On a 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) Internet service plan, for a wired connection the Internet speeds should always be between 750Mbps and 940Mbps. Anyone getting less then 750Mbps over a wired ethernet connection either has something wrong with their computer, home network, or there is a problem with the Internet provider. I tested a 13 year old ASUS X38 motherboard, a few around 11 year old EVGA X58 motherboards, and a couple of 6 year old ASROCK X99 motherboards. All these motherboards have in common is that they have two 1,000Mbps ethernet jacks. Ethernet jacks can experience quality control issues during the manufacturing process and/or ethernet jacks can sometimes age and degrade in performance overtime. On a 13 year old ASUS X38 motherboard one of the ethernet ports was getting speeds of around 480Mbps, when I switched to the second ethernet port on the X38 motherboard I was getting speeds of around 905Mbps. Only on one 11 year old EVGA X58 motherboard did both ethernet ports offer around 905Mbps download speed. A few X58 motherboards had both ethernet jacks that were 50-75Mbps slower in speed performance and getting around 860Mbps. Also one of the Ethernet ports on the ASROCK motherboard was around 50Mbps less in speed when compared to the other ethernet port that offered over 900Mbps. One 14 year old HP Notebook computer with a Windows Experience Index of only 6.1 out of 9.9 was getting speeds as high as 907Mbps from its old 1,000Mbps ethernet jack built into the motherboard.
On my one and only computer and on all my family members desktop computers I decided to install the 10GB TP-Link TX401 5 speed networking card in case in the years to come the home network gets upgraded from 1,000Mbps to 10,000Mbps (In theory 2-3 years from now there should be more selection of 10GB home switches and routers to choose from). Also, since installing the TP-Link TX401 networking card on a 1,000Mbps home network, I am always getting speed tests over 900Mbps when no one else is using the Internet. Average speeds are between 915Mbps to 925Mbps from every computer on the wired 1,000Mbps network. With a maximum possible speed of 947Mbps when connected to a speed test server around 200 miles away. The only issue is the Internet provider currently in this rural area offers only around 95.7Mbps upload speed. Most likely in a few years the upload speed might be increased to 1,000Mbps if more network capacity is added in the future. If that happens then the upload and download would be exactly the same speed over a 100% fiber optic network.
One important note: In order for me to always get download speeds over 900Mbps and as high as 947Mbps from every desktop computer on the network. After installing the CD-ROM driver that comes with the TP-Link TX401 networking card, one needs to immediately do a Windows update to get the latest driver from Microsoft. After this update I am always getting on average between 915Mbps to 925Mbps download speeds on every computer. Also in the future every desktop computer is ready to be added to a 10,000Mbps home wired network. Also every desktop computer now has a total of 3 Ethernet jacks (two 1GB versions built into the motherboard and one add on 10GB networking card).
For those looking to build a new desktop PC. Every new medium quality to high-end motherboard now has at least one 10,000Mbps (10GB) 5 speed networking jack built into the motherboard. There are literally several dozens of AMD and Intel motherboards with that 10GB networking feature when one looks at all the different brands and models of motherboards. There just needs to be a much bigger selection of 100% wired 10GB routers and switches to choose from for the consumer market. In fact sometimes its impossible to find the 5 speed 10GB feature unless one looks at the ultra high end models used for professional businesses (In the past all 10GB routers and switches only had 3 speeds, but since a lot of people have CAT5e cable, 5GB and 2.5Gbps speeds were added since CAT5e cable at short distances can work at 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps speeds). In theory the selection of faster routers and switches should improve in the future as consumers remodel and build new condo’s and homes. Consumers are realizing the big reliability, speed, and over all performance a wired network can provide. Those latest WIFI version 6 access points need a high speed 10Gbps, 5Gbps, or 2.5Gbps wired network to offer the best wireless speeds if one decides to plug a wireless access point into a RJ45 ethernet jack on the ceiling or wall. Also running CAT8 cable no longer then 328 feet can offer up to 40,000Mbps upload/download speed. Every 328 feet there needs to be a switch in between, or better yet some people run in house or underground fiber between a home and a garage when remodeling.
The 64 bit Speedtest application for Windows is awesome and can be download for free at the following website:
https://www.speedtest.net/apps/windows