Paying for gigabit internet, not getting anything close

[hotdog218]

So, as the title states, I am paying for gigabit internet from comcast. It isn't fiber, so it's 1000Mbps down, and 35Mbps up. My modem is a Netgear CM1000 and my router is the Netgear Nighthawk X4 AC2350. 

 

Here was my latest speedtest. Thats actually quite high compared to what I normally get. I rarely see it go above 500Mbps, It's usually around 400. Does anyone know if this is a modem problem, router problem, or a Comcast problem? I've had this new internet for about 2 months now.

[JoostinOnline]

Are you wireless?

[hotdog218]

1 minute ago, JoostinOnline said:

Are you wireless?

Nope. Connected via Cat6.

[JoostinOnline]

Try connecting straight to the modem, without the router.

[Donut417]

1 hour ago, hotdog218 said:

So, as the title states, I am paying for gigabit internet from comcast. It isn't fiber, so it's 1000Mbps down, and 35Mbps up. My modem is a Netgear CM1000 and my router is the Netgear Nighthawk X4 AC2350. 

 

Here was my latest speedtest. Thats actually quite high compared to what I normally get. I rarely see it go above 500Mbps, It's usually around 400. Does anyone know if this is a modem problem, router problem, or a Comcast problem? I've had this new internet for about 2 months now.

Could be a config file issue, like they didnt upload the right one to the modem. It could be a signal issue, where your not getting all your downstream channels for some reason. Have you logged in to the modem to check that its in fact connected to all 32 channels? 

[leadeater]

High speed NAT is actually rather demanding, your router might not be able to do much more than what you are seeing. It was a common problem here when ISPs rolled out 1Gbps internet plans, most people would top out at 600 Mbps ish until they got a faster router.

[Donut417]

5 hours ago, leadeater said:

High speed NAT is actually rather demanding, your router might not be able to do much more than what you are seeing. It was a common problem here when ISPs rolled out 1Gbps internet plans, most people would top out at 600 Mbps ish until they got a faster router.

Yeah but that router the OP has is a 1.4 Ghz dual core, that should be more than enough I would think. If not then holy crap. 

[leadeater]

6 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Yeah but that router the OP has is a 1.4 Ghz dual core, that should be more than enough I would think. If not then holy crap. 

Don't really know, I don't use any of that sort of network equipment anymore. It should be fine but there is a newer model, granted again 1.5GHz dual core so really not that faster. Plugging directly in to the modem is the best bet to find that sort of thing out.

[Razor Blade]

5 hours ago, leadeater said:

High speed NAT is actually rather demanding, your router might not be able to do much more than what you are seeing. It was a common problem here when ISPs rolled out 1Gbps internet plans, most people would top out at 600 Mbps ish until they got a faster router.

I will have to agree with this.

 

You could connect your computer directly to the modem and do another test...though maybe it's paranoia...but I would suggest making sure your computer is fully updated with antivirus and anti-malware also immediately unplugging the computer from the modem the moment the test completes. At least it would tell you if your router is the issue.

[beersykins]

Speedtest isn't the end all be all.  I'd compare speeds across multiple destinations, services and protocols.

 

The test server may be underprovisioned or busy enough where it can't dedicate a full gigabit just to you.

 

My local speed test server never tests over about 400 but I can easily saturate gigabit with other types of transfers.

[hotdog218]

Thanks for all the replies... When I plugged it into my modem directly I got the gigabit speeds I was hoping for, which unfortunately means getting a new router. Some friends were reccommending Ubiquiti products like a Unify Security Gateway and a Unify Access Point. Maybe I'll try using some higher end stuff from them. Thanks for the help.

[JoostinOnline]

14 minutes ago, hotdog218 said:

Thanks for all the replies... When I plugged it into my modem directly I got the gigabit speeds I was hoping for, which unfortunately means getting a new router. Some friends were reccommending Ubiquiti products like a Unify Security Gateway and a Unify Access Point. Maybe I'll try using some higher end stuff from them. Thanks for the help.

First you should rule out the possibility of a cable. Swap the cables (still connecting directly to the modem) and see if you still get gigabit speeds. If you don't, then the cable may be damaged, causing it to run in half duplex mode instead of full duplex.

[mynameisjuan]

16 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

First you should rule out the possibility of a cable. Swap the cables (still connecting directly to the modem) and see if you still get gigabit speeds. If you don't, then the cable may be damaged, causing it to run in half duplex mode instead of full duplex.

If it was half duplex he would have much more issues.

 

The best way to test would be put the router in bridged and run it again from your PC. This verifies layer 1. The put in back in router mode and disable all services and add them one by one. 

 

There are a lot of services that are extremely CPU reliant and will destroy your speeds. 

[Lurick]

16 hours ago, hotdog218 said:

Thanks for all the replies... When I plugged it into my modem directly I got the gigabit speeds I was hoping for, which unfortunately means getting a new router. Some friends were reccommending Ubiquiti products like a Unify Security Gateway and a Unify Access Point. Maybe I'll try using some higher end stuff from them. Thanks for the help.

Follow this guide and check to see if Traffic Meter is enabled or disabled

https://kb.netgear.com/24225/How-do-I-monitor-Internet-traffic-on-my-Nighthawk-router

 

If it's enabled, disable it and test again.

[JoostinOnline]

1 hour ago, mynameisjuan said:

If it was half duplex he would have much more issues

Not necessarily. I had a similar issue not too long ago. It was because it was running half duplex.

[Lurick]

6 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Not necessarily. I had a similar issue not too long ago. It was because it was running half duplex.

Half duplex only exists for 100Meg or 10Meg connections so the speed loss would be much more severe. Half duplex 1gig doesn't exist even though it was proposed, nothing ever came of it.

 

Edit:

gigabit hubs were discussed but never came about, not half duplex gigabit

[JoostinOnline]

7 minutes ago, Lurick said:

Half duplex only exists for 100Meg or 10Meg connections so the speed loss would be much more severe.

I didn't realize it didn't exist for gigabit. That's not even available where I live. The fastest possible package is 95mbps. Good to know.

 

Regardless, I still think that buying a new router should be a last resort. No reason to spend money without first eliminating possible software issues first.

[Donut417]

20 hours ago, hotdog218 said:

Thanks for all the replies... When I plugged it into my modem directly I got the gigabit speeds I was hoping for, which unfortunately means getting a new router. Some friends were reccommending Ubiquiti products like a Unify Security Gateway and a Unify Access Point. Maybe I'll try using some higher end stuff from them. Thanks for the help.

Before spending the money this is what I would do. Try installing DDWRT on your current router. Only because it could be a shitty software issue. DDWRT is built pretty well. If that doesnt fix the issue, then the only thing it cost you was time.