Why is internet so ssslllllooooowww?

[Nate]

I know why, but i don't know why. I've got pretty crappy modem; 2wire 2701hg-g from bell, 5 down 1 up. When my mom streams netflix, everything else in the house slows to a crawl. Can someone please explain (in technical terms) why this happens? and if upgrading to faster connection is only option...can a new router make a difference?

Thanks in advance!!!


NC
Edit: Thanks for the answer James.

Edit: BTW, it is a modem/router combo.

[James]

lets put it simply. your router has to handle a lot. it has to keep connection with every family members phone(i assume you all have wifi smartphones), computers and now the tv. it cant handle that much. if its an older router it really wasnt designed for anything other than a few computers. get a new one.

[Mike]

Greetings, NC

Sounds like the classic limited bandwidth dilemma.

You can think of your household's "bandwidth" as the amount of information that can be going in/out of your house via the internet at any one time; activities such as streaming movies/tv online, browsing the web, and online gaming all involve sending/receiving information via the internet, and thus take up the limited amount of bandwidth available in your household.

THIS is why streaming a movie via Netflix would cause other activities to become slower, as they are now competing for the limited bandwidth to send/receive information from the internet.

As for upgrading to a faster connection... your Internet Service Provider (ISP) does not have a magic throttle that speeds up or slows down your ability to connect to the internet quickly. Upgrading your "Internet Plan" will only increase your allotted bandwidth (which allows you to do more things at once) and this can be expensive.

I don't have much information about your current router, but I'll take your word that it is crappy. Upgrading your router every 4-8 years is a good idea, so if your router is really old, it wouldn't hurt to consider getting a new one. Please note, however, that the difference this will make in your internet connection "speed" will probably be unnoticeable and that a new router will not increase your household's bandwidth.

Hope this information can be of use to you,


Cheers!

[Shirley]

A few things can slow it down. First of all, reboot the pc as that sorts out the drivers as one might be malfunctioning. If that doesn't work you should do virus, malware and spyware scans as any of those can slow down the computer. Also delete temporary Internet files or even better download cc cleaner it gets rid of the temporary files and does a lot more too.

You might be low on ram. If you are low on ram you can had more via slots inside your computer, but for now up the page filing space as this helps during low ram. Also check your hardrive. If that is fullish that can slow the computer to, so you may want to delete some stuff, and defrag and compress files too to give you more hd space.

also check whats using the cpu. Only idle system should be using a high percentage of the cpu.

To check do this. press alt, control and delete at the same time, and check the results.

[Boss]

You might have to call your ISP.