rights.

ipconfig Results: potential security risks hidden

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe 2.5GbE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : ****
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : **** (Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : **** (Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 17, 2023 5:06:03 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, March 18, 2023 5:06:03 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : ****
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : ****
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

During downloads, my PC experiences no processing spikes. It does not heat up the SSDs while writing or reading.

Download here slightly lower, most likely due to people waking up around this time and going online.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

ISP? Make and model information for modem and router (or modem/router if combined)

Wired or wireless?

Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor. Use both tools but only one tool at a time.

Observe what your system is doing or trying to do as you browse online, game, download. Watch for what changes when the downloads slow.

The router's logs may provide some clue if logs are available and enabled. Who has full admin rights to the router? You will need help from that person.

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Copy and paste the results in your next post.

 

[USAFRet]

Please show us a screencap of your Steam window, showing us the transfer speed.

 

[InfamousTog]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

ISP? Make and model information for modem and router (or modem/router if combined)

Wired or wireless?

Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor. Use both tools but only one tool at a time.

Observe what your system is doing or trying to do as you browse online, game, download. Watch for what changes when the downloads slow.

The router's logs may provide some clue if logs are available and enabled. Who has full admin rights to the router? You will need help from that person.

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

Copy and paste the results in your next post.

check my updated post

 

[InfamousTog]

Please show us a screencap of your Steam window, showing us the transfer speed.

updated

 

[bill001g]

Note even though people think a mac address is unique it is not actually. If you were to work for a company that buys 1000s of identical laptops you will find that you will get duplicates over time. Not important but not worth the effort to hide it.

This has to be something different about how steam runs on your machine. It can't be the router your ISP or anything outside your machine because they don't really know what speedtest or steam is they are both just a bunch of data bits. This is also confirmed since you moved and have all different ISP and equipment with the same issue. Although you can put data cap limits on traffic in some routers this tends to be something you must configure and would actually be tricky to do since steam uses many server IP to download from. It is worth checking that you do not have anything like that.

I would first try to disable IPv6 just in case steam is using IPv6 and speedtest is using IPv4.

The only real difference between speedtest and steam is speedtest is running from the browser using HTTPS and steam is using its own application. I am not sure if steam is still using other ports or is now using 443.

What I would first look for is any software on your machine that does any kind of network QoS. There is a lot of bloatware bundled with motherboards and video cards that tries to favor gaming traffic. A very common name is CFOSspeed but I would uninstall any app you have that talks about preferring any kind of traffic over another.

This is tricky because there is no easy way to eliminate all windows garbage without a lot of effort. Steam runs on linux but using the standard boot linux from a USB does not help because you must be able to install steam and have someplace to download files even to just test. You do not want to damage your windows install.

It almost has to be some software in windows limiting you.

I guess you could test to other speedtest servers in other cities and other ISP but that would be in someways worse if you found a issue because you can not change anything related to how ISP interconnect.

 

[InfamousTog]

Note even though people think a mac address is unique it is not actually. If you were to work for a company that buys 1000s of identical laptops you will find that you will get duplicates over time. Not important but not worth the effort to hide it.

This has to be something different about how steam runs on your machine. It can't be the router your ISP or anything outside your machine because they don't really know what speedtest or steam is they are both just a bunch of data bits. This is also confirmed since you moved and have all different ISP and equipment with the same issue. Although you can put data cap limits on traffic in some routers this tends to be something you must configure and would actually be tricky to do since steam uses many server IP to download from. It is worth checking that you do not have anything like that.

I would first try to disable IPv6 just in case steam is using IPv6 and speedtest is using IPv4.

The only real difference between speedtest and steam is speedtest is running from the browser using HTTPS and steam is using its own application. I am not sure if steam is still using other ports or is now using 443.

What I would first look for is any software on your machine that does any kind of network QoS. There is a lot of bloatware bundled with motherboards and video cards that tries to favor gaming traffic. A very common name is CFOSspeed but I would uninstall any app you have that talks about preferring any kind of traffic over another.

This is tricky because there is no easy way to eliminate all windows garbage without a lot of effort. Steam runs on linux but using the standard boot linux from a USB does not help because you must be able to install steam and have someplace to download files even to just test. You do not want to damage your windows install.

It almost has to be some software in windows limiting you.

I guess you could test to other speedtest servers in other cities and other ISP but that would be in someways worse if you found a issue because you can not change anything related to how ISP interconnect.

I've built many PCs over the years and work on Windows OS myself. The only program I have to keep uninstalling on this PC is CFosSpeed, installed by MSI. I always check and make sure that it is uninstalled.

 

[palladin9479]

Note even though people think a mac address is unique it is not actually. If you were to work for a company that buys 1000s of identical laptops you will find that you will get duplicates over time. Not important but not worth the effort to hide it.

MAC address's are unique and it has nothing to do with the OEM who made the machine but the vender who produced the PHY NIC. When a physical NIC is first produced there is a MAC address burned into it it's ROM, this can not be changed and follows the MAC-48 standard (48 bits) and each manufacturer has a different block they use.

Here are a few NIC manufactures MAC prefix's
Intel: 00:15:17
RealTek: 00:E0:4C
Broadcom: BC:97:E1

Each OS's network layer is responsible for handling the layer 2 communications and can override this physical burned in MAC and use a different one, Apple and several other manufactures now use MAC-randomization, which is where they randomize the MAC address instead of using the one burned into the PHY's ROM. This is to prevent not-nice entities tracking devices, especially cell phones, by their MAC address's on public networks.

If anyone wants to lookup the various manufacturer MAC prefix's, here is the global database for them.
https://mac.lc/#search

 

[palladin9479]

About OP's question, don't use the "speedtest" to your nearest location, ISP's have become aware that people use those and have logic to detect it and handle it differently then non "speedtest" traffic. Instead use a location that's farther out, a few cities over or otherwise on another network, and in your situation something close to your steam download site. Also Steam might be throttling the connection based on load or location.

 

[InfamousTog]

About OP's question, don't use the "speedtest" to your nearest location, ISP's have become aware that people use those and have logic to detect it and handle it differently then non "speedtest" traffic. Instead use a location that's farther out, a few cities over or otherwise on another network, and in your situation something close to your steam download site. Also Steam might be throttling the connection based on load or location.

I'm about 60 miles from the server location, tried Atlanta and Charlotte which are both over 100 miles and I get the same results.

 

[bill001g]

MAC address's are unique and it has nothing to do with the OEM who made the machine but the vender who produced the PHY NIC. When a physical NIC is first produced there is a MAC address burned into it it's ROM, this can not be changed and follows the MAC-48 standard (48 bits) and each manufacturer has a different block they use.

Here are a few NIC manufactures MAC prefix's
Intel: 00:15:17
RealTek: 00:E0:4C
Broadcom: BC:97:E1

Each OS's network layer is responsible for handling the layer 2 communications and can override this physical burned in MAC and use a different one, Apple and several other manufactures now use MAC-randomization, which is where they randomize the MAC address instead of using the one burned into the PHY's ROM. This is to prevent not-nice entities tracking devices, especially cell phones, by their MAC address's on public networks.

If anyone wants to lookup the various manufacturer MAC prefix's, here is the global database for them.
https://mac.lc/#search

Technically true that it is the nic chip but in a way it makes the issue worse because the pool of devices that use the same nic chip is larger. The manufacture only has so many addresses and they manufacture far more devices even in a year than their pool allows so they have to reuse them.
It also seems the cycle though smaller pools based on who they manufacture the nic chip for. I know the company I used to work for was going to use the mac address as part of the asset tracking but they discovered that they had some duplicates. Now if you only buy say 100 laptops you might not see it but when a company buys 10,000 in a year they do find duplicates.

 

[palladin9479]

Technically true that it is the nic chip but in a way it makes the issue worse because the pool of devices that use the same nic chip is larger. The manufacture only has so many addresses and they manufacture far more devices even in a year than their pool allows so they have to reuse them.
It also seems the cycle though smaller pools based on who they manufacture the nic chip for. I know the company I used to work for was going to use the mac address as part of the asset tracking but they discovered that they had some duplicates. Now if you only buy say 100 laptops you might not see it but when a company buys 10,000 in a year they do find duplicates.

Yeah I don't' think you realize how large the MAC address pool is...

It's 48 bits, which has a limit of 281 trillion possible values. Manufacturers are in no danger of "running out" and they do not make duplicates, unless you have MAC randomization turned on, in which case it's possible to have.


To put it bluntly, the NSA was using cellphone MAC's to track tens of millions of individuals as they moved around the US. The disclosure of that program directly lead to all major cell phone manufacturers implementing MAC randomization.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Yeah I don't' think you realize how large the MAC address pool is...

It's 48 bits, which has a limit of 281 trillion possible values. Manufacturers are in no danger of "running out" and they do not make duplicates, unless you have MAC randomization turned on, in which case it's possible to have.


To put it bluntly, the NSA was using cellphone MAC's to track tens of millions of individuals as they moved around the US.

Actually, they do. While this was many years ago, while working at the old Time Warner Cable in San Diego, installing RoadRunner service I came across no less than 8 Motorola cable modems with identical MAC addresses. In addition to multiple instances of Intel & 3Com NICs with duplicated MACs when setting up networks of 100's-1000's of workstations over the years. I still have 2 of them in my collection at home. MAC randomization was not in use here.

 

[palladin9479]

I'm about 60 miles from the server location, tried Atlanta and Charlotte which are both over 100 miles and I get the same results.

Did you check Settings -> Downloads and ensure the region is closest to you along with making sure there are no limits and that it's set to download while streaming / during gameplay / etc.

 

[InfamousTog]

Did you check Settings -> Downloads and ensure the region is closest to you along with making sure there are no limits and that it's set to download while streaming / during gameplay / etc.

Yep, all good. ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[gggplaya]

Try installing the same on your Samsung 970 EVO if you aren't already. Which SSD are you trying to install this on?

 

[InfamousTog]

Try installing the same on your Samsung 970 EVO if you aren't already. Which SSD are you trying to install this on?

I installed this on the SN750, but I get the same issue while trying to install things to the 970 EVO. They're also not thermal throttling. When I check HW Monitor during installs, the temps never get above 40 C (unless my GPU was running hot recently, and then temps will maybe be 50-55 C). The only time the SSD temp increases on its own, above the ambient temperature inside the case, is when I am verifying files or transferring files between the two, because they will run near their max operating speeds.

 

[Wacabletech06]

Can you direct steam to use a different server and see if yours is just maybe busy with a lot of activities? Its under settings, pick the server/city you think is the second closest to you and see what happens, ordinarily it would be slower or the same speed, if its faster, you may just be in too busy of an area.

Does your friend that gets 1 Gbps download live near you, have you tried comparing settings? Can he come over to your place, hook up and download something to see what he gets?

 

[InfamousTog]

Can you direct steam to use a different server and see if yours is just maybe busy with a lot of activities? Its under settings, pick the server/city you think is the second closest to you and see what happens, ordinarily it would be slower or the same speed, if its faster, you may just be in too busy of an area.

Does your friend that gets 1 Gbps download live near you, have you tried comparing settings? Can he come over to your place, hook up and download something to see what he gets?

Answers like this are what I'm trying to avoid. I live in an area where four counties don't even make up a population of 40k. Of course I have switched Steam servers, and yes I have taken my PC over to their house and downloaded things getting same results, and they have brought over laptops to my place and gotten gig download speeds on steam through their machines. All of the simplest measures to take, like these suggestions, I have done countless times. I need someone to reply who knows a little more than that.

 

[InfamousTog]

I know this has been posted many times, but everyone's questions lead to more questions and nothing gets answered.

I am using a desktop gaming PC connected via ethernet, and my internet plan is 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) down and up. Using speedtest via the browser and Windows application gives me results around 900-1000 Mbps for both download and upload at all times, except during the afternoon when high demand makes it drop to around 750. Steam used to download things at gig speeds, typically ranging from 100 MB/s (~800 Mbps) to 108 MB/s (~900 Mbps). However, for the last year or more, my Steam application refuses to download anything above ~170 Mbps.

I've cleared cache files, changed download regions, disabled firewalls, double checked with my ISP that they don't cap speeds from Steam servers, and I've even opened ports on the router. Nothing works. I've moved houses as well, changed ISPs during the process, and the issue still persists.

My friends download things on Steam at gig speeds all the time. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, please help me out. One of the main reasons I pay for gig internet is to download huge games in no time at all. Downloading 115 GB at 170 Mbps takes 1.5 hours, instead of about 20 minutes or less with gig internet.

PC Specs:

• CPU: Intel i7-10700K (OC limit set to 4.5GHz)
• GPU: EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
• Motherboard: MSI MPG Z490 GAMING PLUS ATX LGA1200
• RAM: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 2x16GB (32GB) DDR4-3600 CL16
• Storage 1: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB m.2-2280 NVME SSD
• Storage 2: WD Black SN750 1TB m.2-2280 NVME SSD
• Storage 3: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2TB 7200RPM 3.5" HDD

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8g9rxs - Full list on PCPartPicker

I use Blue Ridge Mountain EMC as my ISP. I have no modem or gateway, BRM EMC uses a fiber to ethernet switch to connect my router directly. My old ISP was Comcast, and I used their gateway.

My router is the NETGEAR Nighthawk Smart Wi-Fi Router (R7000) - AC1900

I am the only occupant of my home and am the only one with full admin rights.

ipconfig Results: potential security risks hidden

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe 2.5GbE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : ****
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : **** (Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : **** (Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, March 17, 2023 5:06:03 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, March 18, 2023 5:06:03 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : ****
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : ****
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

During downloads, my PC experiences no processing spikes. It does not heat up the SSDs while writing or reading.

Download here slightly lower, most likely due to people waking up around this time and going online.

UPDATE ON EVERYTHING SO FAR:

Since posting this my download speeds have improved. I have done literally nothing to my machine to change anything from previous download attempts. I still cannot achieve 750+ Mbps, but I can get around 400-500 which is much, much better than what it was.

A new possibility I was recently made aware of is that Steam may have a limiter set on my account restricting my download speed. This limiter is not accessible by me, but instead set in place by an automated system or a team of moderators for a specific reason. That reason could be that I've downloaded too many games recently and have taken up a considerable amount of Steam bandwidth in my area. I find this hard to believe though.