Hi TomMN, sorry for the long reply... maybe you'll stick with it and read it, maybe not. I just want you and others to understand why the results here can differ. Sometimes I start writing and don't realize how much I've written...
TestMy.net is it's own benchmark. Look at the results here differently than you do other speed tests. TestMy.net by default tests a single thread, multithread testing options will be available in the future. I'm going to offer the option to multithread but the default will remain the same because I believe it's a better benchmark as it uncovers connection issues that a multithreaded speed test results mask.
Multithreading, in case you don't know, is where you open multiple connections, and combine the results. Your connection should NOT need to do this to pull big numbers. Look at my signature... many of my tests are taken from THOUSANDS of miles from the servers. If you want to REALLY benchmark your connection, you need to test it under real world conditions not best case senario. TestMy.net is by design NOT a best case senario... the Internet doesn't operate under best case senario...
Your provider has too much at stake, especially someone as big as Comcast. If they do the test in a certain way and display the results in a certain way they aren't really lying.... look at my TiP data with each download test. That shows you clearly that it's ALL in how the numbers are interpreted. I could show you any of those numbers and call it my result.... what I do with TestMy.net is show you EVERYTHING taken into account in your final logged number.
There are lots of things that can cause your result to drop like that. We have a 2006 Macbook that could only get around 30 Mbps on TestMy.net, on a 50Mbps cable connection. The connection was perfectly fine... I swapped out the HDD for a SSD, rebooted and was pulling over 50Mbps. TestMy.net is weird sometimes... I designed it and it baffles me sometimes how good it is at it's job. Trust me... you're getting that score for a reason. You might be pulling your speed under the right circumstances but you're not truly running at 100%. If you fix the issues causing that it will make your browsing experience snappier.
Having said that, that's not a bad score. It could be hard drive performance slowing you down... TMN is the only speed test that I know of that is effected like that. As you use your browser things are being written to cache... if your HDD is under performing then that process is slowed. If it can be changed and it effects the results... it's a variable that needs to be accounted for. TMN does a good job of cluing you into stuff like that where others fail. ... maybe they do that on purpose to cut down on service calls, I don't know. I just know that TMN time and again shows a problem where others don't.
If you're on Windows, try TCP optimizer from Speedguide.net -- we get lots of positive feedback on that, for MANY years. Most operating systems don't come optimized out of the box for connections like yours... if you want to really tune your performance you need your MTU set at 1500 on cable. If you used to have DSL it may be set at 1492 which will degrade your performance on cable (and vice versa). Something else that TMN detects... where others seems to fail to notice. ... it can REALLY degrade your performance too. Symptoms of MTU or RWIN settings set wrong will be a speed lock. I often see it displayed as between 8-10 Mbps on connections that should get 2X higher speeds. If this is the case you will see the same approximate speed or lower to all servers. With you running 38Mbps... it might be something else.
... by the way, Comcast is one of many ISPs that my host has direct peering with. So you should have a pretty direct route to all my servers. Try the server in Washington D.C. and Seattle WA... see what you get there
TestMy.net should be a tool in your arsenal, use it as a clue. If you have an apparent 60 Mbps pipe into your house but can only pull 38Mbps, there is a reason. Routing, client end settings, router issues, modem issues... we see it all. One thing is always the same, TestMy.net is correct in its assessment. I guarantee you that if everything is perfectly in order you'll pull your speed. Trust me Tom... this isn't my first rodeo. 10 years before Comcast started sending their customers to their own speed test... their customer service reps were sending people here. The truth is, I don't make them look as good. But I don't care, I didn't build this for the ISPs. I built it for you.
Related ::
TestMy.net Bandwidth Test Legitimacy
Why Do My Results Differ From Speedtest.net / Ookla Speed Tests?
