Ethernet card uograde needed?

[NHHEMI]

Asking for opinions here on what to do to speed a system up( i.e. internet/network conenction ). If you don't have an actual answer to what I am asking please refrain from taking this off topic with lectures and arguments about Windows 10 and such. I would really appreciate it if responses were focused and my actual question.

Just did the 1607 Windows 10 update on my Aunt's computer. This is on an old Compag Presario that came with Windows 7 pretty much right when Windows 7 came out so a lot of the hardware is outdated/unsupported now. She bought it from a lease company when it was about a year old and it sat and sat and sat. I finally got her to let me work on it and get it all updated so she can finally retire the old dying dinosaur of a system she has now.

*** She is an old time New Englander who is very tight with $$$ so she won't buy a newer system. She will use this one because it is "new to her" even though it is already long outdated because it sat unused for like 4+ years before she finally decided to use it. I have to work with it.***

Everything is fine( really it is plenty of computer for her limited needs )except I noticed the internet doesn't work as fast on her system as it does mine. I am working on it here at home so I am using the same exact connection w/ Ethernet cable I use on my system. My system sees 180-200 Mbps+( download )and with that same exact connection I am only seeing 70 Mbps +/-( download )on her system? Same OS, same browser, same add-ons, etc... Only difference other than things like Motherboard, RAM, CPU is the Network Adapter( Ethernet card ).

I checked out the Network Adapter in Device Manager on her system and all it says is NVIDIA nForce Network Controller. No version of the hardware, 10/100, or anything else. I think it is using a generic driver Windows applied. I tried updating the driver and it came back as using the most recent/best. Went to the mfg's site and tried to find a driver but I couldn't come up with one at all. There was a Windows 7 nForce multiple version driver offered dated 2012 but it didn't work when I tried to install it. It said my adapter was not compatible. So no joy with the mfg.

So my question, after all that, is do you think buying a new Network Adapter( Ethernet card )would help? I am some of you are saying 70 Mbps is plenty BUT clearly the adapter isn't able to work at speeds the one in my system can so it is either failing or more likely just old and not up to modern speeds. The other issue is her internet connection is slow anyway( Fairpoint DSL = lowest speed level offered ). I want to be sure she is able to make full use of every Mbps of speed available to her when she is using it at her house. Here it isn't an issue really but if it only provides partial speeds at her house on the DSL it will be?. It is slow enough as is. I feel like I am on dial up when I work on her computer at her house.

So am I wrong in my thinking? If you agree/think it might help do you have a recommendation for an affordable decent PCI-E Ethernet card?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT - the network adapter in my system is from Realtek FWIW( or the chipset is anyway ).

 

[Colt45ws]

Thats a 10/100 card on that nForce board, for sure. If it has a PCIe slot you can use, a Gigabit card might get you a bit more, but you will run into CPU limitations pretty soon due to processing overhead.
FWIW, I would just leave it be and let her live with the 70Mbps. Espically since it will be bottle necked by her DSL anyways. I see no reason to get a better card if all she has is 5Mbps or something....the card will never make a difference.
If you do, I would go to Ebay and buy a used Intel 1000 NIC. Thats what I always buy if I need a NIC. Well supported and pretty reliable.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Egads. If it's using an nForce chipset then it truly is ancient. That's an AMD Socket A/754/939 single-core system. The CPU will be slow. The RAM will be slow. All the data buses between all the guts will be slow, etc. You're getting that data rate simply because that's as fast as the PC is capable of moving of data around. The NIC is not the bottleneck here. Replacing it will do nothing. Besides, that old 10/100 NIC is still WAY 'faster' than the DSL she's going to use with it, so what's the point?

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Egads. If it's using an nForce chipset then it truly is ancient. That's an AMD Socket A/754/939 single-core system. The CPU will be slow. The RAM will be slow. All the data buses between all the guts will be slow, etc. You're getting that data rate simply because that's as fast as the PC is capable of moving of data around. The NIC is not the bottleneck here. Replacing it will do nothing. Besides, that old 10/100 NIC is still WAY 'faster' than the DSL she's going to use with it, so what's the point?


So you are saying that is only capable of 10MB/Sec.. clearly over-exaggerating.

I do agree that unless this person has 100MBIT internet or faster its pointless to put a gigabit NIC in.

IIRC the PCI bus supports upto 133MB/Sec or so in regular desktop form.

 

[PandaBear]

NIC is unlikely the bottleneck. I'd guess it is the DSL / Cable at her home and the whole system of that era.

You can try a newer NIC, but I can guarantee you it is not going to make any noticeable difference.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: Rand
So you are saying that is only capable of 10MB/Sec.. clearly over-exaggerating.

No, I didn't say that.. clearly not reading.

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
NIC is unlikely the bottleneck. I'd guess it is the DSL / Cable at her home and the whole system of that era.

You can try a newer NIC, but I can guarantee you it is not going to make any noticeable difference.

It sounds like hes running on his network and comparing it to his modern PC getting almost 200mbps.
But he says all she has is 'slow' DSL so I agree that the NIC is not going to matter.

And yeah a 10/100 nic can technically do 12.5MBps but due to overhead its actually more like 10MBps which happens to be about 80mbps which is really close to the 70 he was getting.

 

[JMJNet]

IMO, I don't think ethernet card (NIC) will help. You can try.

I agree that the limitation is not on the network but more on the hardware (CPU, RAM and GPU).

I did not read any hardware spec except the networking type like what CPU, amount of RAM is in the computer.
That will probably determine the speed more.

IMO, 70 MBPs download is good this more than what I got here.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Originally Posted By: Rand
So you are saying that is only capable of 10MB/Sec.. clearly over-exaggerating.

No, I didn't say that.. clearly not reading.


Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
Egads. If it's using an nForce chipset then it truly is ancient. That's an AMD Socket A/754/939 single-core system. The CPU will be slow. The RAM will be slow. All the data buses between all the guts will be slow, etc. You're getting that data rate simply because that's as fast as the PC is capable of moving of data around. The NIC is not the bottleneck here. Replacing it will do nothing. Besides, that old 10/100 NIC is still WAY 'faster' than the DSL she's going to use with it, so what's the point?


Well I reread what you posted and It still looks like you said his NIC isnt a bottleneck his computer is only capable of processing 70MBIT due to its internal data bus?

Which is of course incorrect. Not sure what I "clearly didn't read"

 

[Wolf359]

Nothing to see here, move along.

The bottleneck is the DSL connection, there's no point getting a faster nic, everthing else will be the same.

 

[raytseng]

If she is as you say tight on money, why would you suggest to buy something additional? If money is the overriding #1 constraint, then just call it good as it is right now.

Whose problem are you trying to solve? An actual problem for her or just your own intellectual curiosity?

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Everything is fine( really it is plenty of computer for her limited needs )


Perfect. Then don't create a problem where there isn't one.

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
except I noticed the internet doesn't work as fast on her system as it does mine


Of course not. Your hardware is significantly more advanced than nearly decade-old year old hardware.

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
I am working on it here at home so I am using the same exact connection w/ Ethernet cable I use on my system. My system sees 180-200 Mbps+( download )and with that same exact connection I am only seeing 70 Mbps +/-( download )on her system? Same OS, same browser, same add-ons, etc... Only difference other than things like Motherboard, RAM, CPU is the Network Adapter( Ethernet card ).


And any/all of those things could impact the network throughput. Assuming you're talking about an internet speed test, the older hardware simply can't take advantage of larger chunk and buffer sizes, and will always be slower.

If the computer is suitable for your relatives needs as-is, then be done with it.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Let it be. Don't mess with it.

 

[NHHEMI]

WOW! It would be nice to see a post at BITOG just once where people didn't argue and fight and be rude over nothing. Don't know why people get so riled up?

To those who actually paid attention to what I posted and tried to answer I appreciate it very much.

I kind of thought the issue might be her system in general is too old/slow but I wondered if a newer Network Adapter( Ethernet card )might help some? Probably not worth it but figured it was worth the time to ask.

I forgot to mention that I have her about ready to up her speed level on the DSL so that is another thing I was thinking might benefit from a newer adapter/card. Probably not.

Thanks again to those few.

 

[Andrew1972]

No as stated before. A ssd likely would give the largest speed increase. The likely choke is the old HDD.

Hooking a dsl line to a 70 Mbps speed is akin to hooking a hose into 3" water pipe and expecting pressure on the end.

 

[BeerCan]

If its working leave it be. Once you start messing with a computer that old you are asking for trouble.

 

[NHHEMI]

I can't just drop it. She wants the speed increased ( as do I for when I am there using it ). Guess I will just start with having her upgrade her service to a higher speed level which will also come with a new DSL modem and see what that does for her.

Thanks again.

 

[AandPDan]

Hemi,

There is no DSL service that even comes close to the download speeds that you have now. Most max out at about 12mbps and many are far slower 1.5-3mbps.

A 10/100 network card is MORE than adequate for those download speeds.

While it is a 10/100 card, ethernet does not run at 100% speed. It will max out around 70-80% - hence the 70 mbps you are seeing now.

Does the switch/router that you are using to test the connection now have gigabit (1000mbps) ports? Not all do. If you have it connected via a 100mbps port that will cap your download as well.

Assuming she remains on DSL then the only time a gigabit ethernet card would help is if she was transferring files over her LOCAL network to another device and all the router/switch ports were also gigabit.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: AandPDan
Hemi,

There is no DSL service that even comes close to the download speeds that you have now. Most max out at about 12mbps and many are far slower 1.5-3mbps.

A 10/100 network card is MORE than adequate for those download speeds.

While it is a 10/100 card, ethernet does not run at 100% speed. It will max out around 70-80% - hence the 70 mbps you are seeing now.

Does the switch/router that you are using to test the connection now have gigabit (1000mbps) ports? Not all do. If you have it connected via a 100mbps port that will cap your download as well.

Assuming she remains on DSL then the only time a gigabit ethernet card would help is if she was transferring files over her LOCAL network to another device and all the router/switch ports were also gigabit.


Thanks for the info.

I am not looking, nor expecting. to get her anywhere near my speed as I know DSL is vastly inferior to cable. When I mentioned how slow her machine was on my cable setup I was trying to illustrate how much faster my machine is vs. hers on the same internet feed( i.e. I brought her computer to my house and hook it up her ). I was wondering if such a drastic drop in speed on the same exact Ethernet cable feed I use might indicate an inferior Network Adapter( Ethernet card ). Sort of like how the same vehicle runs better on premium vs regular octane fuel.

I have used DSL at other places that has been much faster than her's. My neighbors used to have DSL( same provider as my Aunt )and while slow compared to my internet it was ok and didn't seem to be that bad. I believe they may have had a faster service at the time than she does though. I actually spent yesterday working on a friend's computer( Windows 10 1607 update )who also has DSL. It was just like being at my Aunt's house. It CRAWLED along IMO. He has 5 Mbps service and speed test showed 4.5-4.8 actual so he was getting what he paid for. Downloading the Windows 10 1607 update took longer than installing it!!!!

My Aunt's provider currently offers 4 Mbps, 15 Mbps, and 30 Mbps in their newest DSL offerings( I don't know what she has but 4 Mbps would be the max - she has had it for a LONG time so probably less ). I would like to see her move all the way to the 30 Mbps level but it will come down to cost. If it is really $$$ she will only upgrade to the 15 Mbps. Even that would be a big improvement though.

Also, I was asking about a new Network Adapter( Ethernet card )because I wanted to be sure she could take advantage of every Mbps offered once she does upgrade.

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[AandPDan]

She doesn't need a new adapter to utilize 30mbps. What she has now is more than adequate for twice that and more.

The hardware (bus speed) is going to be the limiting factor in any upgrade and it is likely too old to see any great increase in performance.