The inspiration for this article came this morning (10/14/2019) while configuring a new laptop for a client and just for grins I compared Internet speed between that computer and mine and found a confusing result. While troubleshooting the issue I found more surprises which trigger one particular good lesson for technicians and advanced users.
Meet the competitors
Introducing in one corner of the ring my HP Envy 15” Intel Core i7-5500U @ 2.40 GHz, 12GB RAM.
In the other corner my client’s Dell Inspiron 5570 15.6” Intel Core i3-8130U @ 2.20 GHz, 8GB RAM.
I will refer to these computers as HP & Dell.
These computers are significantly different from each other and normally would not make for a suitable comparison but that is not my point. My intent here is education about capabilities not about deciding which computer is better.
The first round of speed tests
My exploration of speed began with an Internet speed test on each computer. For this I prefer a google search for “speed test” which consistently leads to a lightweight speed test run by Measurement Lab. If you read the notice you will find a disclaimer that they will publish the results of the test including your IP address. So, privacy hawks beware.
First result:
HP: 322 Mbps download, 11 Mbps upload.
Dell: 12.3 Mbps download, 11 Mbps upload.
Round one goes to HP
Wow, that’s a big difference! So, I looked for why. Oh, my HP is connected to ethernet and the Dell is using wifi. So, lets reverse that. I connected the ethernet cable to the Dell and connected the HP to wifi. Run speed test again.
Dell doubles and HP cut in half
HP: 173.7 Mbps download 11.2 Mbps upload
Dell: 27.2 Mbps download 11.0 Mbps upload
That brings the two closer to each other, but this still does not make sense. This result generates a few questions but let’s hold off until we gather more data. I considered whether the differences in CPU class/speed and RAM could be an explanation but easily eliminated that by technician’s common sense and I also watched the Resource Monitor graphs while running the tests. There were no indications of bottlenecks in CPU or RAM.
Device driver updates
My next move was to check device drivers for the Dell. I had previously run the driver updates using the included Dell Update app that was pre-installed on the computer. It did install several updates. I had re-run that update check until it no longer found updates. But now, I individually checked for updates for Display driver, Network Adapters and Sound drivers through Device Manager. Surprisingly Windows did find an update for the Ethernet adapter and I installed it. The updated driver did not improve the speed test.
Upgrade Win7 to Win10 = faster
As a side note: I have found when upgrading a computer from Windows 7 to Windows 10 that the upgrade procedure will sometimes install generic drivers for any of those devices which may cause the computer to be sluggish or have other strange symptoms. A computer upgraded to Windows 10 usually should feel faster than it did on Windows 7. If it does not, then check for driver updates or background software.
Pay dirt! 😊
Next, I checked the configuration of the Ethernet adapter on the Dell. I found the network configured for Public network, changed that to Private network and test again, no improvement. I found the status of the Ethernet connection showed 100 Mbps. This was pay dirt!
Not pay dirt 😒
This should be an easy fix, go into device manager and properties for the Ethernet adapter and fix the speed setting. But, wait! There is no selection for 1000 Mb. This computer does not have a gigabit Ethernet adapter! Are you kidding me!
Mystery adapter
The computer was purchased from Amazon as a refurb (refurbished computer), but I have bought a lot of those and been pleased with them. I can’t say that I have checked for GB Ethernet adapters. I checked the posting on Amazon for this computer and found no text reference that the computer even has an Ethernet port. I had selected the computer for my client based on the photo that shows an Ethernet port and the other needed criteria.
I checked Dell.com using the Service Tag number for the computer and selected “View Current Configuration”. What I found there was listings that appear to be sub-assemblies for the computer that are not recognizable as typical components. I suspect this computer was originally configured for bulk leases to large business and never packaged for consumer selection. So that was inconclusive. I did find one listing on Amazon for this model that specifically identified a 10/100 Ethernet interface.
WiFi faster than Ethernet?
Next on my mind was how would 2.4 GHz WiFi and 5.0 GHz WiFi compare to 100 Mbps Ethernet. I have both available in my home office. So, here’s the results with the Ethernet numbers for convenient comparison.
| Laptop + Wifi Speed | Download | Upload |
| HP on 1 Gb Ethernet | 267.9 Mbps | 11.6 Mbps |
| HP on 2.4 Ghz Wifi | 93.3 Mbps | 11.0 Mbps |
| HP on 5.0 Ghz Wifi | 253.9 Mbps | 11.8 Mbps |
| Dell on 100 Mbps Ethernet | 89.1 Mbps | 11.5 Mbps |
| Dell on 2.4 Ghz Wifi | 42.3 Mbps | 9.98 Mbps |
| Dell on 5.0 Ghz Wifi | 153.9 Mbps | 11.2 Mbps |
Ethernet limit
The test I was really interested here was the Dell on 100 Mbps Ethernet. What is the top speed for 100 Mbps Ethernet…. duh 100 Mbps. So the 89.1 Mbps is close to the limit. 5.0 GHz WiFi can exceed that speed when conditions are good. This factor does not become apparent unless you have really fast Internet. Many people will not experience this because their Internet connection is still around 5 Mbps so they will never exceed the capability of 100 Mbps Ethernet until their Internet service is upgraded.
It’s complicated daddy
Ouch! Here is the ugly truth about the computer business. Things don’t always work out the way they should. Some of you know the experience of asking your teenager how its going with the friend they had an argument with…. “It’s complicated daddy”.
Ethernet 3-times faster? Why!?
If you haven’t realized what I am referring to let me spell it out. The Dell Ethernet is now showing 89.1 Mbps where earlier in the article it was only 27.2 Mbps. It’s three times faster now without making any changes I am aware of to account for that. I’m sure there is an explanation for such a different result, but it is not apparent to me at this time and I know from experience I probably won’t be able to track it down, it is irrelevant for now and not worth the effort. So, let it go! There is a loud noisy part of me that does not like to let go of a mystery like that, but I have learned some exercises in troubleshooting just are not likely to produce a satisfying result.
Keep it real
I could have fudged the numbers to produce a more satisfying article. That would be a disservice to my intention of training users and technicians because it is important to acknowledge that sometimes the behavior of computers defy logic.
Editor’s note three weeks later…
(Well yes, I am the author and the editor but I am adding this paragraph three months after writing the article and doing the tests and now I realize that manual Ethernet driver update might account for the improvement. I initially reported it did not help but maybe I neglected to restart the computer before that initial test.)
Ethernet more reliable
The very useful piece of information in the chart above is the speed of the Dell on 5.0 GHz WiFi. It is much faster on WiFi than Ethernet! I normally would avoid using WiFi when Ethernet is available because Ethernet is more reliable and consistent.
Stay on point
There are many other worthwhile conversations to be had from this chart but despite my inner voice screaming at me to explore it all, I am trying to stay on point.
Spoiled brat
Some of you are yelling at your screen as you read this article. You’re baffled… “why is he dissatisfied with those speeds when I can barely get 5 Mbps download speed?”. Point taken. I pay for a very high-speed connection so I can do live streaming through YouTube while connected to remote computers. Depending on your Internet provider and the service level you pay for you may have much lower speeds. This means you would never approach the speed limit of the 100 Mbps Ethernet adapter for your Internet connection and the fact that in this case WiFi is faster than Ethernet would not be a useful lesson for your computer at this time.
In the old days… (2 years ago)
Just a couple of years ago and still today in some offices Internet download speeds of 5 Mbps is the best we got/get. In those circumstances we did not bother too much about whether computers had 100 Mbps network adapters or 1Gbps network adapters because the network adapter would not be a bottle neck to the Internet. However, if an in-office file server was involved it could be important. These days I want all computers to have 1Gbps network adapters.
Best computer? It depends…
This brings up the topic of understanding the environment for any particular computer to decide which capabilities you care about and will benefit from. When I set about the task of purchasing a computer for a client I have a rather long list of questions to ask in order to determine what computer to select.
Need help finding a new computer?
I am looking forward to demonstrating that process on the LiveWindowsTraining YouTube channel by helping people select computer purchases for real. If you are interested in doing that with me in a YouTube live stream, then send me an email to that effect at dougbetts@livewindowstraining.com. You will need to become a Web Retainer Client to do that but at one dollar per month its not hard to do.