8 meg = 800kb/s download speed???

[adamsonm]

I am with BT ( they are rubbish, I don't recommend BTW). I am paying for an 8Meg connection. When I download, I get max 850kb/s. Does that mean I am getting exactly what I'm paying for in terms of download speeds??
In other words, is 800kb/s download speed an 8Meg connection????

[TAKTAK]

Data transfer is measured in bits per second, storage is measured in Bytes, your download speed is therefore related to the file size, thusly measured in Bytes (i.e. 800KB of the file per second), whereas your connection is measured in bits (i.e. 6400Kb per second)

b = bits, B = Bytes

8bits = 1Byte

8Megabits = 1MegaByte


So:

800KBps * 8 = 6400Kbps ~ 6.4Mbps

Which taking overheads into account, is pretty much top whack for an 8Mbps connection

[The_Wheelhouse]

Well most download speeds are advertised as "up to" and as your are getting 80% of what is in your contract i would say that it isn't too unreasonable.

I guess you're getting mixed up between bytes and bits. You are paying for a 8 megabit download rate, as there are 8 bits in a byte 8/8=1MB or 1000KB.

[adamsonm]

AHHHH, good to hear that I am actually getting a decent download speed then!!!

[TAKTAK]

Well most download speeds are advertised as "up to" and as your are getting 80% of what is in your contract i would say that it isn't too unreasonable.

I guess you're getting mixed up between bytes and bits. You are paying for a 8 megabit download rate, as there are 8 bits in a byte 8/8=1MB or 1024KB.

Fixed

[adamsonm]

So, if I have a 10Meg connection, and getting download speeds like 1000KBps,

1000KBps * 8 = 8000Kbps ~ 8Mbps

Am I right?

[smargh]

To avoid any confusion between "b" and "B":

Generally, for each 1 megabit of connection speed you can expect to get 120 kilobytes per second of real-world download speed. So, for an 8 megabit connection you can expect to be downloading, under perfect conditions, with a maximum file transfer speed of of approximately 960 kilobytes per second.

To get 960KBps you may need to download things from several places at the same time, or perhaps there's some congestion at the exchange, or your ISP might be limiting it, or perhaps your router resynced at a slower speed to compensate for poor line conditions..

[Dareos]

im gonna point all my customers to this thread

you have no idea how many people just don't understand that a 20Mb connection doesn't mean 20MBp/s transfer rate.

I currently get about 2.6 MB transfers on my 50Mb connection, but thats mainly because i've got a b/g adapter and an N router, really need to upgrade my adapter, or start running cables again

[TooNice]

I divide by 8, then take out 10% for overhead as an estimated max for the very best circumstances (no server bottleneck). For an 8Mbit line, I'd say that 900KB/sec is about as high as you can expect in the best scenario and 800-850 still excellent in real world performance. Oh and BT > TalkTalk

[Whiternoise]

Generally I find torrenting the latest Ubuntu (or similar popular Linux distro) release gives a good estimate of your maximum connection speed. Worth a shot to really stress your connection.

[Terbinator]

im gonna point all my customers to this thread

you have no idea how many people just don't understand that a 20Mb connection doesn't mean 20MBp/s transfer rate.

I currently get about 2.6 MB transfers on my 50Mb connection, but thats mainly because i've got a b/g adapter and an N router, really need to upgrade my adapter, or start running cables again

Doesn't help when adverts on tell advertise as 'X meg' broadband. People now days deal with bytes mostly not bits, its a clever marketing trick and nothing more.

[jim]

To be fair though, most "transfers" are in bits. Music and video for example.

I agree though, mega-bits should be done away with. You don't hear people talking about megacentimetres.

[TAKTAK]

I agree though, mega-bits should be done away with. You don't hear people talking about megacentimetres.

Why?

Just because some people don't understand it, doesn't mean we should do away with it...

That's like saying (well ish... ) that we should do away with Pa because Nm^-2 is the same...

The bit is the standard unit for telecommunications, as it easily allows you to take into acount parity bits etc, as soon as you move to Bytes it makes it more complicated as you can start having 10 bits to your Byte, 8 bits of data and two parity bits, so it just doesn't stack up...

The fact that it is also the base unit for storage is irrelevant, you have to have a basis somewhere, and the bit allows you to have that, afterall, we're dealing with base2 so the bit makes thnigs nice and easy to work with, then when the numbers get larger it makes sense to use Bytes for storage, but for data transfer bits make more sense other wise you could be using bits by assuming that it is using 8bits per byte..


Why change standardised units just because some people can't be arsed to research them and just assume that they're the same?

That's their own problem..

All it takes is one little question (i.e. like this thread) and everything is sorted and the person then has a slightly better understanding of the world.

[Terbinator]

Just to clarify, I never said they should be done away with.

[Englander]

Generally I find torrenting the latest Ubuntu (or similar popular Linux distro) release gives a good estimate of your maximum connection speed. Worth a shot to really stress your connection.

I'm on 8Mb BT Broadband and I tried out this torrenting thing. I would expect to max out at about 800kb/s but looking at the 5 min average on the speed graph, it claims I peaked at something like 1400kb/s. On an 8Mb connection? I am baffled...

[GaryRW]

Why?

Just because some people don't understand it, doesn't mean we should do away with it...

.... snip ....

Why change standardised units just because some people can't be arsed to research them and just assume that they're the same?

That's their own problem..

All it takes is one little question (i.e. like this thread) and everything is sorted and the person then has a slightly better understanding of the world.

Personally, given the whole "upto" mess in the first place, I think MB p/s would be much simpler for joe bloggs average consumer to understand. I don't suggest getting rid of Mb p/s for other situations, particularly those in the trade so to speak, but I think it clearly does mislead at worst, and confuse at best, a lot of people.

But then I also dislike the HDD manufacturers for their particular usage of GB vs GiB - I understand the difference and that technically they're right, I just feel that you can't get away from the fact that it is down right misleading for the vast majority of consumers.

All a personal view though obviously