What internet speed test to trust?

Markus Antonius

I am on Eir's 1Gbit internet.

I get about 950down and 97up when using speedtest.com but only get 160down and 100up when using speedof.me test.

In general usage, speeds tend to match closer to the speedof.me test. So in typical usage it would take about 30 seconds to download a 1GB file so that translates to about 33MB/s or 266Mb/s which is nowhere near the promised 1Gbit.

I know marketing and reality are two very different things but surely this should be better i.e. 600/700+? Do I have a case to argue for a lower cost?

What speeds are you getting?

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058278107/what-internet-speed-test-to-trust

Speed is two-way. You can only receive data as fast as the other end will send it to you.

In any case, I use fast.com as that's a netflix service.

Atlantic Dawn

Are you using a wired or wifi connection for these tests? Wired would be what the provider will recommend to achieve maximum speed possible.

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062931#Comment_120062931

Yes, wired 1m away from router:

Speedof.me uses a server in London. So @MrMusician18 I guess this proves your point that having a 1 Gb/s internet connection only serves to show you how slow everyone elses connection is...

Markus Antonius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120062922#Comment_120062922

Is the "1Gbit" value an indicator of speed or bandwidth or both? I use the internet quite heavily i.e. about 15 devices all using it at once. If I downgraded to say a 300Mb/s package, would this affect anything really?

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064989#Comment_120064989

Speed is just another name for bandwidth. Now, I don't know your exact use case so I cannot say for sure if 300Mbps is fast enough, personally I consider anything over 100Mbps for most domestic houses, is overkill unless you have several concurrent 4k streams. Each 4k stream from netflix consumes 15Mbps.

Personally, I'd start with the cheapest package and upgrade until my needs were met.

Cuddlesworth

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120064989#Comment_120064989

I have offices with 1500 people on 800M circuit. Its beyond overkill.