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617660

Cancelled
Original poster
Sep 17, 2011
682
358
I don't know if I should trust the result since I am already using OpenDNS and very happy with the speed thus far.

I ran benchmark on the desktop (where the comcast router and netgear 802.11G wireless router are connected), it's 30mps down, 6mps up. Nice. Then I ran benchmark on my MBA, it's 14mps down, 6mps up. Not as good. But still, I am happy with the speed, and I suspect the netgear wireless router might be the bottleneck here. Will I see a major improvement with a N-capable wireless router?

Finally, I ran Namebench a couple times, each time it suggested a different server, so I am not sure how reliable it is. Can someone speak from his experience?
 

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darster

Suspended
Aug 25, 2011
1,703
1
Switching DNS servers will not increase your DL speeds from 30 Mbs to 50 Mbs if that was what you were hoping for. You're speeds are pretty much limited by your ISP and the modem/router you have. I get 30 Mbs DL and 5 Mbs UL no matter what I set my DNS to with an N router. As far as wifi router, yes, it will make a big difference with N capabilities.
 

617660

Cancelled
Original poster
Sep 17, 2011
682
358
No, not asking to increase the DL speed. Just wondering how true and reliable the 103% number is.

I see Namebench suggest one server for primary and another for secondary. I realize I need to catch up with wireless technology, but what does this do? Isn't secondary just a backup to the primary (in case the primary server isn't available)? What's teritiary server anyway? I don't see an option to set it up.

I think G is capable of 54mps (theoritically speaking), so the real world speed is more in line of 14mps? What about N and its real world performance? I need to catch up on wireless technology.
 
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darster

Suspended
Aug 25, 2011
1,703
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With my old netgear b/g router, I would only get half the speed vs ethernet connection. Now with a airport extreme my speeds are the same as an ethernet connection. 30 Mbs. The reason why 30 is because thats the max speed through my current ISP modem.

Namebench finds you the best servers that will speed up your web surfing experience, not really increase your download speeds.
 

Mal

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2002
6,252
18
Orlando
DNS servers don't affect download speed, they affect how quickly domain names get resolved. In my experience, OpenDNS sucks at speed there. I switched to Google's DNS servers (8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4), and get much faster DNS results.

jW
 

617660

Cancelled
Original poster
Sep 17, 2011
682
358
So the 103% only represents how quickly the domain name gets resolved? I imagine that number is very small to begin with.

Just out of curiosity, how often do you get "page not load" using the google dns? With OpenDNS I average once every 200 loads.
 

bp1000

macrumors 65816
Jul 7, 2011
1,476
185
Yes it only representes how quickly a domain is resolved

The difference in speed is probably unnoticeable. When it does become noticeable is if your ISP has a problematic DNS service, ranging from a small or stale cache to DNS capacity problems.
 

Mal

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2002
6,252
18
Orlando
Yep, all the numbers are right there in your post. OpenDNS took 121 milliseconds to resolve the DNS, while the top result took only 59 milliseconds. You would save 62 milliseconds by switching. It's not exactly a lightning speed difference. However, I've seen OpenDNS run a lot slower, into the seconds, instead of fractions of a second, so at times the difference could be much more noticeable. If you're happy with your setup, don't worry about it. It's not a huge deal. I just wanted you to understand so you didn't have to wonder if you were missing out on a huge speed difference, since you're really not.

jW
 
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