I recently bought a new computer and I noticed that the internet connection is supposedly twice as fast as my old computer. The thing, is I don’t notice any difference in download speeds. Is there some way to “tweak” it to get faster download speeds, or do I have to get DSL to notice any difference? I have Windows ME and a 56K modem.
I’ve got the same OS as you and I haven’t noticed a HUGE difference. SDMB does load a bit faster as do some graphics-intense websites. I’m looking to go DSL. I have a friend who has a cable modem and it’s lightning fast most of the time. I’ll not go that route because I thoroughly despise my local cable company (I have a dish). My satellite provider offers an internet sevice, but it’s a bit pricey right now.
Any way you look at it, there is only so much speed you can finagle out of a modem. Windows ME does have improved networking settings over Windows 95/98 that would give somewhat better speeds. This could explain the difference you are seeing.
Going to a cable/DSL connection is the best way to put the “zing!” back into your internet connection.
If you are judging your modem performance by the plucky slug we call the SDMB message board server there are many times the difference would be practically unnoticable between a 28.8 and a 56K(53K max actually) modem. Internet bog is most often a lack of resources issue for the system to which you are connecting and not necessarily only a line speed issue.
What speed does your system say it is connecting at?
Here are some tweak guides for WinME.
- 3dspotlight
- tweaktown
- Hi Opal!
Before you start any tweaking you must first check your upload and download speed here. On the left of this page click on “tools” and then on “speed tests”. This should give you a basis for comparison. If you hit 48-52 I would not try any tweaks, If not tweak away!
damn… bad link on the speed test.
Here is the good one. dslreports