You set a dl speed limit in Steam and don't remember?

This sentence is not very clear:

But for some weird reason on my desktop system running Debian Sid, plugged directly into it, Steam downloads incredibly slow (like 300-400KB/s) over wireless on my desktop, (connected at 390MB/s according to Gnome) downloads at 200-220MB/s

The problem is on wired or wireless?

Last edited by damarrin on 15 Nov 2022 at 4:18 pm UTC

Quoting: damarrinYou set a dl speed limit in Steam and don't remember?

This sentence is not very clear:

But for some weird reason on my desktop system running Debian Sid, plugged directly into it, Steam downloads incredibly slow (like 300-400KB/s) over wireless on my desktop, (connected at 390MB/s according to Gnome) downloads at 200-220MB/s

The problem is on wired or wireless?

No limit.
The issue is when wired (2500 is shown in the gnome network settings) it is only getting 300-400KB/s.

Downloading a file with Firefox or the like is speedy?

If so, rename your Steam folder and run it with a fresh config and see then.

Quoting: damarrinDownloading a file with Firefox or the like is speedy?

If so, rename your Steam folder and run it with a fresh config and see then.

Actual speedtest.net shows for sure that I'm getting the full speed. I get about 2200MB/s down and about 1100MB/s up, which corresponds nicely with 2gbps/1gbps advertised speed. Definitely do not get that while connected via WiFi.

Clearing the download cache in the Steam client seems to be one of those catch-all solutions to download problems. Might be worth a try?

The only other thing that comes to mind is the server mirror/download region used. But I don't see how wired vs. wireless would make any difference there.

WiFi drivers on Linux can be very broken, unless it's Intel.

In general, I just prefer to avoid WiFi when possible. You can't beat latency of the wired connection.

Quoting: GuestSo if your still using an old Ethernet Cable then buy a new Cat 8 Cable,

* - 5,6,etc.

I don't get why Cat 6 isn't good for it. Cat 5 - yeah, but Cat 6 should be graded for 10 Gbps. Unless of course you have a very long cable (> 55 meters)?

Last edited by Shmerl on 16 Nov 2022 at 4:24 am UTC

Quoting: GuestFor speed like that you will need a Cat 8 Ethernet cable, if your using an older cat * Ethernet cable then your have a major bottle neck, Had a very similar problem a few years ago back when i was upgrade from 100mbps to 200mbps, i had a cat 5 cable but needed to get a cat 6e Ethernet cable, after that it worked fine.

So if your still using an old Ethernet Cable then buy a new Cat 8 Cable, and check your motherboard/laptop can do 2gbps.
But if i reading this correct then you are using some sort of usb 2 Ethernet adapter?, i would still replace the Ethernet cable if it's an old cable, if it's a new cat 8 cable then maybe it's a fault/problem with the usb adapter?

And again if i reading this right, It all works okay on windows, is this with usb adapter, with same cables used on Debian desktop, if yes then some sort of hardware/driver issue with the usb adapter maybe, if you mean Windows/Linux/Mac over wifi then i'd still check Ethernet Cable, If your using the same cables but are plugging into the Motherboard Ethernet Port then check the motherboard Ethernet port can do that kind of speed.

* - 5,6,etc.

This is a load of nonsense. Cat 8? For 2 gbps? Cat 6e doesn’t even exist. Lol.

Last edited by damarrin on 16 Nov 2022 at 5:22 am UTC

Quoting: slaapliedje

Quoting: damarrinDownloading a file with Firefox or the like is speedy?

If so, rename your Steam folder and run it with a fresh config and see then.

Actual speedtest.net shows for sure that I'm getting the full speed. I get about 2200MB/s down and about 1100MB/s up, which corresponds nicely with 2gbps/1gbps advertised speed. Definitely do not get that while connected via WiFi.

Bandwidth test is a very theoretical thing. But at least it makes sure the local network works fine (no cable issues like some mentioned).

Steam likes to flush buffers immediatly so when your hard drive is slow - for whatever reason - this will affect download speed. So try to download on a different HD / partition where there's more space available and there's most likely little fragmentation of free space.

Also:
- Did you test with the same game on desktop and laptop? I have the effect that some games have low download speeds while with others I always get maximum speed.
- Did you try it at the "same time" (not in parallel of course, but more like: test on laptop and when finished, immediatly try on desktop)? During the day the download servers might have very big differences in available capacity/bandwidth depending on what's going on.

Last edited by peta77 on 16 Nov 2022 at 8:20 am UTC

You can run a local bandwidth test with iperf3 to make sure it's an actual issue with wifi and not something else.

Quoting: ShmerlYou can run a local bandwidth test with iperf3 to make sure it's an actual issue with wifi and not something else.

You realise he said the problem was over cable?

Quoting: damarrinYou realise he said the problem was over cable?

The post was kind of confusing, and sounded like over wifi. But if it's over cable, then test wouldn't hurt anyway. But it doesn't sound to me like a network problem then, more like application limiting its own traffic.

Sometimes weird stuff happens becasue ISP does crazy things shaping traffic based on something. For that you can test if VPN changes anything or not.

Last edited by Shmerl on 16 Nov 2022 at 8:59 am UTC

Quoting: ShmerlThe post was kind of confusing

Now that is true.

Quoting: Guest

Quoting: damarrinThis is a load of nonsense. Cat 8? For 2 gbps? Cat 6e doesn’t even exist. Lol.

https://icc.com/help-article/difference-cat6-cat6e/

Wow, and you took the piss out of me, I'm done, was only trying to help.

Hmmm, linking to a company that sells cables, they can write whatever. From Wikipedia:

After the ratification of Cat 6, manufacturers began offering cables labeled as Category 6e. The intent was to market Cat 6e as a pseudo official upgrade to the Category 6 standard naming it after the Category 5e standard. Officially Cat 6e is not a recognized ISO standard.

Taken from here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_6_cable

Edit: softened my tone.

As for recommending cat 8 cables for 2 gbps, cat 5e is capable of 2.5 gbps over distances of 100 m, that’s how wrong that recommendation is. “Helping” that way is only spreading fud.

Last edited by damarrin on 16 Nov 2022 at 12:54 pm UTC

Sorry, I just can’t resist.

The icc page you linked to itself notes 6e is a made up thing. Plus, it includes precise information such as: “It is designed to double the frequency from 250 MHz to 600 MHz.” I think it shouldn’t be treated as a reliable resource.

Quoting: ShmerlWiFi drivers on Linux can be very broken, unless it's Intel.

In general, I just prefer to avoid WiFi when possible. You can't beat latency of the wired connection.

It is working faster on wifi, that is what I don't get.

For what it is worTH, I just tested the same game, same cable, same adapter on my laptop via TB3, and was getting 40MB/s.

Plugable 2.5G USB C and USB to Ethernet Adapter, 2-in-1 Adapter Compatible with USB C/Thunderbolt 3 or USB 3.0, USB-C to RJ45 2.5 Gigabit LAN Compatible with Mac and Windows https://a.co/d/dqMKT22

Cat6 Ethernet Cable 10 Ft (2Pack), Outdoor&Indoor, 10Gbps Support Cat7 Network, Heavy Duty Flat LAN Internet Patch Cord, Solid Weatherproof High Speed Cable for Router, Modem, Xbox, PS4, Switch, Black https://a.co/d/9cY2XTN

Are the cables / adapters I am using.

do you have a wifi-device which you can plug into your desktop PC? internal/external shouldn't matter much.... can you check if that runs faster if you use that?

Quoting: Shmerl

Quoting: damarrinYou realise he said the problem was over cable?

The post was kind of confusing, and sounded like over wifi. But if it's over cable, then test wouldn't hurt anyway. But it doesn't sound to me like a network problem then, more like application limiting its own traffic.

Sometimes weird stuff happens becasue ISP does crazy things shaping traffic based on something. For that you can test if VPN changes anything or not.

Sorry, to clarify, the weirdness is that I'm getting MUCH faster speeds over Wifi than I am directly cabled to it.

I think I've come to the conclusion that it's specifically an Ubisoft problem. I'll have to test some other games, but I'm pretty sure Elder Scrolls Online downloaded the entire 100+gb in less than 5m. But Assassin's Creed: Odyssey seems to be pretty random. I wonder if it was switching between mirrors when I switched between network connections or something.

Quoting: peta77do you have a wifi-device which you can plug into your desktop PC? internal/external shouldn't matter much.... can you check if that runs faster if you use that?

I do somewhere. I just find it odd the game downloads faster over wifi than it does over ethernet.

Speedtest, while being just a random thing, clearly shows there is a difference in connected speeds. And I wouldn't even be that concerned if the differences weren't wired = in the KB/s and wireless = in the MB/s.

Quoting: ShmerlYou can run a local bandwidth test with iperf3 to make sure it's an actual issue with wifi and not something else.

I believe iperf3 requires a daemon on both sides, does it not? Been a while since I used it.

Ha, gamingonlinux should make attaching images easier, then I'd at least post screenshots so the issue is clearer.

I'm also wondering if this is an indicator of just hitting different mirrors based on random connection timing (as see my post above with the same cable / adapter on my thinkpad getting much faster downloads this morning).

Quoting: slaapliedjeI believe iperf3 requires a daemon on both sides, does it not? Been a while since I used it.

Just the iperf3 itself on both ends, yeah. So you can have two computers on the local network and check how fast data can be transferred between them. It's a good way to check if your cable is OK.

As long as your router, switches and network cards support 2Gbps.

I was actually thinking of making a custom router with some mini PC with 2.5 Gbps network card running openwrt or opnsense to replace my current WiFi router that's stuck with 1 Gbps.

Btw, instead of using Cat 6, there is an option to use fiber optic cables for your home LAN as well. You can connect SFP+ over USB 4 for instance.

Last edited by Shmerl on 16 Nov 2022 at 5:20 pm UTC