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