gigabit router with 10/100 switch? 15mbps internet...?

[Zzonkers]

I range 10-15mbps on speetest.net

I have a gigabit mobo & router but a 10/100 switch that I found. Would be nice to have more hardwired connections in my room. Would I notice a difference at the download speeds? Sorry I know nothing about networking.

 

[ubercake]

In most cases, your internet connection will not be faster than what you pay for through your ISP. For example, you might pay for the 20Mbps download speed but you actually get 14.51. Unless you have a dedicated connection ($$$) with guaranteed speeds, your speed depends on the network traffic in your area.

A gigabit router will make your internal network faster, but won't increase your speed over the internet. Most internet modems supplied by the ISPs will only give you around 160Mbps at any point in time for all connected devices on your network accessing the internet; though this is only potential and the speed is capped by the plan you sign up for.

 

[das_stig]

Just put anything that is not speed critical through the switch.

 

[Kyle Kotulak]

For clarity:
Your internet from Earthlink is a 15mb down? What speed are you paying for?
As for internet speeds based on more "connections" in this case that will be determined by the Routers QOS.
the 10/100 switch shouldn't cause any real issues here.

Someone more knowledgable can probably explain the technical aspects of this.

 

[Zzonkers]

For clarity:
Your internet from Earthlink is a 15mb down? What speed are you paying for?
As for internet speeds based on more "connections" in this case that will be determined by the Routers QOS.
the 10/100 switch shouldn't cause any real issues here.

Someone more knowledgable can probably explain the technical aspects of this.

I pay for 10mbps but jumps higher sometimes. I just didnt know if these speeds were even high enough to make use of a gigabit connection

 

[digitaldoc]

In short, the Gigabit switch will not increase your speed through your current plan with your ISP. Your download speed is probably ok, but your upload speed is kind of slow.

I would suggest to run Speedtest.net directly connected to the modem and let us know what speeds you are getting.

 

[Solandri]

I range 10-15mbps on speetest.net

I have a gigabit mobo & router but a 10/100 switch that I found. Would be nice to have more hardwired connections in my room. Would I notice a difference at the download speeds? Sorry I know nothing about networking.

10baseT Ethernet is 10 Mbps
100baseT Ethernet is 100 Mbps
Gigabit Ethernet is 1000 Mbps or 1 Gbps

Because of the way data is put into packets, these work out to approx 1.25 MB/sec, 12.5 MB/sec and 125 MB/sec respectively. Gigabit speeds are further constrained by whether or not something called jumbo packets are supported. Without them, you may only see about 30-80 MB/sec.

Note that 10bT dates back from the 1980s, and it's incredibly rare to find hardware which doesn't support at least 100bT. The 10/100 on your switch means it supports both 10bT and 100bT.

If all you're doing is accessing the Internet, a 10/100 switch is more than enough. Where gigabit ethernet typically helps is when you're transferring files between computers on your local network. Hard drive read speeds top out at about 125 MB/sec, which is right around the theoretical limit for gigabit ethernet. (SSDs go up to about 500 MB/sec for sequential reads, but if you're copying a directory with a bunch of files, 50-150 MB/sec is more likely. We're not quite to the point where 10 Gbps is that useful in the home.)