internet connection help?

[Johupp]

My parents don't really care about our internet and i kinda do. my end of the connection is so random. testing from speedtest.net:
last month i was getting from .23-.49 mb/s download.
last week: 3.45 mb/s download.
earlier today: 1.23 mb/s download.
and now, 3.83 mb/s download.

my internet gets me so mad everytime i play xbox. my mom has a desktop computer that is connected to a linkeys router. from there, we have my sister's laptop, my laptop, and my sister's ps3 with wifi. my xbox is connect to my laptop.

I dont know any specifics, but if anyone wants to help and needs more info, i can probably get it. im not the wisest with this stuff, but i kinda know enough to get some of the job done lol.

EDIT: btw if anyone knows how to correct a "Strict NAT type" in COD: Black Ops and/or MW2

[Commander Thor]

You have cable internet, don't you?

[Chevy]

Your router might be shit. Bypass your router and hook in to the modem direct and see if it fixes it

[Johupp]

What do you mean by bypassing it?

[Chevy]

Dont hook the cord up to the router, instead plug it into a computer

[Commander Thor]

I highly doubt it's his router being 'shit'.
The more likely issue, is that he has cable internet, and he's suffering the effects of a connection shared with his neighborhood.

[Amnesiac]

I highly doubt it's his router being 'shit'.
The more likely issue, is that he has cable internet, and he's suffering the effects of a connection shared with his neighborhood.

Are you sure? I live in a neighborhood where most people have Comcast cable Internet and I constantly hit 30mbps. I've never heard of cable with speeds as low as the OP's.

[Commander Thor]

Are you sure? I live in a neighborhood where most people have Comcast cable Internet and I constantly hit 30mbps. I've never heard of cable with speeds as low as the OP's.

Yup, I'm sure. Comcast for the most part supplies a big enough 'pipe' if you will to most neighborhoods so that the shared connection isn't really noticed. Rural cable internet, or just cable internet in neighborhoods that have seen rapid growth usually gets shafted, with a single line supplying maybe 50mbps to the entire neighborhood.

[Johupp]

I highly doubt it's his router being 'shit'.
The more likely issue, is that he has cable internet, and he's suffering the effects of a connection shared with his neighborhood.

lol that's the thing, i live in the country where my closest neighbor is about a mile away

[JackOfClubs]

lol that's the thing, i live in the country where my closest neighbor is about a mile away
Well, who supplies your internet? As in who is your ISP? Those speeds could be all they offer, and in that case, other than changing ISPs, there isn't much you can do.

[Johupp]

Well, who supplies your internet? As in who is your ISP? Those speeds could be all they offer, and in that case, other than changing ISPs, there isn't much you can do.

Connecting point in Norfolk, NE. It's a 30 min drive there. I also did a bit of research, and we have the highest speed they offer and it sucks.... I asked my parents, and they are going to see if they can find another ISP. Anything specific in finding another ISP?

[Amnesiac]

Connecting point in Norfolk, NE. It's a 30 min drive there. I also did a bit of research, and we have the highest speed they offer and it sucks.... I asked my parents, and they are going to see if they can find another ISP. Anything specific in finding another ISP?

Since you live in teh chuntry, you might wanna look into satellite Internet. Not cheap by any means, but if you're looking for pure speed it might be worth it.

[Commander Thor]

Since you live in teh chuntry, you might wanna look into satellite Internet. Not cheap by any means, but if you're looking for pure speed it might be worth it.

Satellite isn't really that great for gaming. Satellite can regularly see pings of up to 5 seconds.
If he's getting pissed now about slow-ish speeds, can you imagine when he's lagging 5 seconds behind the enemy team?

Don't get me wrong, satellite has pretty good download speeds, it's just not that great for gaming. Generally internet browsing isn't that great either, as it takes 5 seconds for a page load request to get to the server and back to you.

[Amnesiac]

Satellite isn't really that great for gaming. Satellite can regularly see pings of up to 5 seconds.
If he's getting pissed now about slow-ish speeds, can you imagine when he's lagging 5 seconds behind the enemy team?

Don't get me wrong, satellite has pretty good download speeds, it's just not that great for gaming. Generally internet browsing isn't that great either, as it takes 5 seconds for a page load request to get to the server and back to you.

Well, I don't know what other alternatives he has. There's always DSL, I guess. I seriously doubt there's fiber-optic service in his area.

[Commander Thor]

Yeah, DSL is always a pretty good alternative, the only downside is it usually isn't available in rural areas, as the DSL signal can only travel so far down a telephone line before it becomes too distorted to use. And the telephone company isn't going to throw in a DSL box for every house, that'd be too expensive.

[Amnesiac]

Yeah, DSL is always a pretty good alternative, the only downside is it usually isn't available in rural areas, as the DSL signal can only travel so far down a telephone line before it becomes too distorted to use. And the telephone company isn't going to throw in a DSL box for every house, that'd be too expensive.

So, really, his only two options are cable or satellite. 3mbps isn't a terrible speed, but it's not great either. With satellite installation costing upwards of $500 and monthly charges around $55, I don't think that would be a very cost-effective alternative.

[Commander Thor]

So, really, his only two options are cable or satellite. 3mbps isn't a terrible speed, but it's not great either. With satellite installation costing upwards of $500 and monthly charges around $55, I don't think that would be a very cost-effective alternative.

Yeah. And in regards to his gaming problem, it's probably the ping that's hurting him. As most games (Unless you're the host) use less than 60kb/s (Down or up)

@the op, when you're doing the speed test, pay attention to the ping as well. Generally a ping over 150-200ms will cause issues with multiplayer gaming.
Ideally, you'd like a ping of 60ms or less.

[Johupp]

I dont think my parents really want to be paying that bill anytime soon lol. about a week ago, i heard they were thinking about installing fiber optic cables in north-east nebraska but idk might just be a rumor.

[Chevy]

Did you try what I said or are you playing with us?