Quote Originally Posted by Byte Stryke View Post
rarely will you have fiber all the way up to your computer...
not unless you have way more money than sense.

without going "Full Geek" into the OSI model... things that affect your internet speed:

Your Browser.. when was the last time you cleaned your OS
What OS are you using?
Virus Anyone?
System speed
Network Interface card speed
Router/Switch speed
Localized Interference (Running a network cable too close to a large power source/draw)
how many neighbors are also on the same service sharing your "Fiber"
where is the server you are connecting to?
How many people are also using the same server?

I would recommend what Bowtie said.
http://www.speedtest.net

Keep in mind I live in an apartment complex so I have the overburdened switch syndrome.

How long has it been since you've seen ANY media produce a 1 mbps download rate? With most peoples internet, we could be running token ring and still be creating bottlenecks at our ISP's modem.