Why are my Steam download speeds low unless write caching is off?

0
15
Asked By CuriousCoder93 On

I've been experiencing really low download and disk usage speeds on Steam with my WD Blue SN570 1TB SSD, but things change dramatically when I disable write caching. With caching off, my download speed steadies at 25 MB/s, and disk usage jumps to about 200 MB/s. Interestingly, I typically re-enable caching after my downloads are complete. CrystalDiskInfo shows my SSD's health at 99% with only 1% usage, so it seems like the drive itself is fine. This issue only started happening recently. If the drive isn't the issue, what else should I be looking into?

1 Answer

Answered By TechieTom82 On

It sounds like your SSD might actually be the culprit here. I have the same WD SN570 1TB, and I've faced the same issue. No firmware updates or freeing up space helped me either. Disabling write caching is practically the only way to keep speed stable during downloads. My theory is that Steam's simultaneous downloading, reading, and writing tasks trip up the SSD's write cache when it's full, leading to those slow speeds. Honestly, I don't see much benefit in having the cache enabled for this drive while downloading.

SteamFanatic47 -

Thanks for sharing! I've had my SSD for around three years as well, and this issue wasn’t there before. What do you think could’ve changed? And might I face issues if I keep caching off for things other than Steam?

TechieTom82 -

Yeah, I feel you! If it's working fine without caching, I wouldn't worry too much about it on other tasks.

Related Questions

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.