Noob asking noob questions.....

[PrecariusCibarius]

K.. i'm gonna try to get this right.. but I'm newly interested in wtf goes on with my internet connection and I'm having trouble finding answers to questions I don't even know how to ask.

I have a 20mb/s connection via comcast. ~2mb/s up.

using utorrent, I have never seen my GLOBAL download rate (multiple torrents running at once) exceed 1.5mb/s (say, 2mb/s to be generous).. even when toggling the speed guide and port forwarding.

20mb/s is extremely fast.. but I kinda feel like I would be just as happy using a 5mb/s connection.. as it would appear that I'll never be able to actually utilize much more than that..

what am I missing? Do I need to do more in-depth forwarding and tweaking of my router to get these things to fly?

[CA3LE]

what am I missing? Do I need to do more in-depth forwarding and tweaking of my router to get these things to fly?

First off... Welcome to the site!

We don't call people "n00b" around here. I think that's so rude when people do that, you're just trying to learn something and ... "NEWB! STUPID N00B! neeeeeewwwwB!" --- jerks.

<a href="http://www.giganews.com/?a=testmy" rel="nofollow"><img align="right" src="http://www.giganews.com/banners/testmy/300x250a.jpg" alt="Giganews Newsgroups"></a>Now, to your query. Yes, I see my max speeds every day. Here's a download off usenet (giganews).

First, it depends on who's serving you the file. So you're downloading it off a crappy or overloaded site then you might not see your full speeds. But the benefits of a faster connection extend beyond the transfer speed. Having a faster connection will make your overall experience online snappier and less stressful. Go ahead, downgrade your service... then upgrade it to their best package (most decent providers will let you do this and downgrade back to what you were on without a hassle, cable providers like Comcast are always willing to upgrade and downgrade your account... whenever). You'll see the difference... even if you don't download any files.

Also, I don't see any tests taken under your account or IP address. Take some tests and let us know what your package is (and OS) and we'll try to help you get the most out of it. Depending on your setup there may be a few tricks.

[PrecariusCibarius]

sure! it's strange though - speedtest.net give me a result twice that of this site.. I got 10.7 from here and ~20 there.

[CA3LE]

sure! it's strange though - speedtest.net give me a result twice that of this site.. I got 10.7 from here and ~20 there.

Yeah, that's pretty normal for the results to be different. Two totally different tests.

What operating system are you running?

If you're running windows, particularly if it's older than Windows 7 you may need to tune your TCP stack to see your full speeds. Windows doesn't always come out of the box optimized for fast connections. Speedtest.net fails to detect this problem.

To make this change for free I recommend TCP Optimizer from Speedguide.net. This makes changing those settings very easy and nearly fool proof. Just open it, slide the bar over to your speed that you're supposed to have, check "modify all adapters" ... apply the settings and reboot. You should have faster speeds after your re-test if that was the problem. (this is commonly the issue in situations like this)

[Blako]

I have a 20mb/s connection via comcast. ~2mb/s up.

...using utorrent, I have never seen my GLOBAL download rate (multiple torrents running at once) exceed 1.5mb/s

My theory:

Utorrent reports speeds in Bytes per second while Comcast reports speeds in Bits per second. ISPs like using bigger numbers while trying to sell you stuff Since there are 8 bits in a byte utorrent transfering at 1.5Mbyte/sec = 12Mbit/sec. Your connection is rated at 20Mbit/sec or 2.5Mbyte per second. So if my theory is correct then utorrent is using 12 of 20 Mbit/sec or 60% of advertised capacity.

If Utorrent maxes out your upload then the requests for data leaving your computer get stuck in "traffic" and as a result your download speeds come crashing down. Have you set your upload limit at 80% of your 2Mbit/sec connection? (1.6Mbit or 200Kbytes) Also, how many people are you connecting to on utorrent? You might need 200-500+ people to reach your capacity.

My Suggestions: limit utorrent to 80% of your advertised 20/2 comcast connection. Set download limit to 2000 Kbyte/sec and upload limit to 200kbyte/sec.

Play with "global max connections" (100-1000) start low and slowly increase until problems develop then step down.

Here is some recommended GeekSpeak on data rate for ya https://testmy.net/tools/conversion_table.php

[PrecariusCibarius]

Here are my account details:

2.62 megabytes per second (12 megabits/s) downstream.

I see now where I'm getting confused.

I just discovered that i've magically been assigned a 250GB monthly download cap too... yay.

I wasn't made aware of that either. I guess you can't expect much for your dollar any more.. I remember back in the day when only satellite connections had a monthly cap.

Lame.

[Blako]

I got this little program called "NetLimiter 2 Monitor" to check my internet usage in case I ever got put on a monthly limit. In 2009 I downloaded 55 GBs and in 2010 40 GBs. I average 4 GB a month but that does not include the other computers/users in the house.

[CA3LE]

My theory:

Utorrent reports speeds in Bytes per second while Comcast reports speeds in Bits per second. ISPs like using bigger numbers while trying to sell you stuff Since there are 8 bits in a byte utorrent transfering at 1.5Mbyte/sec = 12Mbit/sec. Your connection is rated at 20Mbit/sec or 2.5Mbyte per second. So if my theory is correct then utorrent is using 12 of 20 Mbit/sec or 60% of advertised capacity.

Internet providers show speed in Kbps, Mbps and Gbps because that's the correct scale for line speed. You use kB/s, MB/s and GB/s to describe the speed of a file transfer.

Here are my account details:

2.62 megabytes per second (12 megabits/s) downstream.

I see now where I'm getting confused.

I just discovered that i've magically been assigned a 250GB monthly download cap too... yay.

I wasn't made aware of that either. I guess you can't expect much for your dollar any more.. I remember back in the day when only satellite connections had a monthly cap.

Lame.

Well, your max speed isn't far off from where you should be. But you have a few lame results in there.

Check out the Automatic Speed Test. Run it for a while and gather some more data. I wouldn't worry about the cap. When I worked for the cable company the same policy was in place... but I've been told that it's not strictly enforced. If you're using your connection normally you'll be fine. What the cable companies are really looking for is massive outgoing traffic on a connection ... people abusing the terms of use. Trust me, Cox has a similar policy... I draw Terabytes and nobody's shutting me off.

Also, if you read online, in forums about people saying that they got shut off because of that. I'd bet you a thousand bucks that every single one of those people was sharing files on a ridiculous scale. Just don't get stupid, limit your sharing and you'll be fine.

[TriRan]

another thing to remember is when torrenting or using any P2P software not only are you downloading, but uploading aswell. just because comcast says you have a 20Mbit down and 2Mbit up link does not mean you can achieve both max's at the same time, its really one or the other. so if your downloading at 1.5Mb/s and its not going any higher it could also be because your uploading at 150-200Kb/s which would be where the rest of your bandwidth is going so technically your connection is maxing out just not all on the downstream

edit: btw i see my max all the time on torrents like CA3LE said, i usually have to have somewhere in the ballpark of 1500 connections going to achieve that though

[water]

First off... Welcome to the site!

We don't call people "n00b" around here. I think that's so rude when people do that, you're just trying to learn something and ... "NEWB! STUPID N00B! neeeeeewwwwB!" --- jerks.

Now, to your query. Yes, I see my max speeds every day. Here's a download off usenet.

First, it depends on who's serving you the file. So you're downloading it off a crappy or overloaded site then you might not see your full speeds. But the benefits of a faster connection extend beyond the transfer speed. Having a faster connection will make your overall experience online snappier and less stressful. Go ahead, downgrade your service... then upgrade it to their best package (most decent providers will let you do this and downgrade back to what you were on without a hassle, cable providers like Comcast are always willing to upgrade and downgrade your account... whenever). You'll see the difference... even if you don't download any files.

Also, I don't see any tests taken under your account or IP address. Take some tests and let us know what your package is (and OS) and we'll try to help you get the most out of it. Depending on your setup there may be a few tricks.

(@CABLE) N00B!

[mudmanc4]

Iv'e been capping out recently , almost constantly able to achieve at or even 5 Mbps above my allocated bandwidth. I suppose I should keep my mouth closed and enjoy this.

For all the years my connections stunk on ice in pink tights, it's one of the small pleasures of my day.

[CA3LE]

Iv'e been capping out recently , almost constantly able to achieve at or even 5 Mbps above my allocated bandwidth. I suppose I should keep my mouth closed and enjoy this.

For all the years my connections stunk on ice in pink tights, it's one of the small pleasures of my day.

Werd! Hopefully it's not just a fluke

[Dude111]

I dont think i would want to !!! THE ISP WOULD PROBABLY BE MAD!!

[WadeG]

Hello new here and would like to say it has been almost a year since I have seen %50 of my speed on either speedtest.net or here. I have windows 7 with 20/2 connection. I have had about 37 (give or take 2 or 3) visits in 6 months over my speeds and still the techs cant fix it. the best score I have here is way less than speedtest.

[CA3LE]

Hello new here and would like to say it has been almost a year since I have seen %50 of my speed on either speedtest.net or here. I have windows 7 with 20/2 connection. I have had about 37 (give or take 2 or 3) visits in 6 months over my speeds and still the techs cant fix it. the best score I have here is way less than speedtest.

Welcome WadeG

It's quite common for people to have higher reported speeds on flash speed tests or ISP hosted speed tests (which are also usually flash). Read https://testmy.net/ip...la-speed-tests/ and https://testmy.net/legit-speed-test.php --- TestMy.net is a more realistic representation... not a best case scenario. TMN also doesn't have to adjust your speed to offset an unknown variable. Something that speedtest.net themselves admit to doing, in their own wiki. How can a test be accurate if it's being adjusted to offset a number that's unknown. It's laughable... and novelty. TMN is a true speed test.

[WadeG]

Well thank you for having this test up. Helps having a real test and not just a flash based false test.

[CA3LE]

Well thank you for having this test up. Helps having a real test and not just a flash based false test.

No problem... thanks for your patronage. Also, thank you for your service (I assume you're in the military because of your avatar).

Also realize this about speedtest.net... it was created by the former CEO of Speakeasy, a large ISP. So who do you think those tests are designed to benefit? The consumer or the ISP? ... personally, I work for the consumers best interest. I could care less if I make the ISPs look bad. I'm only holding up a mirror. --- Their test is designed to throw away the bottom and top of the results, they say, "The fastest 10% and slowest 30% of your results are DISCARDED" ... the information that you need to know is in that bottom 30%... I don't understand how it could be accurate if it's being adjusted. It's not a benchmark... it's a way of ISPs masking their shortcomings and making consumers feel that the problem they feel has to do with the websites they're visiting. Most of the provider hosted speed tests run Ookla software... the creators of speedtest.net. .... then people come here and wonder why they're getting very different results. It's because I'm telling you the truth. ... and the truth is, if you didn't feel that something wasn't right with their results you would have taken them at face value and wouldn't have kept searching for the REAL speed test. Right?

[techevang]

I find it so amuseingly ironic, that the closest most users (inculdeing me) get to acheiveing their advertised speeds is via things like newsgroups and p2p. They being 2 of the transport mechanisms that get aggresively bandwith profiled the most. I realise there are masses of factors that influence this, but I worry about the internet and the growing prevalnce of level 2 networks.

People like things to work nice, and for the most part in my experiance dont really know / care about how thats acheived.

[HunterAce]

Hi there, new to forum (well posting, not reading/researching)... Anyway, my results to the poll are based solely on this site, and yes I have even seen the OCCASIONAL d/l speed is at or even above my 3Mbps... I've had my new service (Xplornet Vaisat-1 satellite platform) for 8 days now, I've done over 50 tests with my lowest speed being a horrid 56Kbps, and an average of 630Kbps for the first 6 days. But for the past 2 days, my service seems to have levelled off with almost all tests over an average of 2Mbps, up to 3.8Mbps, with a total average over the 8 days of 1.4Mbps. I know It doesn't sound like much, but if I average just the last 2 days, even during peak times, it's around 2.6Mbps which is pretty close to the "up to" 3Mbps I'm paying for (60 GB cap, $2.50/GB over that). I've got to say, I did a lot of research seeing all kinds of negative reviews of Xplornet (Xplornetsucks.com and such), but I tried it because of the 30 day full money back guarantee, and the reviews were mostly over 3-4 years old if not more. They just launched 2 new satellites in 2011 & 2012, each having more bandwidth capabilities than all other satellites combined so they don't really get bogged down (lots of tech stuff that is pretty cool if you're into that), and I guess I should say my only other real option is using a stick because I live in a very remote area(very expensive, only 5-6GB for more than my plan now)... Just a suggestion I guess as well for anyone else without DSL, or cable type options, and very reasonable for what you get due to heavy marketing of promotional plans right now. I'll try to remember to post again in a few days or a week and update on my speeds for anyone that's interested or has any questions. (Maybe I should look into "finder's fee", it sounds like I'm a sales agent, lol), and so far the customer service has been good... So, being new, I hope I used this forum properly, and was more helpful than boring. And I'm open to any questions to save others the research time, if I can just remember to check the forum... (are there email notifications of any replies etc. so I don't leave anyone hanging?)... LOL!! Cheers all, HunterAce

[woodyleonhard]

I have a whole bunch of people in Phuket, Thailand, who are looking for a more reliable speed test to replace the one that I started years ago (www.phuketinternetspeed.com). Most of us are expats, and we're specifically concerned about download speed to the States. The ISPs in Phuket actively throttle international access.

 

I really like testmy.net, but we're hitting a major anomaly. When we run back-to-back tests, first Smartest, then a fixed size test (say, 1.5 MB), we get speed results that swing by 50% or more.

 

Any idea why?

 

When we run tests through DSLReports, we see pretty steady results. Our problem is that the local ISPs have caught on to our testing and reporting, and they've intentionally disabled throttling on the DSLReports IP addresses.

 

Thanks for any light you can shed!

 

- Woody Leonhard (Google me)

[mudmanc4]

Hey Woody,

 

 Good to see your helping others spread useful information about internet. A columnist and curator , well informed is positive for everyone

 

The express dual test run a bit different from the two separate upload and or download tests, how exactly only ca3le the site owner could explain.

 

I as well have always gotten a spectrum of result differences while testing between the two.

 

You might do well testing strictly from the central server for a period, then moving to another test. As each location will for obvious reasons give different results depending on many factors.