Third-party speed tests conducted off of the Cox network may not provide the most accurate representation of performance on the Cox network.
Honestly, I find this misleading and always irks me. Just because the speed tests are off network does not mean it's not an accurate representation of performance. The internet is not all on Cox's network. So yes, those third party tests are in my opinion a more accurate representation. Sorry, the websites we visit, the videos we stream, aren't all on Cox's network. So to say that only Cox's tool is accurate is wrong. Sorry, the places we visit are only on the Cox network. And if you say that the reasons performance might be slower using those third party tools, part of the blame can be on Cox and the other network due to your peering agreements (or lack thereof just so you can force other companies pay you for "better performance/peering").
iamkimchi...you are correct, there are other test sites that tests similar to Cox...I view about 3-4 because each use different algorithm patterns to check as well as locations. Even with Cox, I'm seeing huge differences depending on the location of the test server. Keep those other test site bookmarked along with Cox's.
On your original thread, you said you got an improvement speed from 120+ to something closer or better than 150+ as a preferred customer, especially after you rebooted your modem. I've gotten luckier but I'm using Premier. Above, in this thread, CurtB posted a link to procedures to check your modem speed. It worked really well in giving info about your modem speed max. So may items affect thru put speed...good luck!
Cox implies that this last upgrade was a software change, which may mean future tweaks to the speed, but your hardware may limit all of this.
ekhawaii, perhaps I wasn't clear. The procedure I posted is not a test of modem speeds. It's a check of the Network Interface Card inside the computer (past the modem) to verify that the computer is capable of handling the increased speeds Cox is pushing to the modem. The modem may be getting speeds in excess of 100Mbps, but if the computer has a 100 Mbps NIC, the computer won't be able to obtain the increased speed. This should only be an issue for older computers because most newer computers contain a 1 Gpbs NIC.
Oops CurtB...I'm out of sync with stuff...I went there and I at least have 1gig at my computer end. I guess it's either your computer, modem capabilities, cable type, your neighbors, Cox or just out of luck with this speed stuff. For those of us that are just lucky, we knock on wood. Thanks so much for your many insights and keeping me straight. I also pointed to the Cox site about the modems that they follow, and the max thru put that can be obtained. www.cox.com/.../cox-certified-cable-modems.htm
We need all the tools, and user inputs to stay afloat in this rolling sea.
