How to tell how good my download speed is?

**Lord Golog** · May 08, 2011, 10:25 PM

Hello.

I've been wondering how good my download speed has been, relative to the average speed of most users. With my current internet provider and hardware, etc, I usually get download speeds of 130-155Kb/sec. How good is this? Fast? Slow? Are there any free/cheap programs or apps to make it go faster? Any help and advice you could give would be appreciated.

**Top-Tier-Tech** · May 08, 2011, 10:40 PM

Only your ISP can increase your speed and 155kb/sec is very slow compared to average. I have 1,100kb/sec now but I thought 300kb/sec was slow when I used to have that...

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 08, 2011, 10:56 PM

the fastest internet in the world cant fix a website with a

download server,

example even tho i have a rated 1500kb/s most sites only give me 300-500kb/s if im lucky steam is the only thing that actually maxes my connection

but if you need to find your internet speed

http://www.speedtest.net/

**Top-Tier-Tech** · May 08, 2011, 11:06 PM

Originally Posted by Crazyeyesreaper

example even tho i have a rated 1500kb/s most sites only give me 300-500kb/s if im lucky steam is the only thing that actually maxes my connection

Well blame your ISP then I guess. My connection maxes out at it's full 1,100kb/sec on just short of ever single site I've ever downloaded anything off of, I kid you not.

Hulu, Netflix, Steam, Megaupload, Guru3d, cnet, amazon streaming, Zune music service, itunes, etc. etc.

That's why I love my ISP, the prices are high but the speeds are rock solid.

**Jaketh** · May 09, 2011, 12:29 AM

my ISP has a monopoly on the cable around here but you cant complain about the 2.5mb/s download speed

also
http://speedtest.net/
is the best way to test your speed

**Thoragoros** · May 11, 2011, 10:45 AM

Originally Posted by Crazyeyesreaper

the fastest internet in the world cant fix a website with a

download server,

example even tho i have a rated 1500kb/s most sites only give me 300-500kb/s if im lucky steam is the only thing that actually maxes my connection

but if you need to find your internet speed

http://www.speedtest.net/

This any good?

**atraps** · May 11, 2011, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by Thoragoros

This any good?

"Faster than 74% of US" should give you a hint.

**Doono** · May 09, 2011, 02:51 AM

Speeds in my sig, and yes 150KBps is terrible by todays standards. My connection can be seen in my sig, it translates to roughly 6.25MBps (6250KBps)

**Bolkonsky** · May 09, 2011, 06:54 AM

Here's the deal with speeds. Chances are you'll never see more than 4MB/s download speeds from any server, and you'll average at ~1MB/s. So check Speedtest. If you're getting over 1, than you're fine. Anything else, it might be worth it to get a better connection if you plan on downloading lots of stuff.

**Kanaric** · May 10, 2011, 02:20 AM

Torrent.

Torrent a HUGE ISO from a reputable (non pirate) source. Such as a linux distribution. They always download at the highest possible speed for me.

If you set up a torrent program correctly it will you ever bit of bandwidth you have available if you are downloading a legit app like that.

**Ishan** · May 10, 2011, 11:26 PM

Check the Internet plan you have\pay for and the download speed you are getting from the sources provided above if it's close then it's alright no need to worry about anything.

**Crazyeyesreaper** · May 11, 2011, 09:54 PM

yea thats not bad, im on a

8Mb/s down .512Mb.s up but since im in rural area on cable i get 14-16Mb/s but still capped at .512Mb/s up so yea your connection is pretty good that upload is far above average the average american home i think has around 3Mb/s and .256Mb/s upload/ to give you a rough idea.

**Bolkonsky** · May 12, 2011, 04:05 PM

Here's my connection:

It used to be better, but I'm on a laptop with a wireless connection. Anyways, good luck finding a server that will let you utilize those speeds. I would really be happy with an optic 5/5 speed, but they don't sell those with unlimited bandwith.

**Arbitrary Crusader** · May 12, 2011, 04:18 PM

Suck on this, peeps.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Tbh,the download speed is wrong, it actually a very sexy 125kb.

**a tw player** · May 12, 2011, 04:34 PM

Mine is about 2.0 lol, hooray for the crappy internet of the UK!

**Omnipotent-Q** · May 12, 2011, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by a tw player

Mine is about 2.0 lol, hooray for the crappy internet of the UK!

Yeah tell me about it - my internet speed isn't exactly ideal, but I'm content with it because it's unlimited in all circumstances and cheap as chips because I've been with them over 10 years.

**Top-Tier-Tech** · May 12, 2011, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by Omnipotent-Q

it's unlimited in all circumstances and cheap as chips[/URL]

Chips are a food that you pay alot for yet get very little food content from...

**a tw player** · May 13, 2011, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by Omnipotent-Q

Yeah tell me about it - my internet speed isn't exactly ideal, but I'm content with it because it's unlimited in all circumstances and cheap as chips because I've been with them over 10 years.

Lol, to be honest I'd be happy with that speed

The problem is BT keep saying that they're going to upgrade the internet around here to fibre optic (up to 80mb I think if you live next to the exchange), but they keep delaying it by a year whenever it gets close to the time

Oh well, March 2012 is the next date that we will [hopefully] be getting satisfactory internet round here

**irishron** · May 12, 2011, 06:20 PM

I used to get 150kbps downloading the Medieval2 1.02 patch. anymore, if I can average 100kbps on any file more than an meg in size, I am doing good. ATT dsl sevice in this neighborhood is a piece of garbage and yet no plans by them of upgrading it. But my bill keeps going up while service is going down.