I am not tech savvy, hence forgive my ignorance. Recently, I did some tests to see the internet speed I was getting. I have a few questions related to that. Thanks for looking.
Background: I used to have an Airtel 100 mbps connection. Some time ago, I was offered a special rate upgrade to 300 mbps. I didn't really need the upgrade but I thought of giving it a try and see if I liked the experience.
My primary observation was that barring one laptop, I couldn't see any real difference in speed. To be clear, I'd never done speed testing before. My connection and additional wiring was set up by a tech pro whom I knew, who also certified the speed was fine. I'm no longer in touch and I have no one else to ask. So I decided to read up things and try it on my own.
What I realized was that of my 3 laptops, 2 don't support 5 ghz and their ethernet capabilities are limited. Writing about all of what I experienced will be too lengthy for a single post I think, so I'll start with the wired line experience. I tested separately with 2 cables that I already had with me- one is marked as Cat 5, the other as Cat 5E. I also used a USB adapter which I had (one of laptops doesn't have an ethernet port)- the description on it says 'Gigabit Lan'. I have given below my observations and then my questions.
Laptop 1: It doesn't have an ethernet port so I used the adapter. With each of the ethernet cables, the download speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100.
Laptop 2: With each of the ethernet cables directly connected or even via the adapter, the download speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed in all cases showed as 100/100.
Laptop 3: With the Cat 5 cable directly connected, the speed was 300+ mbps. Link speed showed as 1000/1000. With the Cat 5E cable directly connected, the speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100. When I connected each cable via the adapter, the speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100.
Questions:
1. It seems to me that the USB adapter, contrary to the description, can't go beyond 100 mbps. Is that understanding correct?
2. Why might it be that specifically in Laptop 3, speed via Cat 5E cable is less than via Cat 5? Is this also a case of wrong description?
3. If I buy another adapter and cables, is there any quick way to know that the actual product will match the description?
4. Based on the above, anything else I should check, bear in mind, or be concerned about, as regards wired access?
Background: I used to have an Airtel 100 mbps connection. Some time ago, I was offered a special rate upgrade to 300 mbps. I didn't really need the upgrade but I thought of giving it a try and see if I liked the experience.
My primary observation was that barring one laptop, I couldn't see any real difference in speed. To be clear, I'd never done speed testing before. My connection and additional wiring was set up by a tech pro whom I knew, who also certified the speed was fine. I'm no longer in touch and I have no one else to ask. So I decided to read up things and try it on my own.
What I realized was that of my 3 laptops, 2 don't support 5 ghz and their ethernet capabilities are limited. Writing about all of what I experienced will be too lengthy for a single post I think, so I'll start with the wired line experience. I tested separately with 2 cables that I already had with me- one is marked as Cat 5, the other as Cat 5E. I also used a USB adapter which I had (one of laptops doesn't have an ethernet port)- the description on it says 'Gigabit Lan'. I have given below my observations and then my questions.
Laptop 1: It doesn't have an ethernet port so I used the adapter. With each of the ethernet cables, the download speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100.
Laptop 2: With each of the ethernet cables directly connected or even via the adapter, the download speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed in all cases showed as 100/100.
Laptop 3: With the Cat 5 cable directly connected, the speed was 300+ mbps. Link speed showed as 1000/1000. With the Cat 5E cable directly connected, the speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100. When I connected each cable via the adapter, the speed was 70-90 mbps. Link speed showed as 100/100.
Questions:
1. It seems to me that the USB adapter, contrary to the description, can't go beyond 100 mbps. Is that understanding correct?
2. Why might it be that specifically in Laptop 3, speed via Cat 5E cable is less than via Cat 5? Is this also a case of wrong description?
3. If I buy another adapter and cables, is there any quick way to know that the actual product will match the description?
4. Based on the above, anything else I should check, bear in mind, or be concerned about, as regards wired access?
