Connection Speeds Have Been Flatlining

[Maplesap]

Info First

DESKTOP
Motherboard - Asus Maximus VII Hero
CPU - Intel 4790k
Memory - 16gb [4x4gb] G.Skill Ripjaws 2133mhz
GPU - Msi GTX 980 4gb
OS - Windows 8

ROUTER/MODEM
AC1900 Nighthawk Smart WiFi Router R7000
TWC provided WebSTAR cable modem

My ISP is time warner, and the computer is connected to the router through the use of an ethernet cable.

At any given time in my home there can be up to...

• 
  ■1 Desktop
  ■2 Laptops
  ■4 Phones
  ■2 Tablets

Connected to the internet, and this does include my own.

THE PROBLEM
I have come here today to seek help in fixing my internet, if that's even the problem.
My specific internet package includes 2mb/s internet speeds, and it has always given
me that; however, recently it hasn't lived up to its own standards at all. Online games are
nearly impossible to play, online voice chat programs, like Skype and TS, are static-y at
best, and video-streaming on websites like Youtube is painful (I used to be able to watch
HD quality videos no problem, but now the only way for them to not buffer is watching at
360p).

My computer is a very recent build, a couple weeks old, and the internet has been
this way the whole time. It was fine on my old computer with this same
router/modem/ethernet cable combo, but now I max out at around .7mb/s. This has
lead me to believe its a problem with the computer rather than the connection equipment.

If anyone has any insight on my predicament please let me know. Hopefully I'm just
missing some simple option, but I'm willing to do any troubleshooting to fix this.

If you need more info from me just ask.

My old comp ran widows 7 if anyone wants to know.

 

[RealBeast]

I would disable all other users by connecting a computer directly to the cable modem and then run speedtest.net and pingtest.net to see what the connection is providing (and post the results here). If the results are below expectations call your ISP and have them come out and check your connection.

It is certainly possible that you are expecting too much from such a low speed connection with so many devices being used. Coincidence can obscure the real issue -- a few weeks ago my 75Mbps cable connection was acting very poor during bad weather and I assumed that my cable modem of 6 months was fine, but in the end the cable modem was the problem so keep an open mind on what could be your issue.

 

[Maplesap]

I would disable all other users by connecting a computer directly to the cable modem and then run speedtest.net and pingtest.net to see what the connection is providing (and post the results here). If the results are below expectations call your ISP and have them come out and check your connection.

It is certainly possible that you are expecting too much from such a low speed connection with so many devices being used. Coincidence can obscure the real issue -- a few weeks ago my 75Mbps cable connection was acting very poor during bad weather and I assumed that my cable modem of 6 months was fine, but in the end the cable modem was the problem so keep an open mind on what could be your issue.

Ok not really sure how to connect a computer directly to a modem(I plugged the Ethernet from it to my comp, but nothing happened), but I did turn all other devices off and got a weird result (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4385693158) thats about 5x faster than its ever been/ i'm playing for.
I used to normally get 2mbps. now ive gotten 9.5, 7, 8.5, and 7.5 in a row. I had .7mbps max the past few weeks, this has to be a mistake.

http://www.pingtest.net/result/123844371.png <-- Never used this before, but you wanted it so here it is.

On the topic of my large number of devices I've always had a ton of stuff on my houses wifi, it always tested at the 2mbps though until I built my new computer.

 

[RealBeast]

When you change your Ethernet cable from the router to the computer, you need to open a command prompt box and then run:
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
That should get your modem to allow a direct connection to the computer.

It sounds like your router is fine though with around a 9Mbps result for your download speed. Your upload speed is pretty low though and that can cause issues with gaming, Skype and similar uses. At peak connection times (when many of your devices are connected) I would expect that you would have a poor result with those uses due to the upload speed restriction since it is divided among all of your devices.

While your download speed is adequate, check on what your upload speed should be, and see if you are getting what your plan promises.

Can you upgrade to a higher level plan? I live out in a rural area and a few years ago my ISP made 50Mbps available at the same price as my old 3 Mbps plan, all I had to do was figure out that they offered it in my area and then ask for it and upgrade my cable modem to DOCSIS 3.0 to get the extra speed. Generally, you get an increase in upload speed with the increased download, often to the 3Mbps range on 25-50Mbps download plans.

My purpose of using pingtest is to look for packet loss, you can also run a number of trace routes in the command prompt window to test for packet loss, which causes slow and unreliable connections when it is a problem. The fix for that is often to get an ISP tech out to check the line. I don't suspect that though with your result.

 

[Maplesap]

At the moment I'm waiting a day or two for a guy from TWC to come out to my house and change my modem. It's internet and phone, and along with the slow speeds on internet, my home phones have been almost impossibly static-y. Hopefully that will prove as a fix, ill come back here after it's done and update the post.

EDIT: The cable guy came out and replaced our modem, it was a quick fix and all problems are gone. Thanks for the help RealBeast!