Cody-RCU

This is kinda off-topic. I notice that when I download files with my, or any, 56K modem running at 45.2Kbps, data only comes in at 4.7 kbps, with any file that I download. Why is it ten times slower than what says it is?

Jim_McIntyre

Several reasons, some complex, some not.

The speed you quoted is a theoretical maximum accomplished through data compression. Compression is accomplished in many ways (simplified example: instead of sending one hundred zeros, send a code to say "repeat character '0' 100 times ). Unfortunately not all data is that compressible (especially if it's already compressed).

Also, the data has to travel across many shared devices of various capability to reach you. If any one of these "channels" becomes congested or the size of the data packages changes (requiring re-packaging) along the way... you lose.

Blame the high speed users of your ISP for forever downloading video.

pinball-RCU

Another possible explanation is that a lot of programs aren't careful distinguishing bits and bytes. Bytes is usually capitalized, i.e. KBps, but not always. Your modem speed is always measured in bits per second. Files are almost always measured in bytes, so the file transfer speed might be reported that way too. Since a byte is 8 bits, the factor of 10 makes perfect sense.

David Cutler

I think the confusion is caused by the fact that a Byte = 8 bits.

Are you sure you are comparing 45.2Kbps, with 4.7 kbps, and not 4.7 kBps ? ('B' is bytes, 'b' is bits.)

It's a bit like counting words instead of letters in a message when each word has 8 letters.

One further thing that might be confusing the issue is that a 56k modem actually only receives at that speed, (if you are lucky!) and is restricted to about 33k send rate. I do wish the manufacturers would stop pulling the wool over people's eyes and come clean with the fact that the 56k standard is asymmetric!

-David C.

Blackie

All of the above and one thing that has not yet been mentioned. I believe what Jim said may be covered under this as well. Not all phone companies have the best wiring systems,. also not all homes are wired perfect either. You can sometimes get what is referred as trash or garbage in the lines that would cause a slow transfer.

Blackie

big max 1935

My Feedback: (9)

WOW & I was going to complain about the on button location on that big tall box I have with the automatic cup holder! MAX H.

Deadeye

Most modems in the cheap brand name computers made today are software based 'winmodems'. While these modems might work OK in a big city, or in a house with new wiring; they don't work worth a darn in older houses/older wiring situations, or in rural settings.

If you want maximum transfer rate with a 56K modem, get a US Robotics HARDWARE PCI modem. These hardware based modems have noise cancellation built into the modem themselves. Winmodems rely on the CPU to cancel the noise. External modems are also hardware based.

As mentioned above, don't be fooled by '56K'. This translates into an actual download rate of 7 kilobits a second, when everything is perfect.

Check out www.pcmech.com for a plethora of computer questions. They have an excellent forum.

JimRoss

Actually, the truest fact about transfer rate is the distance your house is from the phone company main switch where your calls are routed through. If it is over 1.5 miles, the transfer rate drops significantly. I can only log on at 26,400 because I am ten miles from the switch. The phone company refuses to install the necessary fiber optic lines to my neighborhood, so I'm stuck with slow modem speeds.

As far as the 10 to 1 transfer rate, it has nothing to do with the modem speed. Your transfer is only as fast as the slowest component in the system, including your computer, amount of memory you have, modem type, wiring, phone lines, etc., etc.

The protocol for transferring info over a phone line dictates that for each 8 bit word there are bits added to make sure the system understand the beginning and end of each word. Sort of! Then it's all put into packets and shipped out. If a packet is lost, it has to be resent. All this slows down the transfer rate.
Be happy you're getting 5k/sec, mine gets down to 1.5 at times.

spooner

that ex"planes" why it took soooooo long to down load FMS...cant wait untill the cable comes in....
now its a legal thread i think....

Tippie

What you see is the speed your computer modem is running at and if everything is perfect that is what you could possibly expect but the speed at which your telephone is transferring info in another issue. As Jim Ross said, what your connection will deliver can be completely different. By the way Big Max and I have dual cup holders that retract when not in use.

probligo

Following on from this discussion. how many of you use -

Wireless connection
Broadband connection

Wireless connection to main telephone trunk (like cellphone but much higher frequency - same frequencies as WAP I believe) is becoming available in Auckland.

Broadband is in legal argument - lets not go there...

The one big drawback of wireless is that it craps out when it rains...something about the waves getting a bit soggy outside.

Deadeye

Sorry, JimRoss. I must digress. (And I hope the hand is healing well)

Even computers made 7 or 8 years ago are MORE than capable of handling the small amount of data that a dialup modem can hand them. Computers of this age are more than capable of handling 100 megabits/second on a LAN (Local Area Network). That's all dialup is, is a LAN. The bottleneck in speed is the MODEM, not the CPU speed or amount of RAM. Trust me, I'm a computer tech by trade, and I deal with this stuff all the time.

The amount of corrosion on rural copper phone lines will dictate the speed. But this only applies to rural areas.

It's these cheap 'winmodems' that have everyone so confused. In my opinion, they aren't worth the box they were packed in. They give inaccurate speeds, due to the bus speed limit they are subject to. That, and the fact that they rely solely on the CPU to cancel the noise, makes them unreliable, undependable, and pieces of crap. But they are cheap to produce, and that's part of the reason why DELL and GATEWAY can sell ther POS computers so cheap.

Think about this for a moment: Remember the days of 'solid state' technology? Everything ran into a series of circuits. Those circuits all did their jobs. Now, with 'winmodems', that circuitry is channeled to the CPU, and it's up to your already taxed CPU to sort out the noise that is thrown at it. Hardware based modems have ther own noise cancellation in the form of HARDWARE, not SOFTWARE. That equals less for the CPU to sort out, which translates into faster online speeds.

But, getting back to the original posters question: I'm willing to bet my RCU reputation that you have a certain amount of 'SPYWARE' on your machine. SPYWARE can be installed without you even knowing it. Some websites install 'cookies' that have 'data miners' written into the cookies. All SPYWARE eats your bandwidth, be it dialup or broadband.

Alternatively, you can also install SPYWARE by unwittingly visting a website, and you get a pop-up that says something like: "In order for this page to load properly, you must install this software from "Gator" (for example). Once you do that, (and I know hundreds that have), you are screwed. The only way to get rid of that spyware is to run an anti-spyware/adware program like AD-AWARE or SPYBOT.

As a computer tech, I make hundreds of dollars a week from people bringing in machines that have SPYWARE installed. SPYWARE can bring a top of the line computer to it's knees. In fact, I have seen many brand name computers come with SPYWARE preinstalled! It's the computer manufacturers way of justifying their low cost...they get revenue from the info they sell back to the SPYWARE writers.

SPYWARE is just as the name implies: Once the software is installed, it records and sends back your web surfing habits. For example: you do some searches for hunting and fishing. The SPYWARE tracks that info, and sends it back to the writer. In turn the SPYWARE writer sells that info to Cabellas (for example), Cabellas pays them for the info, and they get their money for writing the SPYWARE, and you end up with pop-up ads on your screen.

In addition, file sharing programs already have SPYWARE written into their source code. Programs like KAZAA, MORPHEUS, and IMESH all come with SPYWARE written into the source code. If you take the time to read the End-Users License Agreement (EULA), it tells you that. But who is gonna read through all that crap? That's what they thrive on. You not reading the EULA.

All of you should do yourselves a favor, and download SPYBOT or AD-AWARE and clean your systems. I'm betting dollars to donuts that 99% of the computer users in this great nation have SPYWARE installed. And this is coming from a guy that makes a pile of money running these utilities on every computer that enters my doors.

WHEW sorry so long...I just had to clear the air. I HATE spyware...but it makes me money to buy planes.