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Why am I only getting 1.8MB/s download speed from Steam?
I am on the MAX PLUS (18 Mbps ) and I can only pull down 1.8 Mbps from Steam when downloading games. I used to get that same exact download speed when usuing Suddenlink at a MUCH lower internet package.
I tried changing the steam download region too. same result.
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35.1K Messages
11 years ago
1.8 MBps (megaBytes per second) works out to about 14.4 Mbps (megabits per second). Whiel not quite 18, its a lot better than what you think.
Communication companies routinely quote their services in bits per second. Download utilties usually use a number that means more to the user, i.e. bytes per second. Since tehre are 8 bits in a byte, it's easy to convert.
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trparky
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594 Messages
11 years ago
JefferMC has it right.
So let's do some math here. 18 Mbps is equal to 18,874,368 bits per second. Now, since 8 bits are in a byte, we have to take the 18,874,368 bits and divide it by 8, that comes out to be 2,359,296 Bytes. Now, we take 2,359,296 and divide it by 1,048,576 (1 Megabyte) which then comes out to be 2.25 Megabytes.
So, 18 Mbps is equal to 2.25 MBps. Notice that the last number has a big "B" and not a small "b" like the first number has. "b" stands for bits, "B" stands for bytes. Bytes are bigger than bits.
As for why you're not getting the full 2.25 MBps that you think you should be getting is that TCP/IP which is the protocol that the whole Internet is based upon has a lot of overhead. There's handshaking, confirmation, and other various other forms of traffic that's traveling along with the raw data of your download. Then you have to take into account that the data you are requesting may be coming from a server more than 200 miles away with multiple connection points along the way each adding their own set of added overhead as well.
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SomeJoe7777
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9.4K Messages
11 years ago
For exact figures:
18 Mbps = 18,000,000 bits per second (AT&T and other internet providers use Mega- or Giga- as SI units, which are powers of 10, thus all multipliers are 1000).
This bits per second figure is for ALL traffic that crosses the VDSL line, including framing encapsulation. VDSL framing encapsulation is similar to Ethernet. It's 6 bytes for source MAC, 6 bytes for destination MAC, 4 bytes for 802.1Q QOS/VLAN, 2 bytes for type, and 4 bytes at the end for FCS. That's 22 bytes of overhead for a 1500 byte payload (payload size matches the MTU defined in the modem).
Of the 1500 byte payload, you have 20 bytes of overhead for the IP header, and another 20 bytes of overhead for the TCP header, leaving your file transfer data at only 1460 bytes per packet.
Adding all this together, you get 18,000,000 bits per second to carry 1522-byte frames, of which only 1460 bytes of each frame is counted towards the Windows download speed that is displayed in the download window.
18,000,000 bps * 1 Byte/8 bits = 2,250,000 Bytes/sec * 1460 bytes file / 1522 bytes frame = 2,158,344 Bytes of the file per second
Now convert this to the Windows download value in megabytes per second (Windows uses powers of 2 prefixes for Mega- and Giga-, so 1024 multipliers are used here):
2,158,344 Bytes/second * 1 KB/1024 Bytes * 1 MB/1024 KB = 2.06 MB/sec.
Thus, under perfectly ideal conditions, an 18 Mbps Internet service should download a file at 2.06 MB/sec as displayed in Windows.
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intrance454
Teacher
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20 Messages
11 years ago
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bludgeont
Contributor
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2 Messages
9 years ago
Hi,
I just got off the phone with AT&T support and just read through this post. 1.8MB/s is absolutely abhorrent in today's day and age. I am referring to Steam here. I don't accept the argument that the numbers add up correct because I can go to speedtest.net and get a solid 12MB/s test which defies the logic about what is presented here. I left Time Warner because of the ridiculous service that I was receiving - I came to AT&T Uverse because Verizon FIOS redirected me to this company. Thinking that I was going to be getting better speeds - I signed up and I am quite unhappy now. If I went to speedtest.net and also received a 1.8MB/s cap then things would appear that this was the absolute bandwidth cap, however; with the variations from Steam CDN and other gaming CDN networks, there is something fishy going on. I am now more unhappy than I was with Time Warner and perhaps I will just disconnect my Internet services and possibly my cable TV services with AT&T because their adverstising and the way that they present their packages is deceitful and unclear. No one should have to read the fine print, who does that.. This is 2015, not 1995. I have a buddy on Verizon FiOS and he is paying $70/month for 90MB/s! I am almost paying the same amount for speeds that were relevant in the 90's.... Lets get with the program here and try to make your customers happy, something of which I am not. So, I guess I go lower my speeds to the lowest tier package then and deal with it..how crazy is that.
By the way, I am on the lower/mid tier bracket for Internet speeds from AT&T and I am getting the same 1.8MB/s as the person that started this thread whom which has the 18Mb/s package - right there should be a clear indication that something is wrong.
Also, changing Steam server regions changed nothing, solid 1.8MB/s - sad.
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mibrnsurg
Expert
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20.4K Messages
9 years ago
@bludgeont Read SomeJoe's (one of the best tech whizes ever here) answer to the OP and see that is pretty much correct for Steam downloads. 😉
Chris
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bludgeont
Contributor
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2 Messages
9 years ago
@mibrnsurg Yes, I read it, thank you.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/4033147896.png
This does not correllate with what happens with Steam being capped at 1.8MB/sec. The fact that download speeds can be much faster indicates there are some other factors at work here.
Also, if you compare the bandwidth speeds offered by AT&T compared to other ISPs, and then compare the prices that are paid by customers, then the question is why? Why can I get 2 or 3 or even more times that speed for the same money paid with another ISP? We're not talking about having 100 megabit here, but we also shouldn't be talking about speeds just above a T1 line speed either. Having to wait 5, 6, or more hours just to download a game when with TWC I could download it in 30 minutes just is frustrating, I switched believing I'd be getting better performance. /rant
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JefferMC
ACE - Expert
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35.1K Messages
9 years ago
@bludgeont , I don't know what the problem is with compehension here.
1.8 MB/sec is 1.8 MegaBytes per second. There are 8 bits in each Byte (octet). That means you have to multiply 1.8 times 8 to yield the rate in mbps (megabits per second). That would be 14.4 mbps. I'm over simplifying (but seemingly SomeJoe7777's wonderfully accurate post is giving some readers an issue).
A lot of software downloaders measure the download speed in some multiple of bytes per second (KB/sec, MB/sec). Nearly every (if not every), ISP measures their bandwidth in some multiple of bits per second (kbps, mbps, gbps). You have to convert the unlike terms.
One reason AT&T can charge what they charge for 12 Mbps is that with AT&T you actually get 12 Mbps (sometimes quite a bit more). With most cable based ISPs, the quoted speed is the theoretical maximum (except for the occasional gimmick such as speed boost), largely because of the amount of shared infrastructure near the home (basically a CDMA network with you and your closest neighbors). My reliability with AT&T has also been much, much better than mine ever was with Charter.
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