Slow downloads on Arch Linux

[saviit]

Your system information

• Steam client version (build number or date): 1731112063
• Distribution (e.g. Ubuntu): Arch Linux, kernel 6.11.6-arch1-1
• Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes
• Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
• Steam Logs: steam-logs.tar.gz
• GPU: Nvidia

Issue

I'm getting download speeds of 30-50 Mbit/s on a 100 Mbit/s connection. I have tried the proposed workarounds in issues #10248 and #9715, but they have had no effect on this issue whatsoever.

Hardware: AMD 7950X Asus TUF X670E Plus 64 GB RAM WD SN850X 2TB

Steam Beta Branch: Steam Beta Update Steam Version: 1731112063 Steam Client Build Date: Sat, Nov 9 01:37 UTC -08:00 Steam Web Build Date: Sat, Nov 9 01:55 UTC -08:00 Steam API Version: SteamClient021

tldr workarounds tried:

• changing steam client branch had no effect
• changing download region had no effect
• changing router's DNS server between ISP default and 1.1.1.1 had no effect
• steam_dev.cfg tweaks did not work (but see below)
• dnsmasq config had no effect
• not locked to only one server, so using /etc/hosts to block unwanted servers (see https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/9715#issuecomment-2425357737) is pointless

I still have a completely separate Windows (11, 22H2) installation on the same system (not dual boot; I boot from UEFI if I need to use Windows). On Windows I don't have this issue, downloads are always on 100% of bandwidth.

I'm not locked to only one download server (without any tweaks):

The proposed HTTP2/download server tweaks with steam_dev.cfg do allow more connections, but it has absolutely no effect on my actual download speed:

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Install Arch Linux
2. Install Steam from the Arch official (multilib) repositories
3. Launch Steam
4. Try to download a game

[saviit]

Update

I double-checked, and a bunch of packages were updated during the day/evening (I did pacman -Syyu in the morning). This along with a reboot seems to have solved this, at least for now.

I'm attaching the list of updated packages here, in case it helps in pinpointing the root cause.

List of updated packages

``` attica (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kconfig (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcoreaddons (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcrash (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kdbusaddons (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) karchive (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcodecs (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) ki18n (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kfilemetadata (6.7.0-2 -> 6.8.0-1) kidletime (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kwindowsystem (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kauth (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kwidgetsaddons (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kbookmarks (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-2) kguiaddons (6.7.0-2 -> 6.8.0-1) kcolorscheme (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcompletion (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) breeze-icons (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kiconthemes (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-2) kitemviews (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) knotifications (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kjobwidgets (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kservice (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kwallet (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) solid (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kio (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-2) baloo (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) bluez-qt (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) ell (0.69-1 -> 0.70-1) kpackage (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) syndication (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) knewstuff (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) frameworkintegration (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) iwd (3.0-1 -> 3.1-1) kcalendarcore (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kconfigwidgets (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kirigami (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kglobalaccel (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kxmlgui (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcmutils (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kcontacts (1:6.7.0-1 -> 1:6.8.0-1) kdeclarative (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kded (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kpty (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kdesu (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kdnssd (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kholidays (1:6.7.0-1 -> 1:6.8.0-1) kitemmodels (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) knotifyconfig (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kparts (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kquickcharts (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) krunner (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kstatusnotifieritem (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) ksvg (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) sonnet (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) syntax-highlighting (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) ktexteditor (6.7.0-2 -> 6.8.0-1) ktextwidgets (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-2) kunitconversion (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) kuserfeedback (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) libibus (1.5.30-3 -> 1.5.31-1) modemmanager-qt (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) networkmanager-qt (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) prison (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) purpose (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) qqc2-desktop-style (6.7.0-1 -> 6.8.0-1) ```

I'm still connecting to the same download servers as before, but now the download rate is steady and at full bandwidth. Before, it was bursty, constantly jumping up and down.

I also confirmed that the stable client (v. 1730853027) now also maintains full bandwidth.