Poor Download Speed

[ferd10]

I have a recently purchased HP s5360f desktop computer being used as a HTPC. It is connected via a Lynksys WRT-150N router. The distance between the two is approximately 30 feet. The HTPC works fine, internet connection works fine; only problem is very poor download speed of .82 mb/s. (The download speed on regular computer is 23.11 mbs). This poor download speed results in poor playing of videos: for example a youtube movie plays great on regular laptop, but on the HTPC it stops and starts intermittently(I think it's called buffering).


My internet provider, Comcast, says I may need a new 802.11N router and a USB wireless adapter for the HTPC.

Is another solution to hardwire the cable via splitter directly to HTPC?

Any help would be appreciated.

Tx

Ferd

 

[sysengrnz]

re:

Sounds to me like a damaged ethernet cable - could potentially be the source of the problem.

I'd suggest swapping it out to see if the same sort of poor network performance exists. If it does, there may be support on your particular router to enable QOS for Movies and Audio. Have you tried doing a speedtest on the HTPC with the other client connected, and without? Also, i'd ensure that wireless (if the HTPC has it) is turned off. I've had an issue with speed issues like this where the HTPC is connected to wireless whilst it's connected via ethernet, and the data throughput to your PC ends up crumbling to a grinding halt.

I'd also recommend checking your ethernet drivers properties to see if there are any QOS options available under the hardwares tab in device manager.

Do a cross check online between your wireless adapter brand/manufacturer and that of the Lynksys WRT-150N. You may find there are some issues that could be remedied by both a firmware upgrade on your router, or a driver update on your ethernet driver/controller.

Work your way through these steps - You may find they help.