What Is A Good Download And Upload Speed
Pretty much every internet service provider offers several different plans, each offering different download and upload speeds. If youre in the market for a new internet service, which one should you pick? Do you always pick the fastest you can afford?
Residential internet speeds have increased rapidly over the last few years, so for many people, top-tier internet plans offer more speed than they could possibly use. But whats a good download and upload speed for you? You dont want to pick a plan thats faster than what you need, so well break down the details so you can pick the plan thats right for you.
Find an internet provider in your area that offers the right speeds for you.
Switch Off Unnecessary Animations
Ever since Windows Vista , Microsofts operating system has become cluttered with fancy graphics and animated flourishes that do little to improve productivity. By default, Windows will automatically disable some of these based on how powerful your system is, but if youre willing to sacrifice a bit more aesthetic appeal for the sake of speed, its easy to switch all of the graphics off and run on the bare essentials.
To do this, open that Start Menu and start typing in ‘Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows’. Click on this option and from the scroll menu untick everything you don’t wish to see on the desktop . Click OK and this will change the desktop to something more basic looking.
On systems other than Windows 10, switching everything off gives the desktop a Windows 95-style look and feel. Its surprising to note how much of the so-called ‘flat look’ of Windows 10 relies on graphical flourishes once everything is switched off.
What Is Upload Speed
Conversely to download speed, your upload speed reflects how fast your connection travels from your computer back to your provider’s servers. Whenever you post a picture to Facebook, start a video chat, or play an online video game, you are “uploading.” If you run a speed test, you’ll likely notice your upload speed is much slower than your download speed. That’s pretty normal, because far more online activity involves downloads than uploads.
For most Canadians, 10Mbps upload speed is fast enough. But you may need faster speeds if, for example, you often have multiple video conferences happening, or youre an avid gamer streaming Twitch daily. If youre looking for the fastest internet service provider in Canada, look for one that uses fibre optic. For example, Bell Fibe upload speeds are as high as 1 Gbps. Meanwhile, cable internet is typically limited to just 30 Mbps upload.
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How Is Internet Speed Measured
Upload and download
The basic unit of measurement for a piece of computer data is the bit, which can be either 0 or 1. When we talk about the speed at which data moves across the internet we refer to megabits per second and more recently gigabits per second .
The faster you can download and upload data, the more enjoyable your internet experience will be. That’s because the things we like doing on the internet – like streaming movies, TV and music, and playing games – require lots of information to move quickly from the internet to our computer, device or TV. So the more megabits per second you see in your speed test results the stronger your connection.
Don’t confuse megabits with megabytes ! Megabits are usually used to talk about the speed data travels, while megabytes refer to the size of a file or the storage capacity.
Learn more: How to run a broadband speed test
Ping
Ping is a basic yet effective tool for checking connections between two computers or devices on a network.
As the name suggests, ping sends a signal out to another computer and measures in milliseconds how long it takes to receive a response . If that other computer is far away or the network is busy then it will take longer to receive a response and the ping value will be high.
Learn more: How to ping a computer or website
Jitter
If the rate of delay between those packets becomes irregular or increases then your jitter value will go up.
Learn more: What is jitter in networking?
How Do I Speed Up My Internet Connection
ISP Matters: The most straightforward way to get a faster wifi connection is to choose a different ISP that provides faster service. Simply enter your ZIP code below to get a list of the different Internet providers in your area.
Check Your Tech: Maybe your modem and/or router are obsolete? This sometimes hampers your Internet speed. Check with your ISP to ensure your equipment is up to date. In most cases, they upgrade your setup for free, although a monthly charge may apply. You can also consider purchasing your own modem and router to keep your monthly cost to a minimum. Your ISP maintains a list of third-party equipment compatible with their service. Talk with them to find out what direction is best for you and your family. Learn more about how routers affect internet speed.
Limit Number of Users: Make sure to limit the number of users accessing your wireless router before streaming a movie. Even when subscribing to a fast broadband Internet service, multiple users sharing that service often hampers performance for everyone.
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Does Increasing Fan Speed Increase Fps
Increasing your fan speed will result in lower temperatures, which sometimes means that you will get better performance too. This is only true if your CPU is thermal throttling. You will experience less stutter and get slightly better FPS in CPU-demanding games because the CPU will not have to slow down itself to keep it at a safe temperature.
If your CPU is overclocked and does not thermal throttle, you will not see any changes in the performance. You still may want to increase the fan speed to make the system more stable, which means that you will experience fewer crashes. What is a good CPU fan speed for gaming? You can let the CPU fan hit 100% when the temperature goes above 70°C and then balance the rest of the fan curve around that.
Things To Make Your Laptop Have Faster Internet
Lethargic uploads, downloads and browsing can cost your business time, which leads to monetary costs as well. There are many causes of slow Internet connection speeds, from viruses to hardware issues. Whether you work at home, in a busy office or on the go, there are strategies and products to help increase the speed of your connection on your laptop computer.
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Understanding Cores And Speed
The number of cores and the speed of a laptop have a somewhat complicated relationship. A lot of CPUs on the market now have multiple cores, which means each single CPU chip has at least two processor cores this is how we derive the name dual-core.
So, for example, lets say youre comparing a gaming rig with two 2.5 GHz CPUs against a mobile workstation with a single 5 GHz chip. Assuming both have the same number of cores, youll get similar performance from both.
NOTE: The gaming rig with the multiprocessors will usually be faster than the single processor workstation due to having more than one CPU available. This is also holds true for RAM in an SLI configuration.
Of course, comparisons are limited. For example, its hard to decide which is better if you have a 3.6 GHz laptop with four processor cores and a 3.2 GHz laptop with six cores. In the end, it all depends on the activities you do. As well as the apps and programs youre using.
NOTE: If you tend to run multiple programs at once or play games that require multi-core processors. Youll need a laptop that has a CPU with multiple cores, regardless of its speed.
What Is The Difference Between Upload And Download Speed
If you dont know the difference between upload and download speeds, here is a simple breakdown:
- : how quickly your Internet connection can retrieve data from the Internet
- Upload speed: how quickly your Internet connection can send data from your devices up to the Internet
When you see the advertised speed of an internet plan, what you usually see is the download speed. Frequently, the upload speed isnt visible at first, or it appears in a much smaller size at the bottom.
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What Does Clockwise Speed Mean
The clockwise speed of the processor means that the processor can an instruction or read and write data with every time the clocks tick. GHz is the unit that is directly referred to as clockwise so, GHz speed of processor means internal clockwise processor speed.
Keeping Things Running Smoothly
Once youve cleaned up your computer by implementing some of the tips above, no doubt youll want to keep it running at top speed. To avoid getting frustrated with lackluster performance, its a good idea to schedule a monthly cleanup. Use the above list of tips as a handy checklist and youre all set.
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What Is A Good Internet Speed Everything You Need To Know
This article will answer an age-old question among cord-cutters: What is a good Internet Speed?
Nothing spoils streaming your favorite TV show quite like constant buffering. When your internet connection slows down, it affects not just your on-demand TV experience but also the quality of your video calls, file sharing, online gaming, and more.
This leads us to the important question what internet speed is good enough to support your activities?
Legal Notice:
Internet service providers now offer different connection types to meet consumer demand. You can opt for cable internet service, satellite, DSL or fiber optic connections a far cry from the dial-up service that made screeches every time folks in the 90s attempted to connect at 56 Kpbs.
Looking at your bandwidth requirements is a great way to determine the internet speeds you will need. In addition, there are several other factors that can affect your network performance, which Ill be discussing in detail later.
Update Windows Drivers And Apps
Youve probably heard that keeping your software up to date is a good idea for security. This is true and it can help performance too. Windows will automatically send you a notification when an update is available. You just need to make sure you dont keep putting it off.
If you think you might have missed an update, you can always check. Go to Start and click Settings or the settings icon. Then go to Updates & Security > Windows Updates.
Aside from your Windows operating system, drivers and apps should be kept up to date too. Again, this is good for both security and performance. If you think you might have missed an update, a quick online search should tell you which version you should be using.
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Turn Windows Features On Or Off
While youre in the Programs and Features screen, you might want to check to see if there are any Windows components you dont need. Click Turn Windows features on or off and youll see a list of these components.
Youll want to be careful you dont turn off anything you actually need. So again, a search for anything youre unsure about is a good idea.
What Is Good Wifi Speed For Your Home
by Natasha Stokes on February 12, 2021in , , , ::
Fast WiFi is more of a necessity than ever as more of us work from home, and 4K streaming and gaming become the norm. In the United States, our national average download speed of 173Mbps from internet service providers makes us the tenth-fastest in the world. Over 95% of the population can get a 10Mbps connection, while 80% of Americans have access to 1Gbps internet speeds.
Yet a subscription to a gigabit internet service into your home often doesnt translate to gigabit WiFi speeds inside your home that is, download speeds of 1000Mbps over WiFi. In fact, if a gigabit subscriber checks the download speed of their phone or computer over WiFi, they might be clocking speeds anywhere from 300Mbps to 800Mbps and, potentially, much lower. Thats because many factors impact the speed of a WiFi signal as it travels from the wall cabling to your devices. So WiFi speed for your home will rarely match internet service providers advertised speeds, which are arrived at under laboratory conditions.
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How To Test Your Internet Speed
An internet speed test measures the connection speed and quality of your connected device to the internet. It does so by running multiple consecutive tests that analyze different aspects of your internet connection, namely ping , , and upload speed. Each of these values represents the connection’s specific qualities, which you can read more about in the paragraph after the next. These should help you understand the final speed test results. But before we get to these, we first want to discuss how to perform each test.
How Important Is Pc Processor Speed Really
Is it worth spending big bucks on a highfalutin CPU if all you’re doing is watching “Gangnam Style” on YouTube?
In the old days, choosing a computer was easy: you bought the one with the fastest processor you could afford. And you knew which processor was fastest by its numerical clock-speed rating.
These days it’s a lot trickier. Only hard-core techies know the difference between, say, an AMD A4-3305M and an Intel Core i3-2350M.
And even then, does it really matter? There’s a strong argument to be made that processor performance, even in low-cost, entry-level PCs, has reached a level that’s good enough for most users — folks who use their machines mostly for word processing, e-mail, and Web stuff.
Of course, more and more users are turning to tablets for those activities, but that’s another topic entirely.
Obviously some people need all the processing power they can get — though usually that’s for graphics-intensive tasks like gaming, video editing, and Photoshop. And that’s where you need a desktop with a decent video card or a laptop with decent discrete graphics. Dual-core versus quad-core versus Core-this-or-that is less of a factor.
In other words, it runs lean, which is how it’s able to stay speedy even when supposedly faster hardware bogs down.
But that just proves my point: even a “slow” PC can get the job done, especially if you stick to basic computing tasks.
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Check For Viruses And Other Malware
Run your antivirus software program regularly. Viruses can slow down your computer and cause data loss, while spyware can compromise security by monitoring your activity and collecting information about you. Launch your antivirus software and make sure it’s up to date. Then run a full scan of your hard disk and, if your package allows, set up regular scheduled scans.
If you don’t yet have a malware removal suite and aren’t sure whether the built-in Windows protection is good enough, head to our antivirus software reviews to see which one to install.
Find Programs That Eat Up Resources
If you find that your computer is suddenly running significantly slower, chances are there is a particular program to blame. One way to identify the culprit is to go into your task manager and find out whats eating up your resources.
Right-click the taskbar and select Task Manager. Click More details to find out information about the programs that are currently running on your computer. It should show you the Processes tab by default.
You can click each header to sort the list according to which applications are using the most of that particular resource. If you need to close something, try closing the actual application first. If it wont close, come back to the Task Manager screen, right-click the application, and hit End task.
Windows 7: Instead of accessing Task Manager, youll need to search for System Configuration.
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Making Sense Of What ‘speed’ Means
The idea of speed can be sliced a bunch of ways, but in practical terms, you can look at it in terms of CPU processing power and graphical prowess for tasks such as PC gaming, 3D rendering, or graphics-accelerated content creation. The two are very different things, and we benchmark-test all of the systems that we review with both kinds of speed in mind.
Some laptops are strong in one area and not the other. For example, it’s possible to have a notebook with a top-end processor packing lots of cores and threads, but paired with a minimal graphics solution. A laptop like this would net you great performance on programs and workloads that take advantage of lots of CPU resources, but little in the way of power for gaming or applications that rely on graphics acceleration.
Likewise, having a dedicated graphics processor, the beefier the better, is the key for speed in games. Most of the time, CPU speed will contribute to the gaming equation insofar as it isn’t a limiter or bottleneck for the graphics chip.
Now, the prescription for either needspeed for raw processing, or speed for graphicsis to pack in as potent a main processor or graphics processing unit as you can. But when you do that, it illustrates the interplay of three key factors in laptop design: cost, power consumption, and thermals.