I'm shit with math and I need help. How much is 8 megs of internet speed in KBit/s? I did a speed test and it came back as 17187 KBit/s download and 1839 KBit/s upload.

Download: 17187 Kbit/s
Upload : 1839 kbit/s
Connects : 2714 conn/min
Ping: 22 ms

Here's a really quick tutorial on download speed.

500kbs = 500KiloBITs per second

8 bits in 1 byte, so you would divide the 500kbs and you would get 62KBs = 62Kilobytes per second

To put this inpersepctive, if you had a 56K modek, this would be 56kbs (56 kilibits per second). You would be downloading at max (which never happens) 7 Kilobytes per second.

You're connection is EXTREMELY fast...
From what you posted, you are getting approximately 2.1MB/s download. So if you were downloading at this speed at max, then you would be able to download a 100Megabyte file in under 1 minute (aboute 50 secs).

I hope that helps.

So if I'm paying for 8 megs of speed and I'm only downloading at 2.1 then isn't there a problem there? I know I'm not going to get 8 megs constantly but shouldn't I get around 4 -6 megs?

You are paying for 8Mbit internet and are getting 17Mbit speeds on that test.

Extremely fast, btw.

So when they advertise 8 megs then that's 8Mbits? What's 8mbps? The same?

So if I'm getting 17Mbits on the download and yes, I know that's not the steady stream, then why do I get some lag while playing on the 360 or buffering issues when downloading videos and such.

The reason you get lag is when you hit another site, your internet is fast, however the other end (other peoeple's internet) is not as fast as yours. There's alot of factor that is involved to create lag.
1. You internet (obviously not your fault as you have blazing fast internet)
2. the website's traffic that you are visiting.
3. the hardware (your PC might not be able to process fast enough).
4. The Xbox system might be lasggy as well.

So you see, when lag occurs on your end, sometimes it might not be your fault.

Thanks for clarifying that.

I do have one of my buddies coming over tomorrow to check my lockbox and also to see if anyone is taking from my service. I might need to have my outlets and drops replaced.

But thanks. I figured out how to use the math.

Glad to have helped. Best way is to either set up WAP on your router or set up MAC filtering to prevent your internet from being tapped.

Where are you doing this speed test?

I know Comcast, and likely some others have this "power boost" thing, where they offer double the stated speed for a few seconds. If the test is a very short one, and your ISP does this, you may not be getting accurate information from your speed test.

I kinda figured. I work for Comcast and I had some of my tech friends come over to check my line. The signal coming off my tap is perfect. The issue I'm having is my wiring. It's old and it's actually rotting. They cut away a good portion of the line outside and it was turning to dust.

I'm going to speak to their supervisor, which I know, so we can have one of the newer techs to come over and redo the install. That way he gets experience.

Basically, I need to get my outlets and wires redone. So that should help. But yeah, at the tap my signal is great and they told me that I'm getting a straight 6mbps at the tap. My buddy stayed up at the tap for about 5 good minutes getting me the levels.