This is quite a doozy, so I'll do my best at explaining what's going on. I'm also living in Europe (Romania), so if this isn't the right place to post, let me know.
I. Some six months ago I've encountered an issue with my download speed where I would effectively download stuff with around 500kbps instead of the regular 4-5 MBps (primarily using Steam). I've contacted people from my ISP and for a month they were constantly coming over and testing the speed on their laptops. At times the speed would be fine on their laptops, while at others it would be as low as on my PC. This, of course, was using both their testing page and speedtest.net .
So, after a month of calling back and forth, having them tell me it's my PC that's causing it, I reinstall my OS (Win 7 x64), I scan my PC for viruses/malware and I even change my network internet controller. Before changing the NIC, I brought the PC over to someone living in my same area, only to get good speeds (both on speedtest and while actually downloading stuff via Steam) on BOTH NICs. The issue got magically fixed a week or two later after a few days of (really) angry calls and lots of shouting. During all this time, I was using a direct connection going from the ISPs modem into my PC, no wi-fi router whatsoever.
II. Shortly after, I found myself downloading stuff with some 9-10 MBps (again, actual speed, via Steam) and for a good couple of months I had no issues. In this time, I was using the PC as I always use it, with the same programs. A few days ago, the issue returned. The tech guy on the phone couldn't fix it. A team came over only to get good speeds on Speedtest. This had them starting the entire "it's your PC" charade over and over again. Anger resurfaced, but luckily I got a more communicative individual the next day.
He tried replacing cables, he tried replacing the modem with another one (same make, same model) nothing worked. When he added the wi-fi router in between the modem and my PC, the speed was back up. If prior to this the highest point was 9MB (again, using Steam), this time around it was downloading at 11.1 MBps. Constantly. I did this with the guy there and he seemed completely baffled (as am I). Currently, connecting directly through the modem has me downloading stuff at 500kbps while through the wi-fi router I get 11Mbps. Note that this is WITHOUT using the wi-fi function. It's just adding something in between the modem and the PC.
Now, I don't know much about internet connections (you could consider I'm just now learning the terminology), but I do know speed can vary. However, I think we can all agree that from 5 or 9 MBps to 500 kbps constantly, well, that's a pretty high jump (the ISP's tech guy on the phone agreed with me on this one, although, it might have been just for the sake of it). My contract with the company was signed a handful of years ago, when the network wasn't as strong. It stipulates some 2Mbps. Over the years, however, the speed has got increasingly better under the same contract (despite my current place being a very small town) and my neighbors seem to be getting the same speed, although they rely far less on internet than I do.
I've a hunch the issue is with their network (although they claim it's only me that's getting these speed problems). I'm also not using an anti-virus (I did install one and Malwarebytes when the issues popped up again to check for bugs, but my PC is clean, according to the scans). The issue also literally popped up after some 4 days of being away and not using my PC at all.
If anyone made it so far, my question would be this: Is there a chance there might be something I'm overlooking with my PC, given what I've changed and how I've had months with no issues? Or, to go further into arcane territory, might anyone have any idea as to what's causing this? PC specs and model info below:
- AccEOC21 modem provided by the ISP
- D-Link DIR-615 Wireless Router 300 Mbps
- Intel i5-4460 CPU @3.20 GHz
- Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3 MoBo
- Nvidia GeForce 960 GTX 4GB Vram
- Kingston, DDR3, 8GB RAM
- HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB
- Inter Tech Energon 750W Power Supply
- Windows 7 64bit
- ISP : RCS/RDS (Digi)
- DSL Cable
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
I. Some six months ago I've encountered an issue with my download speed where I would effectively download stuff with around 500kbps instead of the regular 4-5 MBps (primarily using Steam). I've contacted people from my ISP and for a month they were constantly coming over and testing the speed on their laptops. At times the speed would be fine on their laptops, while at others it would be as low as on my PC. This, of course, was using both their testing page and speedtest.net .
So, after a month of calling back and forth, having them tell me it's my PC that's causing it, I reinstall my OS (Win 7 x64), I scan my PC for viruses/malware and I even change my network internet controller. Before changing the NIC, I brought the PC over to someone living in my same area, only to get good speeds (both on speedtest and while actually downloading stuff via Steam) on BOTH NICs. The issue got magically fixed a week or two later after a few days of (really) angry calls and lots of shouting. During all this time, I was using a direct connection going from the ISPs modem into my PC, no wi-fi router whatsoever.
II. Shortly after, I found myself downloading stuff with some 9-10 MBps (again, actual speed, via Steam) and for a good couple of months I had no issues. In this time, I was using the PC as I always use it, with the same programs. A few days ago, the issue returned. The tech guy on the phone couldn't fix it. A team came over only to get good speeds on Speedtest. This had them starting the entire "it's your PC" charade over and over again. Anger resurfaced, but luckily I got a more communicative individual the next day.
He tried replacing cables, he tried replacing the modem with another one (same make, same model) nothing worked. When he added the wi-fi router in between the modem and my PC, the speed was back up. If prior to this the highest point was 9MB (again, using Steam), this time around it was downloading at 11.1 MBps. Constantly. I did this with the guy there and he seemed completely baffled (as am I). Currently, connecting directly through the modem has me downloading stuff at 500kbps while through the wi-fi router I get 11Mbps. Note that this is WITHOUT using the wi-fi function. It's just adding something in between the modem and the PC.
Now, I don't know much about internet connections (you could consider I'm just now learning the terminology), but I do know speed can vary. However, I think we can all agree that from 5 or 9 MBps to 500 kbps constantly, well, that's a pretty high jump (the ISP's tech guy on the phone agreed with me on this one, although, it might have been just for the sake of it). My contract with the company was signed a handful of years ago, when the network wasn't as strong. It stipulates some 2Mbps. Over the years, however, the speed has got increasingly better under the same contract (despite my current place being a very small town) and my neighbors seem to be getting the same speed, although they rely far less on internet than I do.
I've a hunch the issue is with their network (although they claim it's only me that's getting these speed problems). I'm also not using an anti-virus (I did install one and Malwarebytes when the issues popped up again to check for bugs, but my PC is clean, according to the scans). The issue also literally popped up after some 4 days of being away and not using my PC at all.
If anyone made it so far, my question would be this: Is there a chance there might be something I'm overlooking with my PC, given what I've changed and how I've had months with no issues? Or, to go further into arcane territory, might anyone have any idea as to what's causing this? PC specs and model info below:
- AccEOC21 modem provided by the ISP
- D-Link DIR-615 Wireless Router 300 Mbps
- Intel i5-4460 CPU @3.20 GHz
- Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming 3 MoBo
- Nvidia GeForce 960 GTX 4GB Vram
- Kingston, DDR3, 8GB RAM
- HDD Seagate Barracuda 1TB
- Inter Tech Energon 750W Power Supply
- Windows 7 64bit
- ISP : RCS/RDS (Digi)
- DSL Cable
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
