Question Gigabit internet... stick with wifi or run ethernet?

[Muse]

After many years of DSL (or worse), I finally had gigabit internet fiber installation 5 days ago. The company (Sonic.net) doesn't do data tiers or cap your line. They are solidly for net neutrality, are pretty affordable and have good customer service. I was with them for DSL for a number of years, have never had over 5mbps due to the distance from the CO (they used AT&T copper cables for DSL).

So now I have fast internet. However, this laptop I'm using now, wifi connected to my Asus RT-AC1750 router is testing at faster speeds than I was getting the other day when it was connected by ethernet right to Sonic.net's ONT, go figure! I was on the line with one of their CSR's. He thought I had some kind of hardware issues. Dunno. I get wildly different results when I run speed tests. The CSR suggested using speedofme.com speed test instead of Sonic.net's speed test, said he thought I'd get better results somehow. Tried that, maybe an improvement. With the sonic.,net speed test I often get disconnections from their serve.

Anyway, the router's upstairs and everything downstairs is connected by wifi to my router + TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Unmanaged Gigabit Desktop Switch.

I'm thinking "why not run ethernet cabling?" Both to my kitchen downstairs, where all my downstairs stuff is (printer, 2 computers, a TCL 43" 4K Roku TV/monitor), and to my bedroom, where I have this laptop and another of those TCL 43" displays, both connecting by wifi now.

To do this I figure I'd need to run cables from the router up into the attic and then through holes I drill and go into the rooms and get strung along the walls and/or floor or ceiling. I know, not neat, but this house was built in 1910, what do you expect?

I have made my own ethernet cables before. I have a crimper I got at Radio Shack around 10 years ago or more. I had good luck mostly, but some failures. Can/should I buy a spool of Cat5e (or Cat6), some RJ45 connectors and make my own? I was at Home Depot today and can get a 500' spool of Cat5e for $35. Maybe order RJ45 connectors cheap off ebay. What do you think?

 

[Muse]

Yeah, that Intel 82566MM is a gigabit adapter. It should connect at gigabit speed (not necessarily able to run at gigabit speed), if it can't connect at gigabit speed, swap out that cable with another one.

Other websites for testing internet speed.

Speed test - how fast is your internet? | DSLReports, ISP Information

Use our NEW speed test tool to test how fast your broadband or mobile internet connection really is. Read broadband news, information and join our community

www.dslreports.com

http://www.speedtest.net

==

16GB laptops, better the ones with SSD drive.

Amazon.com : laptop 16gb ram

OK, so you're saying I should get gigabit speeds with this T61 laptop with it's 82566MM gigabit adapter even though it's a really old laptop? The adapter should furnish the full speed? Not what was said above or by the CSR I talked to a day or two ago.

 

[VirtualLarry]

OK, so you're saying I should get gigabit speeds with this T61 laptop with it's 82566MM gigabit adapter even though it's a really old laptop? The adapter should furnish the full speed? Not what was said above or by the CSR I talked to a day or two ago.

It should connect at gigabit speed (not necessarily able to run at gigabit speed)

If you right-click on the Adapter, and select "Status", it should show a 1.0Gigabit "link rate", if the cabling is all correct.

That does NOT mean that the system is capable of 1Gbit/sec throughput through that link.

 

[Muse]

I would be curious what that rig could get via a speedtest. Forget the laptop, it's not going to hit 1Gbit/sec over the LAN, especially if it doesn't even have USB3.x ports. (Otherwise, I'd say get one of these 1GbE-T USB3.x dongles for $5-10 off of ebay. I could even send you one.)

Edit: I re-read your OP and stuff, and it appears, that your AC1750 ("AC66U-equivalent") router is Upstairs, while the Core i3 PC is Downstairs. Yeah, that could be an issue.

I'm curious also, have been thinking about that. The rig lives downstairs. Long ethernet run, but as I told you, I'm thinking of wiring the house with ethernet... not through the walls but up and out of the upstairs room with the ONT/router/switch ["Computer Room"] into the attic and eventually down into the upstairs bedroom and the downstairs kitchen, then either under my bed or along the kitchen walls/ceiling, whatever. The house is 110 years old!

OK, I could bring the rig upstairs temporarily and hook it up to the ONT via 10 foot Cat6 pre-made cable and put some display on it... I have a spare 23" display. See what speeds I get. I suspect it will be over 900Mbps.

 

[mxnerd]

OK. Forgot the whole thing that your speed test was slow probably is limited by your slow HDD on wired gigabit ethernet.

Your HDD is 5400RPM 160GB according to https://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-t61/specs/, and the HDD performance according to StorageReview https://www.storagereview.com/160_gb_notebook_drive_roundup

and let's assume your's HDD is Seagate 5400.3, it's sequential read is just 44.2MB/s for reading and 24.2MB/s for writing (downloading files for speed test), and that translate to 442Mbps & 242Mbps (10bits encoding) in optimal situation.

Again, it's time to buy a new laptop (with SSD). HDD is just too slow.

 

[Muse]

If you right-click on the Adapter, and select "Status", it should show a 1.0Gigabit "link rate", if the cabling is all correct.

That does NOT mean that the system is capable of 1Gbit/sec throughput through that link.

That's in device manager?

 

[mxnerd]

That's in device manager?

Read post #12

 

[Muse]

OK. Forgot the whole thing that your speed test was slow probably is limited by your slow HDD.

Your HDD is 5400RPM 160GB according to https://www.cnet.com/products/lenovo-t61/specs/, and the HDD performance according to StorageReview https://www.storagereview.com/160_gb_notebook_drive_roundup

and let's assume your's HDD is Seagate 5400.3, it's sequential read is just 44.2MB/s for reading and 24.2MB/s for writing (downloading files for speed test), and that translate to 442Mbps & 242Mbps (10bits encoding) in optimal situation.

The HD I have in this T61 is a SAMSUNG Spinpoint MP4 HM640JJ 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive.

 

[mxnerd]

OK. The review for Samsung HM640JJ

SATA 3.0Gb /s only specifies the SATA II interface max bandwidth, not the speed your Samsung HDD is capable of running.

A highway with 300 mph speed limit does not mean your car is able to run at that speed.

Samsung Spinpoint MP4 Review (HM640JJ) - StorageReview.com

Samsung’s storage division has quietly introduced a new high-performance 2.5” notebook hard drive with…

www.storagereview.com

The HM640JJ performs admirably in CrystalDiskMark. The Fastest Performance test assesses the performance at the outside of the drive platters, which are spinning the fastest; the Slowest Performance is from the inside of the drive platters and indicates the worst data transfer performance.

==

We have no way to know the file location on the disk that's created by speed test sites.

Anyway. It's your choice whether to buy a new laptop / or upgrade the HDD to SSD.

 

[Muse]

OK. The review for Samsung HM640JJ

SATA 3.0Gb /s only specifies the SATA II interface max bandwidth, not the speed your Samsung HDD is capable of running.

A highway with 300 mph speed limit does not mean your car is able to run at that speed.

Samsung Spinpoint MP4 Review (HM640JJ) - StorageReview.com

Samsung’s storage division has quietly introduced a new high-performance 2.5” notebook hard drive with…

www.storagereview.com

The HM640JJ performs admirably in CrystalDiskMark. The Fastest Performance test assesses the performance at the outside of the drive platters, which are spinning the fastest; the Slowest Performance is from the inside of the drive platters and indicates the worst data transfer performance.

==

We have no way to know the file location on the disk that's created by speed test sites.

Anyway. It's your choice whether to buy a new laptop / or upgrade the HDD to SSD.

Yeah, upgrade storage or buy another laptop. I think my biggest issue (?) is the 8GB RAM limitation on this laptop. So a 16GB laptop would seem to be the best upgrade. An SSD in it would seem to be best. My experience is that not all SSDs are equal to say the least. I had an issue with my T60 when running Windows 7. There seemed to be no solution to the delays I would get at least once a day of up to or surpassing a minute. The solution turned out to be installing Windows 10. That laptop isn't designed for Windows 10, but it runs it. I have 32bit Windows on it because I have a couple of apps I want/need to use that require it. It's running an Intel 330 180GB SSD.

 

[mxnerd]

Your old laptop is not only limited by storage speed & memory, but also integrated graphics. If you watch youtube a lot, a modern integrated graphics is absolutely a must.

All modern browsers supporting video streaming need it.

Firefox/Chrome/Edge or IE are going to get a performance hit if your machine does not have good graphics cores.

 

[Muse]

Your old laptop is not only limited by storage speed & memory, but also integrated graphics. If you watch youtube a lot, a modern integrated graphics is absolutely a must.

All modern browsers supporting video streaming need it.

Firefox/Chrome/Edge or IE are going to get a performance hit if your machine does not have good graphics cores.

Yeah, I'm into Youtube.

Are the 2 Lenovo machines in the FS forum thread linked in post #22 up to snuff with integrated graphics and gigabit internet? I PMed the seller asking about the 2nd machine (actually I'm interested in both... don't know which is better for me as a laptop, but my laptop at my volunteer job is pretty long in the tooth, an HP 14" with Vista and it's having not infrequent blue screens). The seller hasn't responded to my conversation yet (from this morning). I'm wondering, because I've only bought maybe one thing from a seller in the FS/Trade Forum. That was the HP laptop. How do you know the seller is trustworthy? Should I ask for heatware? How does one conduct the transaction? The listing looks legit, but how do I know?

 

[mxnerd]

Why used laptops?

Already posted at #21. Make your own choice.

 

[Muse]

Why used laptops?

Already posted at #21. Make your own choice.

TBH, it's partly because I am sketchy (very) on what I want, what's good, what's worth it (for me). Those two Lenovos (Yeah, used) in the FS/Trade Forum are a brand I've had good luck with (although I think Lenovo is likely not what it used to be, at least for some or a lot of their offerings). Also, the asking price for those two machines is $230 and $250 plus shipping. Combined shipping would be a benefit, I figure. I'm not risking a lot of money compared to spending $2000 or something, even $1200. So, if I'm disappointed for whatever reason, the remorse will be less in terms of money wasted. I figure (please tell me if I'm wrong!) that those two machines are adequate for me. Why not? Are those two machines going to be somehow inadequate now, or obsolete significantly sooner than something bought new now?

I figure I want adequate graphics (something I don't know much about!), 16GB RAM, an OK SSD (important data for me is always kept on my NAS, so I don't need a lot of storage on local machines), adequate ethernet, probably adequate wifi. I don't know that processor speed is important for me, but maybe it is.

 

[mxnerd]

If all you do is watching youtube / Netflix HD and no family member who download big files all day long, you need less than 30Mbps.

How Fast Should My Internet Be for Netflix and Other Similar Services?

To stream videos from Netflix, Vudu, and Hulu, you need a fast internet speed. Find out if yours is fast enough for 4K streaming, too.

www.lifewire.com

The minimum internet speeds for streaming video in 2019

It’s hard to imagine a time before the internet. It now plays such an integral role in our daily lives, many of us feel completely lost without an available connection...

www.zen.co.uk

2 machine watching youtube / Netflix at the same time only consume 60Mbps, you are not going to saturate your 1Gbps internet in any condition and the whole discussions about why your machine can't achieve 1Gbps are completely wasted since it doesn't matter at all.

In this case, those 2 i7 Lenovos absolutely can satisfy what you need.

Video streaming requires a lot of processing power, if built-in graphics core is not powerful enough, browsers will off the load to CPU, and your old laptop's CPU just does not have enough juice.

 

[WackyWRZ]

I didn't even realize that was a C2D you had in that - I'd agree that's holding it back. Not sure what your budget is, but you could get a 5th gen i3 here for under $200 with a warranty: https://www.dellrefurbished.com/laptops?filter_brand=189

Also either of those laptops in the FS thread would be a good deal too and be a HUGE upgrade. I've got a T440 (14in version of the T540) and it runs gig speed no problem (wired). The Tx40 series was when they introduced the "new" trackpad and promptly changed back on the next gen lol.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Lenovo G50-45 - 15.6" - A6 6310 - 4 GB RAM - 1 TB HDD - US Specs

Lenovo G50-45 - 15.6" - A6 6310 - 4 GB RAM - 1 TB HDD - US overview and full product specs on CNET.

www.cnet.com

I've got two of these I could let go of fairly cheap.

 

[Muse]

Lenovo G50-45 - 15.6" - A6 6310 - 4 GB RAM - 1 TB HDD - US Specs

Lenovo G50-45 - 15.6" - A6 6310 - 4 GB RAM - 1 TB HDD - US overview and full product specs on CNET.

www.cnet.com

I've got two of these I could let go of fairly cheap.

Says 4GB RAM. I figure I really need 16GB.

 

[Muse]

Would that Provantage open box Lenovo offering be serious overkill for me? I figure it being 3.74lb (which is with battery, and I won't be using it with battery inserted!) would be nice (as long as it doesn't run hot). I really do use this thing on my lap all the time... this T61 is heavier than that!

Edit: Just weighed this T61. Without the battery it's 5.44lb. Battery adds another 11+ ounces, making it 6.13lb. I use it with an adapter, the battery lives in the refrigerator. So, that Lenovo ThinkPad P1 15.6" i5 16G 10P is way lighter, a very significant upgrade.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The ProVantage deal sounds pretty decent. Really pretty high-end.

 

[Muse]

The ProVantage deal sounds pretty decent. Really pretty high-end.

RAM upgradable, should I ever want to... I think to 64GB. Warehouse is IIRC in VA, they want me to pay sales tax ~$80... guess I'll go for it. Their video said it runs "cool" ... hope it does! They have much fancier implementations, this looks pretty basic. No optical, I can live with that, I guess, or maybe add an optical drive, assuming it will accommodate one. I have an external DVD burner I can use with it.

 

[mxnerd]

ASUS Vivobook, only 3.5lb. You can always upgrade memory when needed later, it's super easy.

R5-3500U CPU, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQB7552/ref=psdc_13896615011_t3_B07RF2123Z

I think it will run super smooth on your lap.

 

[Muse]

ASUS Vivobook, only 3.5lb. You can always upgrade memory when needed later, it's super easy.

R5-3500U CPU, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD, AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QQB7552/ref=psdc_13896615011_t3_B07RF2123Z

I think it will run super smooth on your lap.

Just saw this a couple minutes after buying the Lenovo P1 open box off Provantage. Well, I really do want 16GB RAM off the bat. Otherwise, maybe the two machines are pretty similar essentially? Windows Pro instead of Home, Intel instead of AMD, AFAIK those differences don't matter much.

 

[mxnerd]

Just saw this a couple minutes after buying the Lenovo P1 open box off Provantage. Well, I really do want 16GB RAM off the bat. Otherwise, maybe the two machines are pretty similar essentially? Windows Pro instead of Home, Intel instead of AMD, AFAIK those differences don't matter much.

Well, if I were you, I'll cancel that open box.

Laptops are different beasts, probably there is a reason for that open box.

If you don't want to risk a lot of money earlier, why risk over 800 bucks?

Besides, Amazon should have a lot better return policy.

 

[Muse]

The first review of the Asus at Amazon I am reading right now. The reviewer says:

"The touch pad is okay, it's actually a bit too sensitive, the lower corners can be used as buttons but I would greatly prefer physical buttons like on the current Lenovo brand laptops."

So, apparently it lacks actual buttons for left/right click? I wouldn't like that. The reviewer also seems to hate the display. I may have done better with the Lenovo... fingers crossed.

Reviewer of Asus says the speakers are terrible. Says the case is plastic, which reviewer is OK with because it makes it light. The Lenovo's is carbon fiber, I figure that's better. Better strength/weight factor.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Robot or human?

www.walmart.com

add 16/32 GB of SO-DIMM DDR4 from Newegg for $60-140, and you've got yourself a YT-cruisen' bargain.

....but then again, it's no ThinkPad.