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Question

Good site to test DSL speed on PC

Mar 8, 2013 11:13PM PST
What's a good website to go to and test my computer's DSL speed? My laptop is a Dell Vostro 1510 and it's OS is Windows Vista Premium 32 bit; my ISP is AT&T and I currently have AT&T's Extreme 6.0 which is supposed to be AT&T's fastest DSL speed unless I switch to one of their Uverse plans.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
speedtest.net
Mar 8, 2013 11:23PM PST
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Re: speedtest.net
Mar 9, 2013 12:05AM PST

Thanks for the info. I just performed a speed test at that site and here are the test results:

5.93 Mbps download - 6.00 Mbps is listed on AT&T.com as the download speed for Xtreme 6.0
0.43 Mbps upload speed - 512 Kbps is listed on AT&T.com as the upload speed for Xtreme 6.0
105 ms ping(?) was also listed on Speedtest.net in my test results
Speedtest.net's grade for my AT&T Xtreme 6.0 - "D"
Speedtest.net also said - my Xtreme 6.0 was slower than 72% of the USA
AT&T's monthly charge for my Xtreme 6.0 DSL - $42.95
There was an ad on Speedtest.net's website by a vendor claiming they could increase my speed; see below
Vendor's website - SpeedyPC Pro; I didn't try it and wouldn't try it until I checked here on CNET first.

Big Steve
03/09/13

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Re: speedtest
Mar 9, 2013 12:40AM PST

5.93 when 6.0 is advertised is exceptionally well.

42.95 for 6.0 download speed is expensive, compared with what I have here in the Netherlands: 20 euro (that's 27 dollars) for 20.0 effective speed. But I think it's a common tariff in the USA.

Don't trust those speed-up programs/

Kees

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Re: speedtest
Mar 9, 2013 1:27AM PST

Kees_B:

I have read that the USA has some of the most expensive monthly rates for broadband service in the world; Europe is much cheaper. AT&T is trying to get me to switch from my current Xtreme 6.0 DSL to their U-Verse Max service. U-Verse Max is rated at 12.0 Mbps and currently costs $51.00 a month.

AT&T said they would discount that $51.00 a month charge down to $39.95 a month for a one year trial then that $39.95 monthly charge would go back to whatever the charge is at the end of one year but I would have to purchase a different modem from AT&T; somethng called a gateway device to be able to use their U-Verse service. The U-Verse gateway device costs $100.00 USD. I'm staying with DSL for now until I can figure out why this laptop which I do spend a lot of time on surfing the web is running so slow.

Big Steve
03/09/13

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Re: speedtest
Mar 9, 2013 2:36AM PST

Kees_B:

Is my DSL's Xtreme 6.0 upload speed good or not? --------> 0.43 Mbps
How many Kbps is 0.43 Mbps? AT&T's website says my Xtreme 6.0's upload speed should be 512 Kbps.

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Re: speedtest
Mar 9, 2013 2:40AM PST

1 Mb is 1000 kb. So .43 Mb = 430 kb. That's close enough to what you pay for to be very happy with it. Not a single reason to complain with them.

Kees

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Re: speedtest
Mar 9, 2013 8:23AM PST
Kees_B:

So according to that speed test my computer's DSL speed is pretty good so obviously something else inside of this laptop is causing it to run so slow. I remember staying at a nice Marriott hotel in Houston, Texas after Hurricane Katrina because I was under a mandatory evacuation order to evacuate from my location here on the Mississippi gulf coast; that hotel had free internet; it was so fast; that was the first time I got to sample high speed internet.

I remember the night auditor at the hotel telling me their internet service was satellite. It must have been because every morning when I would sign in to my computer in my room; I was at my homepage within seconds and anything else I typed into the search bar on that homepage and hit enter took me to that destination in seconds. It was lightning fast whatever kind of internet service it was and I wish I had that kind of speed here.






Big Steve
03/09/13
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Answer
Re: speed test
Mar 8, 2013 11:26PM PST

Potentially the best one is the one offered by AT&T - if they have one - , because it doesn't get hindered by slower speed on the non-AT&T parts of the Internet involved by using another site.

Just try a few you find. You'll find that not only running different tests will give different results, but also running the same test at different times and even running the same test twice right behind each other.
I remember having read our CNET test isn't good at high speeds.

Kees

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Re: speed test
Mar 9, 2013 12:10AM PST

I just went to AT&T again; I finally found the page on their site to test my DSL speed but the page on AT&T.com was down; AT&T referred me to Speedtest.net.

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Speed test
Mar 10, 2013 11:09PM PDT

Speed test help you to know about the speed of internet and it shows the results for downloading and uploading which helps you to know the speed in kbps or mbps.This check accurately measures information measure and is a digital subscriber line speed check and Cable electronic equipment Speed check to assist guests troubleshoot and find information measure problems.