Re: Download speed

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

Sure. First, you're mixing bits and bytes. If you absolutely must
abrev. please use "b = bits" and "B= Bytes". Your test speeds are
probably 195KBytes/sec and 320KBytes/sec respectively. That's equal
to 1.56Mbits/sec and 2.56Mbits/sec.


Thanks for your reply, Jeff. Sorry for the (bits and bytes) mix-up. Yes, you're correct, the downstream speed is equal to 1.56Mbps and 2.56Mbps which is right about my broadband advertised speed (I know I would never get 3Mbps downstream speed - 2.5 is about right).

Looking at your NNTP, I notice you're using Thunderbird. That implies
that you're also using Firefox for downloads. Firefox has a nasty bad
habit. It starts downloading immediately when you click on a file to
download. However, the indicated Bytes/sec starts when you click on
where to save the file. This results in unusually high indicated
download speeds, depending on how quickly you decide where to save the
file.


Thanks again for that explanation. I do notice difference between IE and firefox transfer rate. Yes, firefox does indicate higher transfer rate than IE. I use both Firefox and IE (more firefox than IE). The download speed posted earlier is taken from IE "Transfer Rate" (IIRC) statistics, not from Firefox.

Also, I would not expect downloads from the MS site to run at the full
speed of your broadband connection. If you're going to use
downloading as a benchmark, use a file located on your ISP's servers,
with the fewest number of hops and delays between the server and your
computah.


I do get greater than 300Kbps transfer rate with IE on my desktop PC downloading WinXP SP2. My notebook PC, however, maxes out to somewhere in the 190Kbps neighborhood. No, I don't download on both (desktop and laptop) at the same time. I test each one at different time, a few minutes apart. Tested it multiple times, I still get the same result... fast DL on desktop and slow DL on laptop.

If this is not what's happening, kindly disclose how you're measuring
these speeds. Also, try one of the benchmarking sites to see if there
are any problems:
http://nitro.ucsc.edu
Other NDT/Web100 sites are listed in the above web page.

Also, verify that you have the latest Proset drivers and utilities for
your Intel 2200BG card.
| http://www.intel.com/network/connectivity/products/wireless/proset/proset_software.htm
I find the Proset 10.x software to be MUCH better and more useful than
Windoze Wireless Zero Config. This probably has nothing to do with
the "problem" but might be useful.


I use http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
Here's what is weird. On my laptop, speed test result shows 2,450Kbps (down) which is right. But when downloading a file, I don't get 2450Kbps. Odd, isn't it? I will try the updated driver later.
.

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