Testing Bandwith without downloading programs...

mark_steps

First of all by Bandwidth we mean speed right? Like im meant to be on 2 Mb with Telewest.
Not allowed to download onto the PC, not mine, but i want to check how fast i am getting.
Is there a simple test online that i can run, also is it simple when it tells me? ie can someone not techie minded atall understand or know what to look for??

mrJ_5

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html - but remember to close everything else that uses bandwidth - such as MSN, Skype, Outlook, etc etc

mark_steps

Just tried with nothing running and got the following :
Date 10/02/07 17:12:54
Speed Down 1684.84 Kbps ( 1.6 Mbps )
Speed Up 238.02 Kbps ( 0.2 Mbps )


What exactly does it tell me then?

Tried straight after and got this :
Date 10/02/07 17:15:31
Speed Down 1093.42 Kbps ( 1.1 Mbps )
Speed Up 239.55 Kbps ( 0.2 Mbps )

Finally, with MSN on and Outlook open got :
Date 10/02/07 17:18:03
Speed Down 1050.41 Kbps ( 1 Mbps )
Speed Up 237.91 Kbps ( 0.2 Mbps )

On closing MSN and Outlook got :
Date 10/02/07 17:21:28
Speed Down 1566.04 Kbps ( 1.5 Mbps )
Speed Up 239.15 Kbps ( 0.2 Mbps )

espresso

It tells you that you are getting somewhere between 1Mbs (slowest) and 1.6Mbs (fastest) download speed on your 2Mbs connection. Your speed will vary depending on what time you do the tests and how many others are sharing the connection at the time (contention).

peter999

Speed Test links:
http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html
http://speedcheck.ispconnect.co.uk/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/speedtest.html -use "click here" link on page.

Best to compare a few different speed sites as they can vary quite a lot.

peter999

ceborame

http://www.speedtest.net/

timberflake

btw, bandwidth is not the speed of your connection, its the data sent and received. For example, on my connection I have 60gb of bandwidth, which means I can download 60gb of data (music, windows updates, streaming video etc).

JohalaReewi

timberflake wrote:

... For example, on my connection I have 60gb of bandwidth, which means I can download 60gb of data (music, windows updates, streaming video etc).

That sounds more like your monthly allowance. There would be a big rush if you could get 60Gb broadband

timberflake

JohalaReewi wrote:

That sounds more like your monthly allowance. There would be a big rush if you could get 60Gb broadband

Thats what I said!! Bandwidth IS NOT the speed of your connection, bandwidth is your download allowance! :rolleyes:

GuessWho_2

peter999 wrote:

Best to compare a few different speed sites as they can vary quite a lot

Yep, i agree with that.

Here's my favorite to add to the list
with this one you can more easily see the effects of contention.

http://www.giganews.com/test_connect.html

ps.. i just hit 6660 kbps on the news.europe server

Saeed

also http://resources.zdnet.co.uk/speedtest/