# Troubleshooting network speed, one computer much slower than the other

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 8, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372 "2020-05-08T01:30:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/1 "2020-05-08T01:30:43Z")

</div>

I have Verizon Fios service nominally 100 down/100 up. I have two computers connected to the same router with Ethernet cables. They both have 1 Gbps Ethernet adapters. Using an online speed test, one is getting 82/82 and the other is getting 15/82. What could cause one computer to have such low download speeds?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/2 "2020-05-08T01:40:38Z")

</div>

Swap cables and see what happens.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![erpa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e56c9b/32.png) [@erpa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erpa)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/3 "2020-05-08T03:04:28Z")

</div>

This sounds like an application layer issue. Try a different browser or download an app dedicated to that function. I’ve never had much consistency on browser hosted tests.

Here is one from the Microsoft Store (signup required but is free) [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/speed-test-free-internet-speed-test-tools/9p3d31qdw2ws?activetab=pivot:overviewtab](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/speed-test-free-internet-speed-test-tools/9p3d31qdw2ws?activetab=pivot:overviewtab)

Good luck.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/4 "2020-05-08T05:07:11Z")

</div>

any differences in firewall/anti virus software?

Was the other machine downloading something while speedtest was running?

try different router/switch port in case there is a bad connection/damaged/dirty pins in port?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/5 "2020-05-08T11:44:57Z")

</div>

Are both computers more or less the same? If it’s not a connection issue, it may be a packet size problem.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/6 "2020-05-08T21:20:23Z")

</div>

Are you testing both at the same time? Don’t do that. To be sure they aren’t interfering with each other try testing one with the other off or disconnected from the network.

Also, the speed can change based on the server you test against. It may not be the same server even if you’re testing at the same website.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\
**Post date:** [May 8, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/troubleshooting-network-speed-one-computer-much-slower-than-the-other/853372/7 "2020-05-08T23:09:58Z")

</div>

You can checkout this site.  
[https://www.speedguide.net/sg\_tools.php](https://www.speedguide.net/sg_tools.php)

Some systems come with poorly configured settings for the ethernet interfaces. I have used the analyzer and optimizer without any problems. But only up to Win 7 OS.