Internet Link Speed Tests
Here is a collection of some sites that
will test your Internet link speed.
Bear in mind that there are several
factors that affect the validity of the
tests, including:
* The percentage of your link that is in
use by other computers on the network.
Example, if you have a slow DSL link to
begin with, one other computer
downloading files will make a noticeably
slower link.
* How the Internet connection is made;
is it a direct link? Through a
router? Is the router's firmware
up to date?
* Even the computer used to run the
tests can change the test results.
If it is loaded with adware/spyware,
making background updates to the
operating system or program files,
running programs that check the weather,
all of these examples are consuming
Internet bandwidth. Cached pages
also affect pages loaded.
* The testing site itself might be
congested.
Something else to consider is using
various browsers for testing.
Internet Explorer BHO's (Browser Helper
Objects), toolbars on any browser,
Firefox add-ons, and so forth can slow a
browser. They might be reaching
out to their "mother ship", scanning
pages (though that's not really a bad
thing), reporting to indexing sites, and
more.
Having said that, these tests are but
one method of troubleshooting Internet
connection problems or checking if your
provider is giving you what you are
subscribing to.
http://www.speedtest.net/
utilizes Flash and can test from around
the world
http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
one of the more accurate upload and
download tests
http://www.wugnet.com/myspeed/speedtest.asp
very nice but requires Java Runtime
http://home.cfl.rr.com/eaa/Bandwidth.htm
new link that has tons of speed test
sites listed
http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/
http://www.dslreports.com/stest
http://promos.mcafee.com/speedometer/
http://performance.toast.net
http://myspeed.visualware.com/voip/
Test your connection for VOIP
capabilities