Hello everyone!
The Issue
Yesterday I installed a switch between one of my cable modem/router combo ethernet ports and my personal desktop. I also connected my work laptop to the switch. Prior to installing the switch, I had an ethernet cable running directly from my cable modem/router combo to my desktop, which never game me issues. Before the switch, I got virtually the full speed of my internet plan (250Mbps). After the switch (and then going back to a direct connection to my cable modem/router combo, I'm limited to 100Mbps.
Hardware, Software, and Settings
Motherboard - MSI Z170A Gaming M5
NIC - Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Speed & Duplex set to Auto Negotiation (No 1000 Mbps option))
Cable Modem/Router Combo - Xfinity (Arris) TG1682G
Switch - Netgear GS305 5-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Switch
Ethernet Cables - Amazon Basics RJ45 Cat-6 Ethernet Patch Cables
Operating System - Windows 10 (Power Option set to High Performance)
Driver - Driver Only (Killer Control Center not Installed)
Speedtests (Ookla)
I performed an Speedtest on my personal desktop BEFORE installing the switch and my results were:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 235.26Mbps
Upload - 5.85Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my personal desktop AFTER installing the switch:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 94.69Mbps
Upload - 5.86Mbps
I performed a Speedtest on my work laptop on it's own cable from the switch (with wireless disabled):
Ping - 33ms
Download - 216.57Mbps
Upload - 5.68Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my work laptop, but this time connected to the cable that runs from the switch to my personal desktop (with wireless disabled):
Ping - 31ms
Download - 237.50Mbps
Upload - 2.53Mbps
I performed a Speedtest with my personal desktop back to being connected directly to the cable modem/router combo (SAME EXACT cable as the very first Speedtest shown that didn't experience any issues):
Ping - 8ms
Download - 93.54Mbps
Upload - 5.68Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my personal desktop, but this time connected to the cable that runs from the switch to my work laptop:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 94.64Mbps
Upload - 4.60Mbps
Observations
Ethernet Status:
Personal Desktop - 100.0 Mbps (Speed & Duplex set to Auto Negotiation (No 1000 Mbps option))
Work Laptop - 1.0 Gbps (Can't check Speed & Duplex due to lack of Administrative Access)
Other things I noticed:
Things I've Tried
Where I'm At
The only other diagnostic steps I feel I could take are 1) connecting the computer to a different network to see if it negotiates above 100Mbps and 2) reinstalling Windows. I feel as if, considering the diagnostic steps I have performed, I've ruled out the switch (although ironically this only started after installing a switch) and ethernet cables as faulty. The only two things left I could see being the problem are the cable modem/router combo and the Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller. I'm leaning towards the Ethernet Controller. I know Killer NICs are trash... it's just weird that it worked perfectly fine before the switch.
Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated!
The Issue
Yesterday I installed a switch between one of my cable modem/router combo ethernet ports and my personal desktop. I also connected my work laptop to the switch. Prior to installing the switch, I had an ethernet cable running directly from my cable modem/router combo to my desktop, which never game me issues. Before the switch, I got virtually the full speed of my internet plan (250Mbps). After the switch (and then going back to a direct connection to my cable modem/router combo, I'm limited to 100Mbps.
Hardware, Software, and Settings
Motherboard - MSI Z170A Gaming M5
NIC - Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Speed & Duplex set to Auto Negotiation (No 1000 Mbps option))
Cable Modem/Router Combo - Xfinity (Arris) TG1682G
Switch - Netgear GS305 5-Port Gigabit Unmanaged Switch
Ethernet Cables - Amazon Basics RJ45 Cat-6 Ethernet Patch Cables
Operating System - Windows 10 (Power Option set to High Performance)
Driver - Driver Only (Killer Control Center not Installed)
Speedtests (Ookla)
I performed an Speedtest on my personal desktop BEFORE installing the switch and my results were:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 235.26Mbps
Upload - 5.85Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my personal desktop AFTER installing the switch:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 94.69Mbps
Upload - 5.86Mbps
I performed a Speedtest on my work laptop on it's own cable from the switch (with wireless disabled):
Ping - 33ms
Download - 216.57Mbps
Upload - 5.68Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my work laptop, but this time connected to the cable that runs from the switch to my personal desktop (with wireless disabled):
Ping - 31ms
Download - 237.50Mbps
Upload - 2.53Mbps
I performed a Speedtest with my personal desktop back to being connected directly to the cable modem/router combo (SAME EXACT cable as the very first Speedtest shown that didn't experience any issues):
Ping - 8ms
Download - 93.54Mbps
Upload - 5.68Mbps
I performed another Speedtest on my personal desktop, but this time connected to the cable that runs from the switch to my work laptop:
Ping - 8ms
Download - 94.64Mbps
Upload - 4.60Mbps
Observations
Ethernet Status:
Personal Desktop - 100.0 Mbps (Speed & Duplex set to Auto Negotiation (No 1000 Mbps option))
Work Laptop - 1.0 Gbps (Can't check Speed & Duplex due to lack of Administrative Access)
Other things I noticed:
- Regardless of where I connect my work laptop or girlfriend's laptop, the ethernet connection shows as 'Brett'. However, on my personal desktop, the ethernet connection shows simply as 'Network'.
- Regardless of where I connect my work laptop or girlfriend's laptop, the ethernet connection shows as connected to the internet almost instantly. However, on my personal desktop, there is a noticeable delay (less than 15 seconds, but still longer than it takes me to boot into Windows and launch a website.
Things I've Tried
- Restarted cable modem/router combo
- Disconnected cable modem/router combo for 5 minutes and reconnected
- Uninstalled device (Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller) and reinstalled via pre-loaded Windows driver
- Uninstalled device (Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller) and manually installed latest driver
- Ran Update Driver (Windows indicated best / most recent driver already installed)
- Reset the Network Stack using the following Commands: ipconfig /release -> ipconfig /flushdns -> ipconfig /renew -> netsh int ip reset -> netsh winsock reset (followed by restart)
- Disabled device (Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller) -> Enabled SSD Over Provisioning -> Restarted Computer -> Reenabled device (Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller)
- Disconnected ethernet -> Forgotten personal desktop from Xfinity App -> Reconnected ethernet
Where I'm At
The only other diagnostic steps I feel I could take are 1) connecting the computer to a different network to see if it negotiates above 100Mbps and 2) reinstalling Windows. I feel as if, considering the diagnostic steps I have performed, I've ruled out the switch (although ironically this only started after installing a switch) and ethernet cables as faulty. The only two things left I could see being the problem are the cable modem/router combo and the Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller. I'm leaning towards the Ethernet Controller. I know Killer NICs are trash... it's just weird that it worked perfectly fine before the switch.
Any insight or help would be greatly appreciated!