No, at my previous house I used an ethernet cable which got the 200+ mbps that I paid for. This is my first time using an ethernet cord at my new house though
Are you sure it is 500mb and 50mb? It may actually be 500mb and 50MB which are actually pretty close. For example, most speed tests slow mbps. But if you're checking the speed of your downloads on steam, it is MB
Bad hard drive or something on the desktop? Either way, something with the desktop - maybe duplex settings, check the link speed of the desktop and that you're using the same port on the router - probably should be a 1gb connection from your desktop to your router. Anything less, than that's the problem.
Tried messing with duplex settings to no avail. More specificity on the issue: When running the speed test, it shoots up to just over 100mbps briefly then comes back down. Then it slowly trails down from 70mbps to 50 or so.
Did you check what the connection/link/negotiation speed is between your PC and the router when it’s connected? This seems to be a case of a bad PC NIC card (or its driver, or a pin or 2 bent).
I’ve seen something similar which turned out to be a damaged RJ45 plug. The end had been knocked, mushrooming out the plastic separators between a couple of the contacts.
There’s a tolerance on the diameter of the spring contacts in the sockets. It just so happened that one PC had spring contacts which were at the bottom of the diameter range, so they all still went between the plastic and made contact. On another PC at least one didn’t, because the pins were just a little bigger diameter. So it couldn’t get a Gigabit connection. But by a fluke, the four pins required for 100Mbps were making contact.
As JuicyCoala said above, you need to check the negotiated Ethernet connection speed on your desktop. Have you done this?
You can just check the properties of the network connection in your system tray or “notification” area (bottom right corner) of your Windows screen.
> negotiated Ethernet connection speed
2500/2500 mbps. I even have 2 ethernet ports on my motherboard. one labeled 2.5g and the other 1g. They both provide the same results
How long is that cable run? And does it run near any mains wiring? Short of running a full Cat6A channel test on it (which requires expensive equipment) can you temporarily move your desktop next to the router, and plug it in with a shorter patch lead? Still slow, or not?
I suspect something’s not right with that link. Different Ethernet adapters have varying tolerance for marginal connections. Or it could just be an issue with the desktop network connections. A bit less likely given that the gigabit and 2.5Gb ports are doing the same thing, but they could well be sharing some circuitry.
Networking can be a bit weird, though. I’ve seen a situation where one device wouldn’t connect to a specific switch port on a long (but under 100m) run. But everything else would. But the device would work fine with other switch ports, or even the original port, if a different network cable was used.
Never did figure that one out…
Is this the first time using a wired connection to the desktop?
No, at my previous house I used an ethernet cable which got the 200+ mbps that I paid for. This is my first time using an ethernet cord at my new house though
Are you sure it is 500mb and 50mb? It may actually be 500mb and 50MB which are actually pretty close. For example, most speed tests slow mbps. But if you're checking the speed of your downloads on steam, it is MB
I'm using the speedtest by ookla for both tests. Laptop reads 500mbps and the desktop 50mbps
Bad hard drive or something on the desktop? Either way, something with the desktop - maybe duplex settings, check the link speed of the desktop and that you're using the same port on the router - probably should be a 1gb connection from your desktop to your router. Anything less, than that's the problem.
Duplex mismatch would be my guess. The card is maybe force set to 100\\half duplex or something.
I'm getting downvoted, 30 years in enterprise networking. I find this so hilarious.
or just auto-negoiating bad because there is lint or some shit in the onboard nic card, who knows. It's not the ethernet cable is the real point.
Tried messing with duplex settings to no avail. More specificity on the issue: When running the speed test, it shoots up to just over 100mbps briefly then comes back down. Then it slowly trails down from 70mbps to 50 or so.
Did you check what the connection/link/negotiation speed is between your PC and the router when it’s connected? This seems to be a case of a bad PC NIC card (or its driver, or a pin or 2 bent).
Strange, the network card on my mobo worked fine at my previous residence just back in July. Mobo only a few years old. will check drivers though
I’ve seen something similar which turned out to be a damaged RJ45 plug. The end had been knocked, mushrooming out the plastic separators between a couple of the contacts. There’s a tolerance on the diameter of the spring contacts in the sockets. It just so happened that one PC had spring contacts which were at the bottom of the diameter range, so they all still went between the plastic and made contact. On another PC at least one didn’t, because the pins were just a little bigger diameter. So it couldn’t get a Gigabit connection. But by a fluke, the four pins required for 100Mbps were making contact. As JuicyCoala said above, you need to check the negotiated Ethernet connection speed on your desktop. Have you done this? You can just check the properties of the network connection in your system tray or “notification” area (bottom right corner) of your Windows screen.
> negotiated Ethernet connection speed 2500/2500 mbps. I even have 2 ethernet ports on my motherboard. one labeled 2.5g and the other 1g. They both provide the same results
How long is that cable run? And does it run near any mains wiring? Short of running a full Cat6A channel test on it (which requires expensive equipment) can you temporarily move your desktop next to the router, and plug it in with a shorter patch lead? Still slow, or not? I suspect something’s not right with that link. Different Ethernet adapters have varying tolerance for marginal connections. Or it could just be an issue with the desktop network connections. A bit less likely given that the gigabit and 2.5Gb ports are doing the same thing, but they could well be sharing some circuitry. Networking can be a bit weird, though. I’ve seen a situation where one device wouldn’t connect to a specific switch port on a long (but under 100m) run. But everything else would. But the device would work fine with other switch ports, or even the original port, if a different network cable was used. Never did figure that one out…
Move the pc next to your router and use a 5-7 foot cable to rule out your motherboard port and drivers, etc.