iMac Late 2009 internet speed issue

[bwaldrep67]

I have a late 2009 21.5 " iMac with the following:

OS X El Capitan V 10.11.6
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256 MB graphics

I have 1G service for our internet, but when I do a speedtest "with" an Ethernet cord at most it is throwing up 160-180 Mbps speeds. I have tested speeds with another laptop both from the outlet and from the router with ethernet, and there I am getting speeds right at 920-970 Mbps. I have used ccleaner and cleaned up the iMac, but still very slow. Is it just because the iMac is older? I am at a loss, and woul rather not have to buy a new computer if there is some kind of solution. Any help is appreciated.

Brett

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Don't use CCCleaner on your Mac. Suggest if you have El Capitan on a USB thumb drive, boot from that, erase the hard drive and do a complete new install and then use Migration Assistant to copy over your latest backup.

Otherwise use Internet Recovery to format and install.

 

[bwaldrep67]

Don't use CCCleaner on your Mac. Suggest if you have El Capitan on a USB thumb drive, boot from that, erase the hard drive and do a complete new install and then use Migration Assistant to copy over your latest backup.

Otherwise use Internet Recovery to format and install.

Thanks. I do not have El Capitan on a thumb drive, but Ill try the other.

 

[Juicy Box]

Are you using an HDD? I would consider an SSD upgrade. It is pretty easy on your Mac.

I have used ccleaner and cleaned up the iMac, but still very slow.

Are you saying the Mac is slow, or the internet on the Mac is slow?

Because with speeds like this, most people wouldn't consider this slow:

but when I do a speedtest "with" an Ethernet cord at most it is throwing up 160-180 Mbps speeds.

What are you doing on your Mac that those speeds are not adequate?

I am at a loss, and woul rather not have to buy a new computer if there is some kind of solution.

Many people on the forum are going to suggest you just get a new computer. If this is not realistic for you, I would strongly consider getting a SSD. You do not have any good external options, but installing it internally isn't that hard on that iMac if you have some very basic electronic experience.

 

[bwaldrep67]

Are you using an HDD? I would consider an SSD upgrade. It is pretty easy on your Mac.


Are you saying the Mac is slow, or the internet on the Mac is slow?

Because with speeds like this, most people wouldn't consider this slow:

What are you doing on your Mac that those speeds are not adequate?


Many people on the forum are going to suggest you just get a new computer. If this is not realistic for you, I would strongly consider getting a SSD. You do not have any good external options, but installing it internally isn't that hard on that iMac if you have some very basic electronic experience.

Nothing out of the oridinary..mostly business spread sheets and streaming. I think it is more that I am paying for a much faster service and only getting about 20% of it. But the mac does seem to take more time to boot up and going from one website to the other...seems to just spin for 2-3 min at a time everytime I change sites or files. And if I did buy a new one, the one I would want is a little out of my price range right now.

I have an external WD drive, but that may not be as efficient as an SSD. What are your suggestions if I go the way of an SSD?

 

[Juicy Box]

I have an external WD drive, but that may not be as efficient as an SSD.

Anything external on that Mac will be a lot slower than doing something internally. You have FW800 and USB2, which are a lot slower than the internal SATA3.

If you HDD was failing, or just getting really slow, an external SSD over FW800 might be about as fast, but will feel a lot more responsive than the internal SSD.

You could do an external USB2 SSD, but the speed will be much slower than the internal drive, but it might feel more responsive than a HDD.

I wouldn't use an external HDD at all as my regular boot drive. Using it for a back up drive would be fine.

What are your suggestions if I go the way of an SSD?

Look into doing it internally. Watch some videos and utilize iFixit's site to see if it is something you can handle.

For Macs, your iMac is actually really easy to replace the HDD, but I know that "easy" is relative.

mostly business spread sheets and streaming.

Those speeds you are getting on your Mac are overkill spreadsheets and streaming.

I think it is more that I am paying for a much faster service and only getting about 20% of it.

Is there other stuff going on at your home that is using a high amount of bandwidth? Gigabit is way, way, way more speed than what you were describing as your needs. Maybe consider getting a slower internet?

I have notice that many people tend to overpay their ISP for speeds that they will never utilize.

I did a poll in a local forum at my home, and over 30% of the people responded were paying over $200 a month for their internet and cable, almost all of which had Gigabit service. When asking what they typically use their internet for, most said stuff like Facebook and Netflix.


I know that wasn't why you created this thread, but if you are paying more for Gigabit internet, but the most you are using it for is streaming, maybe consider getting a cheaper plan.

Sometimes the next cheaper plan is a huge decrease in speed, but if that speed is more than adequate for what you use your internet for, why pay more for something you will never, or hardly ever use?

 

[velocityg4]

I have a late 2009 21.5 " iMac with the following:

OS X El Capitan V 10.11.6
3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce 9400 256 MB graphics

I have 1G service for our internet, but when I do a speedtest "with" an Ethernet cord at most it is throwing up 160-180 Mbps speeds. I have tested speeds with another laptop both from the outlet and from the router with ethernet, and there I am getting speeds right at 920-970 Mbps. I have used ccleaner and cleaned up the iMac, but still very slow. Is it just because the iMac is older? I am at a loss, and woul rather not have to buy a new computer if there is some kind of solution. Any help is appreciated.

Brett

That Core 2 Duo is likely bottlenecking the results of the speedtest. I've found previously when testing multiple computers on my gigabit connection. Older CPU weren't showing full speed. Then noticed the CPU were pegged at 100% during the test. Due to whatever CPU intensive script the page used for the test.