How do I make my internet connection better?

Question

I have Comcast Internet, which has always been great for me, and I've never had any problems with being disconnected from games or messenger, but right now 2 of us our using the outlet through a router, and I'm wondering what I can do to make my connection better without spending too much money. Thanks in advance for al your answers!

Answer 1

Actually gaming and game downloading can be an important load on your connection.

So the fact of now sharing it causes too many collisions which causes major slowdowns and timeouts (which cause your Messenger and games to disconnect).

Check your router manual to see if there is any load balancing setting. Tuning this would guarantee you the specified minimum speed.

Of course you should consider finding a faster Internet connection.

Answer 2

Two suggestions (apart from the obvious of upgrading your bandwidth from your provider).

Firstly, check your Com Ports' setting to ensure you are getting maximum flow:

Go to your device manager, and find "Ports" - you'll need to do the following steps for both Com1 & Com2. Double-click to open the setting panel for the Com port and move to port settings. "Bits per second" should be set to 128000 (which by default it usually isn't), and flow control should be set to "none". Also, click on the advanced button and check that both your transmit and recieve buffers are set to max.

Now, also are you running the router directly via Ethernet, or via USB...the usb option will cause a slowdown.

Finally, rather than running bot a modem and a router, which I am assuming you guys are doing, look around for a decent "gateway" router, which is a modem and router in one. Belkin and NetGear are the only two manufacturers worth looking at.

The problem with using both a modem and a router is that there can end up being a lot conflicts and unnecessary doubling up, which will drastically cramp available bandwidth.

Oh, and contrary to popular opinion, a wireless connection (so long as both the router and your network card are of decent quality) will NOT slow you down at all - sometimes they are actually FASTER due to less resistance that can be caused by cheap Ethernet cables

Answer 3

Routers will slow you down, especially if it's a wireless. Make sure the router speed is quite fast. The slower the router, the less it talks and may loose connection.
We have a Netgear WG511T router and it works really good.

Answer 4

I can give you a link that deals with the internet connecrtion Many of the problems can be solved by making software changes or small hardware corrections. Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yl62gz

Answer 5

Go to www.dslreports.com and go to the "tools" are and do a "tweak test" and see what it recommends. I've used this site and it has improved my connection.