Internet speeds? :)

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Hey all, im with Virgin Media and pay for 20Mbps.

usually i get around 16 Mbps which i can understand.

what confuses me is even though the speed test says 16mbps, i dont actually download things that fast, if that makes sense.

like a file the size of 160MB wont take 10 seconds, it may take like 20 or 30?

Thats just an example, sometimes there are more extreme cases.

Just wondering if its to do with the browser i use? Its google chrome btw.

Thanks :)
 
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Hey all, im with Virgin Media and pay for 20Mbps.

usually i get around 16 Mbps which i can understand.

what confuses me is even though the speed test says 16mbps, i dont actually download things that fast, if that makes sense.

like a file the size of 160MB wont take 10 seconds, it may take like 20 or 30?

Thats just an example, sometimes there are more extreme cases.....

Just keep in mind that Mbps = Megabits per second and not MB (Megabytes) - :)
 

pigoo3

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what confuses me is even though the speed test says 16mbps, i dont actually download things that fast, if that makes sense.

Also remember that download speeds also depend on the server load and the internet connection of the server you are getting the files from.

- Nick
 

pigoo3

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Well, said another way: 8 bits = byte (4 bits = nibble) - the original computer 'word' w/ 256 possibilities, i.e. 2 (binary 0 & 1) raised to the 8th power. :)
 
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MacInWin

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In other words, using your 160MB download, at 16 Mbps, will take about 80 seconds, not 10. But some compression may be kicking in to shorten it a bit.
 

Raz0rEdge

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In other words, using your 160MB download, at 16 Mbps, will take about 80 seconds, not 10. But some compression may be kicking in to shorten it a bit.

Also some ISPs do the speed boost thing for a short period so you actually get a burst initially and the taper down..
 

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