Steam

Gadzuko

<div class="IPBDescription">and obscene update speeds</div> Does anyone else get crazy fast speeds whenever Steam is updating something? As I write this, Steam claims to be downloading at 1.5 mb/s while I can still surf the internet, albeit slowly. I've got a cable modem but I've never seen it run anywhere near this fast. Is it actually doing this?

BigMadSteve

That isn't just your network activity. That is the Steam network activity. That 1.5Mb/s is how much bandwidth is being used by all users, well I think so. I get those high speeds too.

CForrester

They're displaying your KBits per second. Not your KBytes. KBytes is what you see as your download speed, KBits is your connection speed. It means it's using over a MBit of your connection's total capacity.

DOOManiac

Steam is very fast because its a lot of bandwidth set aside for a small number of people.

If you've ever played an MMORPG you're used to very fast download speeds, as those servers too are insanely fast (as they should be, for what you're paying in monthly fees...)

Since steam will be pay-to-play in the future (HL2 and etc) it only makes sense that they test it w/ such speed servers now.

omlette

As stated eariler, your speed is displayed in kilobits - not bytes. Divide by 8 for your true download speed.

Gadzuko

Ok, I'm a nub. At least I had a brief shining moment of happiness that my cable was REALLY REALLY GOOD.