I feel the need, the need for speed… Yes, I’m not one for slow computers or Internet for that matter, so here are a few tips for getting things faster. Let’s start with the computer and go from there.
Install a Solid State Drive
Traditional hard drives are useful if you have a lot of files to store on them, but they are incredibly slow to use.
Unless you have one of the latest computers that supports booting from NVMe drives, invest in a SSD drive to replace your existing hard drive.
If you have a desktop and want a lot more speed, invest in an NVMe adapter and a decent NVMe drive. You won’t be able to use it as the main drive, but any installed program run from it will be noticeably faster than the SSD.
Buy a computer that uses NVMe SSD
NVMe or Non Volatile Memory express is a type of storage that doesn’t rely on the old interface your computer uses to talk to hard drives, so it is many times faster, the previous generation 3.0 drives were about 7x faster than SSD or 35x faster than a standard hard drive.
Use wired network cable over wireless
Your router has to talk to your computer over a wireless network by negotiating a pre shared key, then it has to encrypt everything sent over the air using that key. Your computer then has to decrypt everything to understand it and then encrypt the return messages to the router. Not only that, but the wireless network is surrounded by other routers doing the same thing, which can be on the same frequency and slowing down the connection. Add factors like how strong the signal is and what is in the way.
Compare this to an Ethernet cable where there is no need to encrypt anything since you are on the same network, there is no interference and provided you are within 300m of the router, there is no drop in performance.
If your computer and router are capable of communicating at 1Gbps, then that is the maximum you will get between all your devices in your house.
Change your master socket
Changing your master socket moves all your extension sockets from being directly connected to your telephone line, where they can interfere with your broadband speed to the filtered side of your telephone line.
Alternatively, remove the split panel and connect the router directly into the test socket using a filter, this removes any interference from your existing extension wiring.
Upgrade to full fibre
If you have standard copper broadband, or the fibre broadband packages sold by the likes of BT or TalkTalk fibre, it’s worth looking into upgrading to full fibre. In certain parts of Sussex, there are providers digging holes in the ground and installing fibre cables:
