10 / 100 /1000 Ethernet?

Question

My 10 / 100 Linksys router took a dump on me 3 days ago.  I was conflicted on buying a more expensive Linksys router which had 10 / 100 /1000 or the cheaper 10 / 100 Linksys.  From my understanding the 10 / 100 is sufficient since we never even reach the 100mbps for home use.  I've done a speed test through my cable company and through another random site and my download speed ranged from 16-24mbps.  So, in theory the 10 / 100 router is more than sufficient.

However, I said "F" it and bought the 10 / 100 / 1000 linksys router anyways because...well, because I could. lol

After setting up the new router last night (after upgrading my g/f's power supply & video card) I decided to test my connection by going to youtube.  I found a 30 min video and set the quality to 1080 HD.  I was able to watch the video stream in and the download speed move ahead of the play speed.  Previously, with my old router, if I tried to watch a video like this I would have to hit "Pause" and let the video download awhile otherwise it would pause repeatedly as the download couldn't keep ahead of the play speed.  So, I was able to quickly notice a difference in my speed.

1)  If 10 / 100 / 1000 has no affect on internet speed why was I able to experience a faster "connection" so to speak?  Should I assume it's just because I purchased new hardware (my old router was like 10 yrs old) which was made with newer & better quality components?

2) When I looked at the details of my connection the speed said 1GB.  Am I correct to assume my motherboard (not using a NIC card) is already built with a 10 / 100 / 1000 ethernet port or would it have shown 1GB regardless if it had a 10 / 100 built in ethernet port?

3) We normally have 2 PC's and 1 xbox or laptop connected to the internet at a time.  We're all pretty much online gamers.  I was looking to upgrade my internet speed with my ISP in the next few months as well.  Would trading in my modem for a newer model and purchasing cat6 cable lines show me an increase in my connection or was this recent increase with the new router just a fluke?

Adrian · Accepted Answer

1) If you are managing to connect PC to router at 1000mbps, you will have a "bit" faster handshaking. This would give a bit better overall speed to the internet, but should not even be noticeable. I suspect the old router may have had some firmware issues, causing re-tries or errors. A 10 year old router is a prime suspect for poor network flow control...
2) That means your motherboard NIC is gigabit..... If you were plugged into a 100mbps port, it would only show 100mbps. It shows the actual "linked speed", not what "it can do possibly"
3) No need for CAT6 if you have good quality Cat5e cables. Those will do gigabit speeds just fine. Upgrading internet speed will improve things overall, but any "hog" downloading lots of stuff will still impact everyone else unless you implement some form of QoS in the router (if it has it...)

10 / 100 /1000 Ethernet?

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