Why PS4 Downloads Are So Slow

Megalith

Megalith

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Here is a long-winded, technical post on why it takes so long to download something on the PlayStation 4: the author ran a number of experiments and ultimately determined that the console does a bad job of implementing speed limits based on running applications and other factors. The software is tasked with ensuring that appropriate bandwidth is allotted for certain activities, such as online multiplayer games, yet it can barely determine whether a title is network dependent and sets limits due to programs that are merely running in the background.

The biggest problem is that the limits get applied based just on what games/applications are currently running. That's just insane; what matters should be which games/applications someone is currently using. Especially in a console UI, it's a totally reasonable expectation that the foreground application gets priority. If I've got the download progress bar in the foreground, the system had damn well give that download priority. Not some application that was started a month ago, and hasn't been used since. Applying these limits in rest mode with suspended apps is beyond insane.
 
Hasn't Sony always been bad with this? Even though I prefer Playstation more due to their games but I remember last gen was a NIGHTMARE with the PS3. Seriously, like a couple months ago I went to download and install Beyond: Two Souls on my PS3. I shit you NOT it took like 16 hours for the game to download, another 5 to install and then, the next day, another 7 hours to update until it was ready to play.

This is on a 150mb internet. Fully updated PS3. No issues...just slow as fucking shit.

Downloading a similar sized game on my Xbox 360? Takes 2-3 hours to download, maybe, and then 99% of the time the game is ready to go. Boom. Done.

Sony needs to get on this shit, for real.

That or everyone's gotten so "OK" with it that they just don't give a shit anymore. I doubt things will change now.
 
I don't have a problem with downloads being throttled if the download is going to affect system or gaming performance. Howvever, Sony should make it more clear what you can do to increase the download process by closing apps or allowing users to mark the download as the active/foreground task.
 
I just assumed PSN sucked ass. When I download a game, or buy a new one and know it's going to need a ton of updates, I fire the PS4 up and get it started HOURS ahead of time and just let it run in the background. And keeping games updated via sleep mode is more important than ever.... It seemed every time I fired up the PS4 from a totally down state, whatever I wanted to do required a hour's worth of updates. Let that shit run in the background.

It doesn't shock me that it craps on the bandwidth when a game is running, but kind of sad if it's not necessary.

Downloading anything from PSN on a PS3 and installing it has always been a groan inducing experience. With each new PS3 firmware update the thing seemed to get slower and slower. Just navigating the store is frustrating. It's always been bad but I'm not shocked it got worse since PS4 release. I would not be shocked one bit if they had a massive badnwidth cap in place if a PS3 is detected on the PSN store.
 
There was a post on this forum a few months back that no one paid a lot of attention to. Apparently you can create a proxy with your router or some such and it will download at full speed... I cant cite the exact post as I am very lazy and drinking lots of beers but it made sense.. Also I think it had to do with MTU settings.

EDIT: Not sure if that has anything do with with the apparent 'QoS' that Sony is doing but it sure did fix it for some peeps.

And yes, downloads are PAINSTAKINGLY slow on PSN.
 
Drewis said:
There was a post on this forum a few months back that no one paid a lot of attention to. Apparently you can create a proxy with your router or some such and it will download at full speed... I cant cite the exact post as I am very lazy and drinking lots of beers but it made sense.. Also I think it had to do with MTU settings.

EDIT: Not sure if that has anything do with with the apparent 'QoS' that Sony is doing but it sure did fix it for some peeps.

And yes, downloads are PAINSTAKINGLY slow on PSN.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need a proxy to have your PS4 download at full speed for applications that's open and showing on the tv.
 
Drewis said:
There was a post on this forum a few months back that no one paid a lot of attention to. Apparently you can create a proxy with your router or some such and it will download at full speed... I cant cite the exact post as I am very lazy and drinking lots of beers but it made sense.. Also I think it had to do with MTU settings.

EDIT: Not sure if that has anything do with with the apparent 'QoS' that Sony is doing but it sure did fix it for some peeps.

And yes, downloads are PAINSTAKINGLY slow on PSN.
Click to expand...
I did this and it works like a champ. Still didn't max my connection but it was much much better than normal.
 
Wow, I thought I was insane with these speed issue. Fucking piece of shit PSN. Drives me crazy that it doesn't even use my 100meg a sec connection anything past 10%.

Should be downloading @ 14MB/s like on steam as usual but it downloads @ 2-3MB/s on PSN.
 
TFW you have to PAY for online gameplay and the servers still suck ass.

more like playstation minus. amirite?
 
Hmm this is interesting. So I looked at the reddit thread, and I fully understood what the problem was with the TCP stack on the PS4.

I just installed CCProxy on one of my machines, and configured the PS4 to use a local proxy. And it totally fixed my download speeds on PSN.

Sony's infrastructure has sucked ass monkeys for a long time, so they probably modified the TCP stack on the PS4, so that they don't have to spend money on network/servers.
 
This is why you absolutely want to pay the $40 and change on discounted PSPLUS membership, you can leave your machine in standby mode and it will auto download this stuff whenever the system is idle. ...I admit it's the "Deal with it" solution but yeah, this part does sux.....

I just got done watching my 180mbps connection take 5 hours to snag The Division's 1.7 patch of roughly 7 gigs.....
 
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