Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Secular Pinoy · 09-08-2003, 04:41 AM

I'm currently using a PIII 667 PC with 384MB RAM and running WinXP Pro as my OS. I have a cable internet connection from a local ISP. I'd like to increase my internet speed, especially for my downloads. So I'd like some advice as to how I can manually tweak my computer settings to make the most of my connection. I don't particularly like to install programs that supposedly increase my speed, since it has been my experience that they've been more of a nuisance than being helpful, one slowed down my internet speed and another even prevented me from going online. Any advice would be appreciated (except perhaps, advice about changing ISPs or installing another OS). Thanks.

lpetrich · 09-08-2003, 07:10 AM

Your download speed may be limited in all these ways:

* The speed of your broadband connection.

* The downloads' source having some upload-speed limit, such as a slow connection or some server-end bandwith cap for allowing it to do several uploads at once.

* Your ISP may be imposing some bandwidth cap, perhaps because you are trying to download at some busy time.

There may be nothing you can do to your computer to speed up your downloads.

So I suggest that you try connecting to some big commercial sites and see how fast you can receive their files.

Carlos · 09-08-2003, 10:10 AM

Head to http://www.dslreports.com and check out the forum for your ISP. Get an idea of what kind of service other people are seeing.

One way I measured performance was to download a large (64 MByte) file from one of my ISP's servers. This way, I'm not really heading out to the Internet and am able to stress test my connection.

I've had good luck tweaking system settings with DrTCP. The improvements were noticeable - large files (like the one above) downloaded 3 or 5 times faster, at least. I'm not familiar with other programs or how they operate; DrTCP is merely a user friendly way to modify the registry. Once you reboot the new values take effect and you no longer need to run this program. Here is a Tweaking FAQ that will help should you choose to munge around with your system.

trunks2k · 09-08-2003, 12:02 PM

Thanks Carlos. That site explained how I can ping my comps from outside my network. I was trying to figure that out.

Rider · 09-08-2003, 12:13 PM

speedguide.net

is another website that is useful, they have a similar app called TCPTWEAK which checks your connection and provides auto configuration options for your type of connection, cable, DSL, dial up etc

09-08-2003, 04:41 AM	#1
Secular Pinoy Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Quezon City, Philippines Posts: 1,994	Wanted: Computer internet speed advice I'm currently using a PIII 667 PC with 384MB RAM and running WinXP Pro as my OS. I have a cable internet connection from a local ISP. I'd like to increase my internet speed, especially for my downloads. So I'd like some advice as to how I can manually tweak my computer settings to make the most of my connection. I don't particularly like to install programs that supposedly increase my speed, since it has been my experience that they've been more of a nuisance than being helpful, one slowed down my internet speed and another even prevented me from going online. Any advice would be appreciated (except perhaps, advice about changing ISPs or installing another OS). Thanks.

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09-08-2003, 07:10 AM	#2
lpetrich Contributor Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Lebanon, OR, USA Posts: 16,829	Your download speed may be limited in all these ways: * The speed of your broadband connection. * The downloads' source having some upload-speed limit, such as a slow connection or some server-end bandwith cap for allowing it to do several uploads at once. * Your ISP may be imposing some bandwidth cap, perhaps because you are trying to download at some busy time. There may be nothing you can do to your computer to speed up your downloads. So I suggest that you try connecting to some big commercial sites and see how fast you can receive their files.

09-08-2003, 10:10 AM	#3
Carlos Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 545	Head to http://www.dslreports.com and check out the forum for your ISP. Get an idea of what kind of service other people are seeing. One way I measured performance was to download a large (64 MByte) file from one of my ISP's servers. This way, I'm not really heading out to the Internet and am able to stress test my connection. I've had good luck tweaking system settings with DrTCP. The improvements were noticeable - large files (like the one above) downloaded 3 or 5 times faster, at least. I'm not familiar with other programs or how they operate; DrTCP is merely a user friendly way to modify the registry. Once you reboot the new values take effect and you no longer need to run this program. Here is a Tweaking FAQ that will help should you choose to munge around with your system.

09-08-2003, 12:02 PM	#4
trunks2k Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Philadelphia Posts: 6,997	Thanks Carlos. That site explained how I can ping my comps from outside my network. I was trying to figure that out.

09-08-2003, 12:13 PM	#5
Rider Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 580	speedguide.net is another website that is useful, they have a similar app called TCPTWEAK which checks your connection and provides auto configuration options for your type of connection, cable, DSL, dial up etc

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