4 Posts
0
946
August 2nd, 2022 15:00
Dell Inspiron 3670 throttled at 100 Mbps
My Dell 3670 Inspiron has a Realtek PClE GbE PCI card and the computer is wired directly to my Eero Mesh router via a Cat5e cable. I am getting my paid for 200 Mbps download, 100 Mbps upload at the router when checked with my Eero app. I cannot get more than 100 Mbps on the download speed on my 3670 at the computer when checked with Ookla. In my network properties for my Win10 OS, the 3670 it says 100 Mbps and even if I change the settings, it reverts back to the 100 Mbps setting. If I switch over to wifi on the 3670, I can at times get more than 100 Mbps on wireless, but I want to use the direct ethernet cable connection for stability when streaming through Zoom and other online streaming meetings. On this device I don't want to use wireless.
Could this problem be solved by installing a faster network adaptor card? Is that possible? I think my existing network adaptor is on the mother board and don't know if that would be a conflict. What is troubling to me is that my existing Realtek PClE GbE PCI card should be rated for gigabyte speed, but it appears to be throttling me at 100 Mbps.
The Cat5e cables were installed when the house was built 14 years ago and replacing the Cat5e with an upgraded cable is not a possibility.
Thank you in advance for any assistance you could provide.
RoHe
10 Elder
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45.2K Posts
1
August 2nd, 2022 16:00
Version of Windows?
Is this a new problem or has it always been this way?
How many other devices are on your network and is any of them having speed problems too?
Have you rebooted the router lately?
Are all your drivers up-to-date?
Have you checked the Link Speed between your PC's Ethernet and the router? That's the speed PC and router talk to each other, not your internet down/upload speed. You should be getting a Link Speed of 1000 Mbps, assuming your router supports 1000 Mbps Ethernet
Can you try a direct connection to the router, without using the house's wiring, with a CAT6 cable? Keep in mind that performance decreases with increasing length of the cable.
Have you tried disabling SmartByte software which manages internet connections? Dell installed SmartByte on the Inspiron 3670. You don't need SmartByte at all and It can slow down network connections.
EDIT: Can we assume the house wiring ends at an Ethernet jack on the wall, and you use a short cable between the wall jack and the PC? If that's correct, what's the rating of this cable, and have you tried a different cable to the wall jack, using a CAT5 or CAT6 cable? Or at least unplugged and replugged the existing cable at both ends?
redxps630
9 Legend
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14.6K Posts
0
August 3rd, 2022 04:00
Try use a brand new Cat5 cable. Often Ethernet low speed issue is due to cable even if the cable looks good in appearance.
NJDave
2 Intern
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404 Posts
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August 3rd, 2022 09:00
I found this interesting. If your link speed is stuck at 100 Mbps, something is preventing the router and the PC from negotiating the proper speed. Both ends are gigabit capable. I agree with @redxps630 that the most likely culprit is the cable.
foresthilljohn
4 Posts
0
August 3rd, 2022 10:00
Ron,
Version of Windows? : Windows 10
Is this a new problem or has it always been this way? Just upgraded with ISP to 200 down and 100 up. Before that it was 100 down and 50 up. Wasn’t an issue before because we didn’t have the capabilities of speed over 100.
How many other devices are on your network and is any of them having speed problems too? Around 25 and most all are wireless, no problem and wireless speed averages 140 - 190 down.
Have you rebooted the router lately? Yes
Are all your drivers up-to-date? Yes, most current driver is 2018.
Have you checked the Link Speed between your PC's Ethernet and the router? That's the speed PC and router talk to each other, not your internet down/upload speed. You should be getting a Link Speed of 1000 Mbps, assuming your router supports 1000 Mbps Ethernet. I have been unable to check this as it appears it takes a download of a program to complete and I don’t trust Internet downloads, but thank you.
Can you try a direct connection to the router, without using the house's wiring, with a CAT6 cable? Keep in mind that performance decreases with increasing length of the cable. I attached a Cat7 patch cable directly to the modem and did speed test: 195 down and 98 up, what I’m paying for.
Have you tried disabling SmartByte software which manages internet connections? Dell installed SmartByte on the Inspiron 3670. You don't need SmartByte at all and It can slow down network connections. Did not want to mess with SmartByte as my wife is online all day in Zoom and other virtual platforms and from what I read SmartByte has something to do with video feeds.
EDIT: Can we assume the house wiring ends at an Ethernet jack on the wall, and you use a short cable between the wall jack and the PC? If that's correct, what's the rating of this cable, and have you tried a different cable to the wall jack, using a CAT5 or CAT6 cable? Or at least unplugged and replugged the existing cable at both ends? I thought the Ethernet cable in the office where the computer in question is ends with an RJ45 plug into the desktop computer, and it did. Where I failed is that the Ethernet cable termination in the office is in a plug array in the floor under a desk. There is an Ethernet patch cable from the plug array to the computer AND IT IS A CAT5 CABLE!! I removed that patch cable and used a Cat5e patch cable in its place and did a speed test of the computer in question. “Voila!” The speed test rendered 195 down and 98 up speed. I will now order new patch cables for all the hard-wired devices in the house.
You have solved the problem and I thank you very much. I so much appreciate you taking the time to help me and hope that your good will and generosity will be rewarded in a like fashion.
Again, thank you for figuring out something that even the technicians at my ISP could not solve!!
John
RoHe
10 Elder
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45.2K Posts
0
August 3rd, 2022 11:00
@foresthilljohn Glad you got it sorted, and it was an easy fix by swapping the patch cable. If you can, I'd order CAT6 patch cables, rather than CAT5e, for an extra measure of performance.
For the record, you don't need any additional software to check the Link Speed between a PC and router. Win 10 will tell you that directly, since it's not a measure of the internet connection, only of the connection between PC and router.
Assuming you have a Network icon on the toolbar by the clock, right-click it and select "Open Network and Internet Settings". When the Status screen opens, it should show Ethernet as the connection:
Click the Properties button to see the next screen and Link Speed is at the top of the Properties list. It should say 1000/1000 (Mbps) using a CAT5e (or CAT6) patch cable, regardless of the speed you're buying from your ISP:
With the CAT5 patch cable, it would likely says 100/100 (Mbps) which creates a bottleneck for data coming from/going out to the internet.
You can do the same for devices connected via WiFi too, but their Link Speeds will be limited by each WiFi card's specs and the router's speed specs for whichever frequency (2.4 or 5 GHz) used and whether it's an "ac" or "ax" WiFi connection.