Internet Connection Speed
 

How fast SHOULD my cable modem internet connection be, and how can I tell how fast it actually IS?

Then, what about a laptop that is connected via a wireless router? How fast should it be, and how can I tell how fast it really is?

Thanks. I'm trying to diagnose whether my current performance challenges are just perceived, real - caused by an internal network problem, or real - because my cable company is "throttling" the bandwidth!


JA

You can check here, http://www.dslreports.com/stest, but it won't tell you how fast the connection should be. What package did you sign up for with your cable company?

What performance problems? You still don't have enough RAM. A P3 running XP w/256, will be slow by now.

Dave

Cable will get slower with more people in one area using it since it shares bandwidth between users. Tell your neighbors to stop downloading porn all the time and you should see an improvement.

Thanks Dave...

I'm at work now, so I can't try that test yet, but I will do it when I get home.

We just moved to a new house (and kept the same ISP), but web surfing seems to be much slower than before...especially on my laptop. Not as noticeable on the desktop that I have connected to the router via a cat-5 cable. But the laptop is the same, the router is the same (new modem though), and it just seems much slower.

Yes, that RAM slot problem is a issue, but I don't think they make a 512 card for that Tecra 8100. So, I am left either trying to get slot A "resoldered" or whatever, or just dealing with the 256. Funny, now that you mention it, I wonder if that Slot went out of commission coincidentally at the same time we moved house? Does RAM affect internet browsing speeds?

Thanks,

JA

RAM has a big affect on performance as a whole. You can get a 512 chip for the laptop. You need SO DIMM 144-pin, SDRAM - 100 MHz. The max RAM for your model is 512M though.

I don't think it is as simple as re-soldering the socket. It may be fine. Somewhere else on the board, a connection may have been broken. 512M should be around $70.00

Dave

Cool. I have to think that $70 would be worthwhile to keep this laptop running. Any idea where I can get that RAM for $70? Should I even try to figure out how to get that Slot fixed?

p.s. Does RAM affect internet browsing speed?

JA

Bell South DSL 6438 down, 422 up.
http://www.speedtest.net/

+1 for www.speedtest.net , which also allows you to compare real world speeds with other similar services in your area. Example cable vs cable, dsl vs dsl, etc.

RAM will affect the speed of everything that the computer does from booting up to browsing the internet.

512 is the least that I'd want for a PC on the internet running XP assuming it's got virus protection software, and assorted other odds and ends.

If you do a search on google for "speed test" you'll find hundreds of sites that do speed tests. I'd recommend testing on at least 3 sites. Some sites work better than others.

How fast should cable broadband Internet be? Depends, how fast does the cable company say it can be? many these days are at 6Mb down and some amount up usually 1Mb or less. But, if you're in a subdivision with lots of other folks using the internet, it may be slower. Also, some sites are slower than others.

How fast should wireless be. Depends upon signal strength and the amount of wireless noise.

Most wifi connections can negotiate anywhere from 1Mb --> 54Mb or some even advertise 108Mb. Really, so long as your connection is at least as fast as your cable, that's all that matters. I'd expect most wifi connections to connect at 6, 11, 22 or 54 Mb. but it could also connect at 1 or 3 Mb.

I've yet to see wireless even close to broadband speed.

It's not the bandwidth that gets ya, it's the latency.... :D

I'm latency intolerant.