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Ubuntu Download Speeds Beat Windows XP's

Posted by timothy on from the aggregated-circumstances dept.

narramissic writes "Doing a download speed test of his Time Warner cable connection, James Gaskin discovered something odd, something that he is quick to note isn't a rigorous benchmarked lab test. The discovery: His Ubuntu machine 'returned a rating from the Bandwidth.com test of 22-25mbps over several tests' while the same test done from a Windows XP PC returned a rating of 12-14mbps. The two computers used in the test are 'almost identical: both off-lease Compaq small form factor D515s, part of the very popular corporate desktop D500 family. Both have Pentium 4 processors running at 2GHz. The Ubuntu machine has 768MB of RAM, while the XP box has only 512MB of RAM. Both run Firefox 3 as their browser.' Gaskin's question: Can a little extra RAM make that much difference in Internet download speeds or does Ubuntu handles networking that much faster than Windows XP?"

21 of 515 comments (clear)

  1. Linux on the desktop by Yvan256 · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you can prove to people that you can download pr0n faster using Linux, they WILL switch!

    I'm kidding! I'm kidding!

    (or, am I?)

    1. Re:Linux on the desktop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      all i saw was "download pr0n faster" and i'm compiling a stage1 right now!!!!!

    2. Re:Linux on the desktop by wsanders · · Score: 5, Funny

      Especially if you have had to drop out of college because an evil computer company sold you a Linux PC instead of a Windows one, you are at least not stuck with slow pr0n downloads.

      --
      Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
    3. Re:Linux on the desktop by peragrin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually OSX is superior to Linux in Pron browsing. you only have one mouse button to worry about.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    4. Re:Linux on the desktop by WasteOfAmmo · · Score: 5, Funny

      Brings a new meaning to the saying "if you build it, they will come!"

      Sorry, someone had to say it. Besides I had to do something while waiting for the compile to be done...oops, gotta go!

    5. Re:Linux on the desktop by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Except that to right-click on OS X, you need ctrl+mousebutton, which means you need two hands instead of one.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    6. Re:Linux on the desktop by Hottie+Parms · · Score: 4, Funny

      two-handed browsing + pr0n != a non-sticky situation

    7. Re:Linux on the desktop by marcosdumay · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, greatest post of the year!

      Ok, about compiling...

      --
      Rethinking email
    8. Re:Linux on the desktop by sharkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      Be sure to use "-march=female -O69 CFAGS=no -fundo-bra -fomit-shemale-pointer" for optimal pr0n performance.

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    9. Re:Linux on the desktop by PixetaledPikachu · · Score: 4, Funny

      cumpiling on your hard drive?

      Most likely on your keyboard

    10. Re:Linux on the desktop by kelnos · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'd be impressed that the XP system was able to squeeze 14Mbps out of a 10Mbps ethernet port.

      --
      Xfce: Lighter than some, heavier than others. Just right.
  2. It's the bot net by thetoadwarrior · · Score: 5, Funny

    His window machine's contribution to a bot net is probably hogging some bandwidth.

    1. Re:It's the bot net by hendrix2k · · Score: 4, Funny

      I believe WinAntiVirus Pro 2009 can clear that up. And probably increase d/l speeds too!

  3. Re:Even if the answer is no... by Fred_A · · Score: 4, Funny

    The test was done on machines with differing configurations, so therefore is not valid. But interesting nonetheless.

    Yeah, I wasn't even the same *operating system* !

    I mean, apple and oranges !

    --

    May contain traces of nut.
    Made from the freshest electrons.
  4. More differences.. by mugnyte · · Score: 4, Funny

      One machine has a Hello Kitty sticker on it and faces West. Irrelevant? WE REPORT, YOU DECIDE!

      Maybe the tester is too close to a mental energy vortex...

  5. Re:Even if the answer is no... by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Funny

    Already been said, but the article is terrible(WTF is wrong with you, Timothy) because the comparisons were done on two separate configurations. Would it have been that difficult to try fresh-out-the-box installs of each OS on the same box and/or maybe tried fresh-out-the box installs on the other box as well?

    TFA might as well have been titled, "My left nut is larger than my right nut but does it produce more sperm than my right nut? Discuss." The sad thing is that people are discussing things other that what a stupid fucking article this is.

  6. Re:Even if the answer is no... by Foofoobar · · Score: 4, Funny

    "My left nut is larger than my right nut but does it produce more sperm than my right nut? Discuss."

    That's not your left nut. That's your head. Disgust.

    --
    This is my sig. There are many like it but this one is mine.
  7. Re:A bogus test by rbochan · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...Swap the OS on both machines and see if the results hold...

    Sure, then he'll have to buy another XP license just for the test.
    Is that you Steve?

    --
    ...Rob
    The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
  8. Re:Even if the answer is no... by camperdave · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hmm... They both seem to get to the "Sorry, we can only stream to the United States" screen at about the same speed.

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  9. Re:No, haven't RTFA, thank you very much by totally+bogus+dude · · Score: 4, Funny

    How cunning.

  10. Re:Even if the answer is no... by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are many good reasons to criticise Virgin, but they don't fuck around

    Well, to be perfectly honest, that's always been my number one criticism of Virgin.

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!