need more memory?/ 7 MB slower than 56K

Is it because i need more memory that i spend AT LEAST 50% of my time online waiting for that little rainbow circle thing to stop spinning (i.e. click on a link, wait for 1-10 minutes, click on another link, wait 10 minutes, etc....)....and why is google gmail the slowest site ever?
I just moved and now have 7MB service through Qwest, which in my case, is somehow Slower than the old 56K Comcast modem we had at my old place.
I have a 2005 eMac (bought "new" in 2009) which up until now, has been fabulous, no problems, Mac OS 10.4 and Firefox, but right now i'm about to chuck it out my window....HELP!!!!!!

Hi there,

have you checked what speed you are really getting?

Try something like this... http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/

regards

Ric

maybe there's something wrong with google. i have spent over an hour trying to get any link to open from a search for broadband tests (or a search on anything else, haven't been able to open my gmail account either)(im in the us, couldn't open your link either)......maybe i just need a new computer...it was downloading for awhile (at 12K) but then i couldn't open it....will try again

I was lucky to get here, as im having a lot of trouble with my connection speed. Thats why im asking for your help. I've been having issues for some days now, and every speed test i do, offers different results. I am really lost here. cheers and thanks in advance.

Why is it that nobody knows anything about networking any more?

Your connection speed is reliant on a few different variables:

1. System speed - RAM does help sometimes to increase network connections speeds, but it rarely does much good.

2. NIC - Your network interface card is the biggest factor, You would need to make sure that you are running at FULL Duplex at 10/100/1000 speeds (any or all will do)

3. Gateway - Your modem, very important. Do your research and find out what speeds your make and model of modem runs at.

4. Intermediary Network devices - Routers, Hubs, Switches, Bridges, etc. Do you have any, what speeds and duplex are they running at.

5. Cabling - Try a different cable, maybe the RJ45 heads are bad, maybe there is a broken wire in your cable.

6. IP it up - Make sure there are no conflicts with IP addresses on the network, DHCP is NOT perfect.

I hope these things help you guys. If not, let me know and I will give you some terminal commands to run so you can give me the output.