Why does IRISHISPTEST show different results to SPEEDTEST.NET?

[c0y0te]

Which speed test is more accurate and why is there a difference between the figures I get from http://www.irishisptest.com and Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test

I'm supposed to have a 20mb connection from UPC on cable, but when I run the irishisptest.com check it shows it usually around 15mb, and yet when I run a test from speedtest.net it shows it closer to 19.5K

Which one is more accurate and why is there a difference?

c0y0te

[dickiesam]

Hi,
I think this sort of query has been answered elsewhere on this forum and the answer appears to be that Speedtest.net gives you the highest speed recorded during the test, while IrishISPtest gives you the average speed recorded over the time taken to do the test. Basically, the two results cannot be directly compared. However, as a speed test the latter is more helpful.
Dickiesam

[oneill.dav]

More reliable if you want to record your top speed, even if you only reach it in 1 out of 20 seconds.

For accuracy, irishisptest.net is better, as it tells you just how reliable your connection is, using average telemetry taken.

[Sean]

In a few cases I've seen, the SpeedTest.net result can be higher than the physical line speed.

This post I came across on another forum gives a very good example of how skewed the results on SpeedTest.net can get.

[hibernorasputin]

Edit: They both show average throughput. Bursting may be a reason for the linked posters skewed results especially if he is on an uncontended connection?

[oneill.dav]

Originally Posted by Sean

In a few cases I've seen, the SpeedTest.net result can be higher than the physical line speed.

This post I came across on another forum gives a very good example of how skewed the results on SpeedTest.net can get.

Ha ha, that was me. I don't know why it was bursting like that, every server I tried reported a different set of high speeds from 12Mb-30Mb.

I'm on a UTV connection using the normal Eircom bitstream package of 7.6Mb. I'm contented at 24:1. I was using a BT IP at the time, because I changed the login details in my router to my parents' BT package ones, which surprisingly works. BT have less latency to their gateway and DNS servers than UTV, which is why I sometimes switch to and fro. As much as I hate to say it, Eircom's latencies are the best of the ADSL lot, sometimes 20ms less on international pings, and this has been the way for years.

I wonder if SpeedTest.net is fixed now...


EDIT: No, it's still bursting.

[oneill.dav]

The reason for my connection bursting, was also the reason for some of my applications failing to work. Kaspersky Anti-Virus.

They say it's not application friendly, and I got rid of it years ago because it was causing trouble. A week ago I acquired the 2009 version, and it seems that it has not improved. My applications and speedtest.net behavior have all returned to normal since I got rid of it not 5 minutes ago.

The reasoning behind blaming Kaspersky was that when I turned the protection off, while it was still installed, everything worked normal. Turned it back on, and straight away speedtest.net was bursting again.


Not only that, but after realizing that the DNS Client service was disabled, I re-activated and started it up again. Sites are loading a little faster (less pause delay). I wonder if Kaspersky was the one that disabled it, as it should have been on and started by default (I use Windows XP Pro SP3)? Whatever about it being disabled without my say-so, enabling it again has restored the ability to cache DNS addresses and therefore not rely on seeking the information every time you re-visit a site. You can imagine that with the increased latencies on the new 7.6Mb upgrade, that it would definitely speed things up by not having to call on the DNS servers all the time for *new* information.