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Internet Speeds XP/Vista

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by var1016

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I foolishly bought a new HP computer last Autumn that had VISTA installed. Thanks in part to HP's Helpdesk and the good people hereabouts, I have now installed XP (it is super, SP3 included).

On one of my blogs I have a Google gadget that tests and reports upload and download speeds. I have found that with the XP installation (totally replacing Vista - i.e. not dual boot) my upload and download speeds are three times better - sometimes more.

I wondered if this has been reported elsewhere? As far as I am concerned this is another nail in Vista's coffin!

8 replies

by hal 9000

Though I haven't used Vista for a long time now since I finished Testing it on some units here. But then again it wasn't something that I was looking for either. But I didn't notice any appreciable difference on the same machine.

Col

by oz_media

Whereas with XP you can tweak teh crap out of teh card and get it running at premium speed, I found that with Vista mo tweakign was needed and the speeds were optimized out of the box.

My bandwidth tests now, I use many of the tests available on DSL Rports, are abotu 15-20% faster than with XP or Win2K, I keep a record of all past stats on their site.

The Vista DLS reports are all far faster than others I have done before.

I am not contesting the fact that YOU found faster speeds with your XP install, but that it can't be used as a benchmark, as i have found teh opposite. Back to the drawing board, Colin; oh, and have a bloody nice weekend, mate!

by var1016

Ha-ha: I wouldn't have a clue how to tweak the crap out of the card - al I can say is that the speeds are over three times better than before, the only tweak being XP!

by oz_media

Sure many years after the initial botched, insecure, bloated hardware release it is finally becoming an OS people can work with.
Congratulations in finding that your card is faster than with Vista.

Vista has an excellent system for auto optimizing the receive window and MTU on the fly, whereas previous versions of Windows required manual tweaks.

I don't know how or where you tested your speed, but I'd say that your stats are inaccurate when you are saying 3X faster.

You were either grossly low on RAM, typical of retail products, were hitting the test servers at the wrong times of day or were runnign eh full bloat version of Vista without optimizing the OS itself.

XP is not a bad OS NOW (SP3?), but there's no way you can make a case against Vista by suggesting that Vista doesn't optimmize its network speedsas well as XP; not unless you can substantiate it with facts other than YOU managed to get your XP card working faster on YOUR connection.

How much effort did you put into tweaking Vista itself (not the network card but the OS)? I'd think that, as an XP user, you have spent many more hours working on getting XP to run as you like it over the years than you ever did with Vista. I think you just quit due to peer pressure and media hype.

by nepenthe0

I'm totally impressed with your command of English. I have struggled for decades to read French, which proves how much cleverer you are than I.

If you disable unnecessary services and antivirus applications, XP Pro can completely boot in as little as 40 seconds. However, Internet download and upload speeds depend upon your type of connection and local traffic.

You have probably used the free Broadband speed test:

http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp

I did not find a significant difference between download and upload speeds comparing XP MCE (2005) and Vista Home Premium. But for all the reasons you jettisoned Vista, I likewise reinstalled XP.

Bon soir...

Rick/Portland, OR

by var1016

Bonjour monsieur:

Thanks for the compliment about my English - it's probably something to do with the fact that I am English - and my French is I regret to say execrable, despite my living in France for over three years.

XP is wonderful - thanks Bill!

Bonne journ?e!

Paul

by var1016

That my profile contains the words "non-computer consultant"!

I have never adjusted anything to do with network cards or anything like that: first I didn't know it was possible although I have no doubt it is and second, I wouldn't have a clue how to do it. Strictly "plug and play" in these parts.

The network speeds were tested using a gadget I found on Google gadgets. Here's the link:

http://atat.ro/page.php?104

I didn't actually make a case against Vista in terms of connection speeds - as far as I am concerned this is yet another bonus. To revisit:

The installation (of XP) was very simple (I am non-techie remember)

Installation of SP3 ditto despite my having an HP computer with AMD processor.

All my peripherals and software now work and installation was rapid simplicity itself.

The computer works faster, starts up faster and irritating little problems (hanging, and also sound packing up - only on music and videos not WAV sounds) I had to endure with Vista have gone.

by var1016

I didn't address your point about my being "grossly low on ram."

The computer is an HP Pavilion:
Bought new (Vista installed) last September.
AMD x64 4000+
2GB DDR ram
320GB SAT hard drive
NVidia 8400GS

I tried at various times in the day testing the speeds. The best I saw on Vista was about 200MB (download); now I am seeing up to 700MB.

I just ran a test and scored 490MB, a bit slow but still twice as fast as the best I saw before.

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