iMac Doesn't Seem All That Fast....

[dpaanlka]

Hi:

First off, let me thank all of you for your help. I got a little busy last night (explained a bit later), so I was not able to run all the tests yet- will continue to do stuff today. But, I have switched the Mac to Wireless, and did a quick test of another computer wired- no appreciable difference.

I have two surprises for you. One is I have made a video so you can see what I mean. The first is a WIRELESS computer in my system going from MacRumors to Apple.com- takes all of 3 seconds. Then you can watch the mac take 15 seconds to go to the store on tghe apple site. That is my daughter asking for more milk. Here is a link- this is the first time I have tried this, sio I hope it works. Bad camerawork, I know- I just wanted to get it up. Link here for a 800K MOV file:

http://www.cartoon-factory.com/win_vs_mac.mov

I HOPE that works!

Surprise 2- I was busy last night switching from an Intel Core Duo to a C2D. Again, no appreciable change from the two iMacs- both seem equally "unspunky." Itunes and stuff seem fine, but go to the iTunes music store and I wait at least a minute- so I am guessing this is an Internet set up problem. Maybe my router has it in for Macs? It has secret programs to throttle Macs???? (It is an actiontec BTW)

Thanks!

Dave

Did you DO the DNS thing like i told you in the sixth reply?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I had this exact problem at work. The PCs accessed the net instantly but my mac would load like dial-up even though its an 8mb line.

It was a DNS server problem. I dotn know much about it but in basic terms. It turns out the mac was having to communicate with the PC based router using one DNS address but kept getting rejected because the PC didnt recognise the mac. The mac had to keep trying but then eventually used the second DNS in the list and eventually got through. The PCs got straight through and so seemed much faster.

All i had to do was put the second DNS above the first in the list (in system pref.) so it got through first time everytime. Now it loads pages noticeably quicker than my bosses PC.

Maybe your setup is totally different but I thought I would post my experience it may help.

Also i read your mac is connecting via Ethernet AND wireless? Turn one or the other off because this could also be the cause of your problem.

 

[carfac]

>>> maybe you just got a defective Mac.

That would be 2 macs- an Intel Core Duo AND a C2D


>>> Did you DO the DNS thing like i told you in the sixth reply?

No, I have not yet had the time. I am at work now (again) so I will have to do it tonight. Been a bear of a week- wife is OOT, so I am a single parent with soccer, homework, all that jazz. Plus, I spent the night moviong one mac over to the other. I will say that the Migration assistant is AMAZING! Everything came over perfectly! This will be first on my list tonight!

>>> I had this exact problem at work.

Will do this SECOND tonight. Glad to know I am not alone!

>>> Also i read your mac is connecting via Ethernet AND wireless? Turn one or the other off because this could also be the cause of your problem.

I did this this morning. The video is in this condition (ethernet, no wireless).

I posted the vid so you would know I was NOT crazy! Glad you all agree, that this is TOO SLOW. Actually, the Mac at Apple's site would have loaded MUCH slower if I was not going from one Apple page to another- the links/menu bar at the top images usually add 5 seconds to load (ghosted outlines before the images load) if not previously cached...

Thanks again for your ideas- I just wish I had more time!

 

[SeVeN]

i did the DNS thing on my Power Mac and it helped out alot. it uses an AddLogix adaptor and my iMac uses a game adaptor and it works flawlessly w/ no drivers.

 

[dpaanlka]

That DNS solution solves almost every internet connectivity problem I've ever encountered on any Macintosh. It is so common, it should be part of a FAQ or something somewhere.

 

[MacProGuy]

Something is DEFINITELY wrong here.


I am in a mixed environment...

The APPLE page loads for me on my 24" iMac in right about 1/2 a second... of course I have Verizon FIOS...

But still... thats just not right... 20 SECONDS?

WTF?

 

[carfac]

I told you guys! I bet you thought I was exaggerating- thats why I put up the vid.

dpaanlka, I apologize, I REALLY meant to try your solution- I have high hopes it works!

Just so you all know, I have DSL, 1.5 mbits up and down. Not lighting fast, but not dial-up, either. And, as you can see on the Win wireless, it does load just fine there.

BTW, all other things being equal, what SHOULD I ewxpect to load quicker- wireless "g" or hard-wired ethernet? I know the mac is 10/100/1000, but the roughter is 10/100, so 100 would be the max there.

Thanks again for everyones help- I appeciate it!

Dave

 

[MacProGuy]

Another thing to try is to download the utility ONYX from MacUpdate.Com and click on the Safari link... and set the speed of display to very fast

Also, turn OFF the Journaled Hard Disk Service (On by default).

Then, in main preferences pain of Onyx, choose to set the Finders speed of display sheets to "VERY FAST".

The whole machine will seem 2x snappier after you do these things

 

[carfac]

Oh, off topic, but thought I should mention. I got a really nice B/U drive yesterday. A Seagate 400 Gig external. Cicuit City had it for 199.00- good deal, huh? Works very fast- no problems streaming videos at high bit rates. It is USB only, but with the iMac 20, I only have FW400, so FW vs USB2 is really a push.

It was NEARLY plug and play- I did have to reformat HFS (Journaled), but that was fast. Once formatted, it was right there. REALLY quiet, fast- highly recommend! And the price was great!

Dave

 

[dpaanlka]

I'm pretty positive the DNS thing will solve all of your problems. Trust us, your iMac is very very fast.

 

[gloss]

BTW, all other things being equal, what SHOULD I ewxpect to load quicker- wireless "g" or hard-wired ethernet? I know the mac is 10/100/1000, but the roughter is 10/100, so 100 would be the max there.

Should be pretty close to identical. 10/100 is 10/100 megabit, which is way, way more bandwidth than your DSL connection would be able to fill. It's only really a bottleneck when you're trying to transfer files between machines.

 

[carfac]

dpaanlka:

Drum roll please! You DA MAN!

OK, it is now seeming to be as fast, if not faster than the wireless- muy bien!

I am going to look into Onyx, too, just for the heck of it.

THANK YOU dpaanlka!

BTW, what is 4.2.2.1, etc? Is it a real IP address, or does it do something dark and secret inside the Mac?

YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW HAPPY YOU HAVE MADE ME!!!!!

Dave

 

[gloss]

Yay for MacRumors. Glad you have a functional machine at last.

 

[carfac]

I am thinking I owe someone a beer!!!! Or 3!

 

[balamw]

BTW, what is 4.2.2.1, etc? Is it a real IP address, or does it do something dark and secret inside the Mac?

They're the Verizon DNS servers. Glad you found a solution.

B

 

[carfac]

>>> Glad you found a solution

So am I!

Funny how something like that- slow Internet access- makes the whole thing LOOK slow. Perceptions!

Dave

 

[zen]

I bet a dollar you're having good old DNS trouble.

Try going into the Apple menu, click on "System Preferences", click on "Network", double-click "Built In Ethernet" or "Airport" depending on what you use, and in the box that says "DNS Servers" type the following in exactly:

4.2.2.1
4.2.2.2
4.2.2.3
4.2.2.4
4.2.2.5
4.2.2.6

You can copy and paste that block of IP addresses if you wish. Quit System Preferences, and try loading pages again.

What does that actually do? I've got an iBook running the latest version of Tiger (I forget which version number we're up on, and I'm at work on a PC now), and I have endless internet connectivity problems. I'm on ADSL and have a wireless router which connects via Airport.

I'm asking because I don't recognise those numbers at all.

 

[balamw]

I'm asking because I don't recognise those numbers at all.

They're the Verizon DNS servers.

B

 

[zen]

They're the Verizon DNS servers.

B

Oh, ok. The person who posted that advice didn't ask what provider the person with the problem had, so I didn't know.

So the fix only works for people with Verizon as their ISP? I have no idea, are you all on Verizon in the US or something? I'm in New Zealand...

 

[dpaanlka]

Oh, ok. The person who posted that advice didn't ask what provider the person with the problem had, so I didn't know.

So the fix only works for people with Verizon as their ISP? I have no idea, are you all on Verizon in the US or something? I'm in New Zealand...

It generally works for everybody. Verizon's DNS servers are public. Hardly any of us probably actually have Verizon. I use it with my Comcast account at home, and my school's network on campus.

 

[zen]

Ah ok. Worth a shot then!

 

[Xenesis]

Holy.

I'm in Australia and I tried those DNS servers. Speed kicked up noticably.

Edit: Yep. My download speeds went from around 150-300 kB/s to about 600. <_<;

 

[balamw]

FWIW, these servers are not intended for end users, but are instead the ones that Verizon (a Tier 1 Internet provider) has established for the DNS servers of lesser ISPs to query.

B

 

[dpaanlka]

FWIW, these servers are not intended for end users, but are instead the ones that Verizon (a Tier 1 Internet provider) has established for the DNS servers of lesser ISPs to query.

Well whether or not it's intended for us, it sure gets the job done.

 

[balamw]

Well whether or not it's intended for us, it sure gets the job done.

I didn't say not to use them, just trying to explain why they're so fast.

FWIW Verizon is my ISP and my router is using 68.238.64.12 and 68.238.96.12 for DNS.

B