Question Slow ethernet speed ?

[RadioMatic]

I'm having a speed connection issue with my Windows 10 PC wired to a Hitron 5712 modem/router using an Intel 1219-V ethernet card, which came on an ASRock Z390 Pro 4 motherboard.

My ISP package provides 600 Mbps download speed . My laptop actually gets 680 Mbps on WiFi, but my PC tops out at at 430 Mbps at the most, going through the same router/modem.

The ethernet driver was last updated in 2020. I downloaded some alleged updated drivers, but it came in a big zip file and I'm embarrassed to say I'm not sure what to do with it. Lots of folders in there.

My ISP sent a new modem, but the problem still persists. I've tried changing cables, connection ports (only one on the PC). I've also tried uncapping download speed in Device Manager from Auto to the highest value to no avail.

EDIT: I did update the drivers. No change.

I still don't know what the problem is. Thanks for any help.

 

[Aeacus]

My ISP package provides 600 Mbps download speed . My laptop actually gets 680 Mbps on WiFi, but my PC tops at at 430 Mbps at the most going through the same router/modem.

600 Mbps is "up to" and not "constant". So, it varies and usually is lower. Rarely higher.

With wi-fi connection, there is priority connection as well, whereby, your laptop is primary, thus getting the most bandwidth, while desktop is secondary and is getting less.
You could cap the bandwidth for laptop to 500 Mbps or 400 Mbps and look if speeds increase on desktop.

Or you can call ISP tech on site, who then does it for you, if you don't know how.

 

[bill001g]

I am very surprised that you can get over 600mbps on any kind of wifi. Generally you must be very close to the router to get anywhere near that.

My guess would be there is some software loaded on pc that is limiting the speed. The common one is some of the so called "gaming" network software that claims to make games run faster. It is many times loaded with the bloatware that comes with motherboards and video cards. Not sure about asrock but I am pretty sure asus still ships this garbage with even their newest boards.

After that you get into the complexity of stuff like which web browser you are running and even being very sure you are speed testing to the exact same location.

So a couple things you could try but it will just confirm the issue is some setting in windows or software on the pc. If you laptop has a ethernet port you can run a very old tool called IPERF on both machines. This is a very simplistic command line tool. Because it is simple it is not affected by the cpu/memory and it does not use complex software like web browsers. You generally get well over 900mbps between machines in your house. A second option would be to boot a USB linux image. These are designed for repair and testing of a machine. They run completely from the USB. They are somewhat limited but they have a web browser pre installed and you can directly run speedtest. This though would just confirm that it is not some hardware issue or some strange router setting it does not tell you what inside your windows install you need to change.

 

[RadioMatic]

600 Mbps is "up to" and not "constant". So, it varies and usually is lower. Rarely higher.

With wi-fi connection, there is priority connection as well, whereby, your laptop is primary, thus getting the most bandwidth, while desktop is secondary and is getting less.
You could cap the bandwidth for laptop to 500 Mbps or 400 Mbps and look if speeds increase on desktop.

Or you can call ISP tech on site, who then does it for you, if you don't know how.

Thanks the for the reply. I get the same download speed whether or not the laptop is on or off. So, I'm not sure that's it.

 

[RadioMatic]

I am very surprised that you can get over 600mbps on any kind of wifi. Generally you must be very close to the router to get anywhere near that.

My guess would be there is some software loaded on pc that is limiting the speed. The common one is some of the so called "gaming" network software that claims to make games run faster. It is many times loaded with the bloatware that comes with motherboards and video cards. Not sure about asrock but I am pretty sure asus still ships this garbage with even their newest boards.

After that you get into the complexity of stuff like which web browser you are running and even being very sure you are speed testing to the exact same location.

So a couple things you could try but it will just confirm the issue is some setting in windows or software on the pc. If you laptop has a ethernet port you can run a very old tool called IPERF on both machines. This is a very simplistic command line tool. Because it is simple it is not affected by the cpu/memory and it does not use complex software like web browsers. You generally get well over 900mbps between machines in your house. A second option would be to boot a USB linux image. These are designed for repair and testing of a machine. They run completely from the USB. They are somewhat limited but they have a web browser pre installed and you can directly run speedtest. This though would just confirm that it is not some hardware issue or some strange router setting it does not tell you what inside your windows install you need to change.

The Laptop is indeed right next to the router (and close to my PC) on my desk.
I've gone through all the running processes on my PC and eliminated anything that I couldn't verify. Didn't see any bloatware.
Unfortunately, my laptop doesn't have an ethernet port. I'll check into the USB Linux deal. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Ralston18]

Have you tried another known working (at speed) Ethernet cable between desktop PC and router?

Is the desktop PC's network adapter set at Speed & Duplex = Auto?

Run "ipconfig /all" on both the desktop and the laptop.

Post the full results from each computer.

You should be able to copy and paste the full results without needing to retype everything.

Be sure to note which results are from which device.

 

[RadioMatic]

Thanks for responding!
Here are the IPconfig results:
PC:
Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : DESKTOP-N3Q50L5
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : ht.home

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ht.home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (7) I219-V
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 70-85-C2-A3-A9-7A
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::980:a8c0:1087:be3c%8(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, February 24, 2025 5:29:39 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, February 25, 2025 5:33:59 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 359695810
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-23-FF-56-40-70-85-C2-A3-A9-7A
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

*******
Laptop:
Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : ht.home
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX201 160MHz
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 98-8D-46-A4-CA-40
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::58d:ac56:7dc4:4b33%15(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.12(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, February 19, 2025 12:52:04 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, February 25, 2025 5:53:38 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 177769798
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-28-92-C0-0A-98-8D-46-A4-CA-40
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Bluetooth Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 98-8D-46-A4-CA-44
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes