Virgin 500, should I upgrade?

jordanfaf · 09-12-2021 6:30pm #1

we currently pay for 240Mb (my hard wired PC going through 2 unmanaged switches is giving me circa 90Mb)

since we upgraded our TV to skyQ, at peak evening times we get a bit of buffering on our tvs. wondering if upgrading to 500 for the sake of 6 euro a month is likely to solve the problem. or could it be a bottleneck elsewhere.

Setup is as follows

6 people living in the house with smart devices (wifi)
4-5 Tvs streaming Netflix, Amazon prime, SkyQ on a nightly basis (Mostly hard wired devices)
PC gamer playing on line (also complain of slow download speeds for bigger games) PC is hard wired
House is big enough, set up is Virgin box in the garage, into a switch (TP link SG-1005d), splitting into 4 rooms, there they go to another switch in each room and into Access points (TPLink EAP110s), and other hard wired devices (PC, smart TVs, SkyQ Mini boxes)

jimmycrackcorm · 09-12-2021 7:19pm

You'd need to look at the router stats to see how much load is going on through the modem.

With my VF broadband, I was experiencing buffering with my IPTV at times until I put a router with a VPN connection to my TV. Your problems could be related to routing.

bk · 09-12-2021 8:11pm

Even 4 to 5 TV’s streaming 4k would probably only use 100 to 150mb/s, so 240 should be fine for that.

I’d wonder if it is more of a case of that many devices putting too much strain on the VM modem, which are far from great. It might be worth considering putting the VM router in modem only mode and then replacing your switch with a high quality Wi-Fi router (or ubiquiti gear if you have the money).

A lot of performance issues with VM can be solved by doing the above.

Though the new Superhub 5 that they have just launched in the UK might help once they launch that here.

BTW I’d assume your PC has just a 100mb port or the switch or Ethernet cable support only 100mb to be getting only 90mb on it. You should really be getting close to 240mb/s on a wired pc from a Speedtest (when nothing else is running obviously).

smuggler.ie · 10-12-2021 1:38am

yeah, would start of confirming direct connection to router speed with rest of disconnected and that ALL links are 1Gb capable. 90Mbps is very convinient number for Fast Ether.

jordanfaf · 10-12-2021 12:20pm

Thanks for the feedback all. i checked the router and seems to be only putting 100Mbps out to everything (if im reading this correct)

so likely to be a bottle ncek on the VM router or possibly the switches im using?

dam099 · 10-12-2021 12:29pm

Chances are you have either a bad cable connected to Ethernet 3 or an older switch that is only Fast Ethernet (100Mb). Also possible its a bad port on the Virgin router but I'd eliminate the other two possibilities first.

jordanfaf · 10-12-2021 12:35pm

Just checked the cables in the garage. Theres a mix of Cat5E and regular Cat 5 going into the switch. cables are a bit of a mess so haven't tracked what's going where. I fell this weekend I may strip it all back and replace all with Cat5E/ Cat6.

Thanks again all, Will report back with updates, good or bad 😃

JazzyJ · 10-12-2021 12:41pm

Replacing the Cat5 will go a long way - that's where your current bottleneck is.

smuggler.ie · 10-12-2021 1:04pm

All your WiFi clients are limited. Cable supplied with AP could be also two pair - dont reuse/bin it

TP-Link Omada EAP110 - Radio access point - 100Mb LAN - Wi-Fi - 2.4 GHz

TP link SG-1005d is capable for 1000

Leaves you with either bad cables, bad connection or damaged ports

Time to upgrade hardware i guess, not subscription :D

jordanfaf · 10-12-2021 1:47pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118300312#Comment_118300312

Thanks for the info. I dont mind the Access points putting out 100mb, that will be plenty as all that on them is phones/ipads/laptops.

I took another look at the first switch in our set up (connected directly to ethernet 3) and i laughed... its an original NTL supplied switch. no way thats taking the speeds we are paying for

Gusser09 · 10-12-2021 1:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058222110/virgin-500-should-i-upgrade

I have my PC hard wired via a netgear switch and get the full 500mb to the PC more often than not. As other have said your internet pipe or bandwidth isn't the issue here. Really at a minimum you should be using cat5e for the whole run. Use cat6 though and future proof it. Also run a second cable while you are at it. I only ran one and am regretting it now.

Just to add I upgraded from 250 to 500 last January and will revert to save 10 quid. 250mb is more than enough for any home user even with multiple online consoles and uhd streaming etc.

smuggler.ie · 10-12-2021 1:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118300548#Comment_118300548

You never mentioned two different switches, so here you have what to check and upgrade accordingly. good luck

jordanfaf · 11-12-2021 1:11pm

Good news, Changed the switch and any C5 cables for C6. Getting the full 240mb on my wired devices now with speed test. no bottlenecks showing on the Hub Ui thing.

Thanks everyone.

ED E · 11-12-2021 4:22pm

Fair play for an OP with all the details in it. Need more like you.

Virgin 500, should I upgrade?

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