Modem / Router Help Needed.

My modem from Spectrum only has one ethernet out on it, which I have running to my router.

My router has a few ethernet ports, and I have one running from it back to my PC.

I get mass more speed this way then I do wirelessly.

If I got a ethernet switch, and ran a cable from my modem to the switch and then from the switch to my router and PC would that be faster?

Right now I'm using some ethernet cables I found in a box. If I bought some like these would that also help?

$9 DanYee [Upgraded] Cat 8 Ethernet Cable, 2 Packs 1.6ft Nylon CAT8 High Speed Professional Gold Plated Plug STP Wires CAT 8 RJ45 Ethernet Cable (Black 1.6ft 2 Packs)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K7PTWG3?smid=A29BEW9NZGLVZ5&th=1

 

Thanks in great multitudes.

I went ahead and ordered new cables. Might not make a difference, but the ones I'm using are most antique.

 

Cat 5e is cat 5e and chances are that's what you got, age doesn't make much difference but if you can get cat6 or cat7 (apparently cat9 is now a thing!?) cables your data rate supported by the cable will be better and won't bottleneck the hardware.

 

Cables have come along a bit in recent years, but that only really matters if you're covering a good distance.

Far as I can remember the difference between CAT5 and CAT6 is basically shielding that's included to reduce interference.

What is important however is that you get a "patch" or "straight through" cable (which 99% of those sold in stores and on Amazon as generic Ethernet cables are) and not a "crossover" or "rollover" cable.

It's been ages since my CCNA course in high school, but the wrong cable probably straight-up wouldn't work rather than give you degraded speed -- so it's probably nothing you need to worry about.

Also, most (home) routers already pull double duty as a switch so unless you're hooking up ludicrous numbers of devices via hardwire there is no need for a dedicated switch.

 

An Ethernet cable will typically (really without fail) be faster than a wireless connection. Think of it similar to cell towers. Further you get away from the tower, the more diluted the signal, and hence worse connection (assuming no other tower in range, of course).

But depending on what you are doing with the signal, a good router/modem combo (with a strong incoming connection from your ISP) will give you a wireless signal that is good enough for many daily tasks. However not things such as gaming. Most gamers use an Ethernet cable to receive every ounce of juice from the incoming connection.

You note your Modem from Spectrum. Sounds like you rent it from them. Recommendation is to buy your own and return that one. Those things are junk, and you’ll break even on costs in maybe a year. Buy a decent router/modem. Mine are lower end, and I definitely have connection issues with my not so great internet.

 

If you are on Spectrum pricing, the modem is included. They no longer give you credit for bringing your own modem. They will charge for home WiFi, so use your own router.

If you are on legacy pricing (like me- I am on an old Time Warner plan), then yes, they will charge you to a modem rental fee.

In the end, it depends.

I have not seen any appreciable difference in performance when using Ethernet through a switch or home runned back to the router. Just don’t use a hub. Always use a switch.

And most devices auto-negotiate nowadays so the difference between a crossover and straight cable is OBE.

 

So you want to play bottle neck wack-a-mole? Speaking as a professional mole-wacker looking at the whole system and knowing the end goal will save a lot of money and frustration. First look at the whole system, how fast is the internet connection? How fast is the computer? (computers are literally full of bottle necks and a whole topic unto themselves.) How fast is the network in the home? Nothing moves faster than the slowest link in the chain. The fewer connections, switches, routers, cables, wifi connections, etc, etc, etc between you and the thing you want to be fast, the better.

Now let's wack some of the easier moles. First go to speedtest.net and run a test with your ISP as the server. This is the base line and after every change run the test again. Sometimes "improvements" slow things down. The first mole is the internet speed. How fast is it? 100meg up load and down load, 25 up and 5 down, gig up and down? Whatever your internet service provider (ISP) says vs what the speed test shows is interesting data. Test both wired and WiFi. If there's a big differences then that's a mole to wack. How to wack it cost effectively depends on all the other links in the chain.

Post those numbers and we can go further down the mole wacking path.

 

239.5 Download
11.9 Upload

Netgear AC1750 router.

As far as my PC... I do zero gaming on it.

HP Pavilion Premium Gaming Desktop Computer I AMD 6-Core Ryzen 5 5600G Processor (>i5-10500) I 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD I AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB I USB-C HDMI Win10 Black + HDMI Cable

HP Pavilion Premium Gaming Desktop Computer I AMD 6-Core Ryzen 5 5600G Processor (>i5-10500) I 32GB DDR4 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD I AMD Radeon RX 5500 4GB I USB-C HDMI WiFi Win10

 

The hardware looks fine. Now do the speedtest.net test with your ISP as the server. If you can try it both with a cable plugged in and on wifi. One thing that can slow down wifi is if there are a lot of close by neighbors like in an apartment building.

 

Says Tampa, but I'm in Palm Coast running a VPN.

 

Is the VPN for work and how fast does your ISP say your internet is? For example mine is 300meg up and down.

 

The VPN is because of a email that Paramount sent my ISP a couple years ago.

 

LMAO. There are some really good private torrent sites. Get an invite to one and you can ditch the VPN and never worry about DMCA notices again.

 

The VPN may or may not be hurting your speed. What does your ISP say your internet speed is?

 

239.5 Download
11.9 Upload

 

The ISP quotes 239.5 and the speed test says you're getting 237.0. That's great and there's nothing more to be done. Don't waste your money on cables or anything else. The only way to get faster internet is to call your ISP and ask if they have a better plan.

 

Modem->Router->Hub->Devices

If you have a switch you can cable it like a hub as well.