How do i check my internet connection type/speed?

[Respectedstar433]

I'm downloading Steam on my computer and it says i need to choose my internet connection type, the options are:

Modem - 56k
Dsl- 256k
Dsl - 768k
Dsl/cable - 2M
Cable/Fiber - 10M

How do i check what i have?

[Matt]

Change it to Cable/Fiber, it'll work great. Trust me.

[Dan Karas]

Any Steam selection is OK.

If you want to check what your real Internet connection speed is. Go to http://speedtest.net and test it.

For example if your test result is 800 Kbps then you could choose "Dsl - 768k" if you have a fast cable Internet connection and your download speed is over 10 Mbps then choose "Cable/Fiber - 10M"

You have to be careful when trying to compare download speeds. Internet connection speeds are measured in bits per second. However, in the real world files are measured in Bytes, KiloBytes, MegaBytes, etc.

Once you have tested your Internet connection speed you can calculate what a maximum (real world) download speed will be.

For example if you got 800 Kbps, then your Internet connection can transfer data at 800,000 bits per second. (notice bits not bytes)

A byte is 8 bits so, 800,000 / 8 = 100,000 bytes per second.

A kilobyte is equal to 1,024 bytes, so 100,000 / 1024 so maximum download speed is 97.6 KB/s

Every packet of data is checked for errors and resent if they exist. Overhead in the transfer of data takes up some more. In this example your 800 Kbps Internet connection can download at a maximum of about 80 KB/s

Also the speed and load on the server you are downloading from has to be accounted for. When you try to download a file or web page, there is much overhead involved. There may be 10,000 other people trying to download the same file. The file may be on a server located in China. Your connection may have to be routed through 15 or 20 hops (different locations) to reach the server. Each server has a delay (latency) due to the distances that the signals must travel.

Now the server has to process your request, depending on the speed of the server this could take many milliseconds, and returns your data in packets (small chunks) back through all of the hops to finally reach your computer. This process must be repeated until your file or web page finally gets to your computer.

A rough estimate of actual download speed can be made by dividing your Internet connection speed in bps by 10. For example a 20 Mbps connection downloads at approximately 2 Mbps.

If you are only having a problem with Steam downloads, it is probably heavy Internet traffic to the Steam site.

Good Luck...