Halp! New Mac's Internet is Much Slower than PC Sitting Next To It?!

[icu2richelo]

Attention All Problem Solvers!!! Also, people who are nice enough to be casually browsing this forum looking to help people out with computer issues!!!

As you can read from the description of this post, I'm having trouble trouble-shooting my brand new 2011 Mac Mini (base model: 2.3Ghz i5, Intel 3000 Graphics, 4GB RAM, 500GB 5,400rpm HDD).

I won this thing in a contest on Youtube *yay free stuff* but ever since I set it up, I've noticed severe lagging on download speeds. Download speeds that literally crawl. I mean, archaic. It's blown my mind (And I know things about computers. Well, PCs at least. Unfortunately, I'm a Mac and OS X newb).

Here's some REALLY COOL and NIFTY background info:

I have Comcast Cable Internet, connected to a Linksys router which reaches my upstairs 7-year-old Dell (has a PCI Linksys wifi receiver installed) just fine. Fine enough to get pretty fast speeds, I might add. If you find my Dell's specs relevant, they are here: (3.4Ghz Pentium 4, ATI Radeon x850 256mb, 140GB 7,200rpm HDD, 5GB RAM)

I first noticed the issue when attempting to download a file in Safari. It's a 5.8MB file and I noticed it was going to take several minutes to download... It was downloading at ~40kb/s (See Screenshot). I found this funny, so I tried downloading the same file on the Dell, which sits at the same desk, literally right next to the Mac Mini. The Dell downloads the file at ~650kb/s, taking but a second to download the file. This is an astounding difference. I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is happening.

Now, before you say the issue is Safari, I noticed this issue while downloading updates from Apple's Servers as well. Downloading a 70MB file, approx, took about an hour. Also, downloading apps from the Mac App Store took hours upon hours, as they were several hundred megabytes... Trying to get websites like Hulu to stream video well was a lost cause.

These computers are connected to the same Wifi Network, thus getting the same cable internet, so the issue is not the internet service (The Dell doesn't have speed issues), or the wifi signal being weaker (the wifi signal on the Mac Mini is full bars).

I've been trouble-shooting this thing for days. My first guess was the HDD. It's but a 5400RPM HDD, which means it runs slower, and load times are likely to be slower than my 7200RPM HDD on the Dell. However, the computer downstairs, which is ancient, also has a 5400 HDD, so I highly doubt that's the issue here. Also, I've never heard of a 5400RPM HDD downloading slow from the web...

My second guess to the problem berthed from noticing the same issue on my 2008 Macbook Pro after attempting the download with it as well. This shocked me as I don't remember it having such slow download speeds (although now that I think of it, it's quite possible the same issue is going on there too and I just never noticed it until now). The "solution" I found came from something I read online (unfortunately google does not show many results for issues like mine, as it is apparently unique). One of the few relevant results I got was about a Mac from 2006 having slow internet while a PC in the same room was not slow. It sounded very similar to my issue. After reading responses, someone suggested to turn off the bluetooth. Although it sounded absurd, I tried this on the macbook pro. No difference. Tried it on the the Mac Mini (which was difficult, as it was using the wireless trackpad and keyboard via bluetooth, so I had to find a wired keyboard and mouse to test this). This did not change the download speed.

So, after all that text, I'm stuck. I've gone ahead and published my issue of ModTheSims, because I know y'all know computers and might be able to help me out. If you read all this, I truly appreciate you trying to help me out, and in return, I'll spend some time on this forum trying to help others. If you can offer some advice or anything, I do welcome it very much.

[simsample]

Things I can think of that might be happening:
1) If your router is N-capable, keep in mind that any G or B devices talking to the router could cause it to switch to slower speeds for all devices connected. So, try shutting down all other PCs whilst testing the Mac.
2) Perhaps your Mac is picking up more than one wireless signal and attempting to connect to them. Try changing the channel your router is broadcasting on.
3) Try updating the firmware on your router in case there is a fix for this.

More suggestions here:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/165240/understanding_wifis_two_spectrum_bands.html

[icu2richelo]

Simsample, thanks so much for the reply. I did what you suggested (updated the firmware for my router to the latest version, and tried changing the channels to 11, 6, and 1) Unfortunately there is no change in the speed of my internet.

My router is a draft-N router. Unfortunately, I've noticed now that ALL the macs in the house are having the same exact issue with internet speeds. The wireless adapter on my PC isn't even an "N" adapter. It's a G, or B. And it gets waaaay faster download speeds as exampled in my original post. I've tried calling Apple Support, but the machine says I may need to have like an Apple Care plan in order to even receive assistance. That's absurd.

Researching this problem has become cumbersome... I'm gonna keep trying, though.

Three macs in my house, and all the same issue... There's gotta be a fix for this...

[EDIT 11/22/11]: I'm still having this issue. If anyone else has any advice, I'd love to hear it! Thanks in advance

[ellacharmed]

A Mac purchase is not already inclusive of the standard 1 year support (2-3 years international support of laptops), irrespective of whether you purchase the additional extended warranty? So the "Care" in "Apple Care" is heavy on the Apple as a company not on the customer side? Tsk tsk tsk. :)

What is the adapter in each of the Mac models? And what OS versions? Are they all using the same browser and version? And is this browser (and version) what you also use on your PCs?
Does Apple provide individual update files for the network adapter or is it tied to the OS, like the graphics drivers are? Hmm... *off to check.

[simsample]

My router is a draft-N router. Unfortunately, I've noticed now that ALL the macs in the house are having the same exact issue with internet speeds. The wireless adapter on my PC isn't even an "N" adapter. It's a G, or B. And it gets waaaay faster download speeds as exampled in my original post.
Did you check that they aren't slowing the signal as I mentioned in my previous post?

[icu2richelo]

A Mac purchase is not already inclusive of the standard 1 year support, irrespective of whether you purchase the additional extended warranty? So the "Care" in "Apple Care" is heavy on the Apple as a company not on the customer side? Tsk tsk tsk. :)

I know, right? It's rather ridiculous. Apparently you get 90-day Phone Support, but saying as I won it from youtube, it got here after the 90 days...

What is the adapter in each of the Mac models? And what OS versions? Are they all using the same browser and version? And is this browser (and version) what you also use on your PCs?
Does Apple provide individual update files for the network adapter or is it tied to the OS, like the graphics drivers are? Hmm... *off to check.

If you're referring to the wireless adapter, I believe it's a standard-fare Airport Adapter, not sure if the 2008 includes 802.11n, but I'm pretty sure this brand new Mac ought to have that. My router is a draft-n router, purchased back before they standardized the 802.11n protocol, but I believe the draft-n and standard n specifications are virtually the same, so I doubt that's the issue.

The 2008 macbook has OS X Leopard, and is up-to-date as far as Apple's Software Update Utility is concerned. The 2009 Macbook may also be running Leopard, thought considering it's my sister's and I don't use it, she may have updated it to Snow Leopard. Either way, all three macs use Safari, or Firefox, and the issue persists. Even when downloading through the Software Update Utility, or the App Store (directly from Apple's servers) the download speeds are atrocious.

EDIT: I've divulged the issue is not the browser I'm using, as downloads from Windows Update are also perfectly fast. Apple's Software Update Utility, however, and the App Store, are downloading at a snail's pace. The problem is clearly how the macs are connected to the Internet. Is there a program that exists for the Mac that would allow me to diagnose the connection speed issue (As the Network Utility, or whatever it's called, does nothing close to diagnosing the problem)?

[icu2richelo]

Did you check that they aren't slowing the signal as I mentioned in my previous post?

How would I go about doing this?

EDIT: In reference to shutting down the PC while trying to connect on the Mac, I've already done this and the problem persists... I think I'm just going to call Comcast. Haha