Good question, the answer really depends on what type of service you have, not the number of devices you have connected to it...
 
With any modern computer setup the test is basically the same.
First, simply turn off the wireless feature of your modem and directly connect your computer (hard wire) to it.
Then make sure -any- other devices connected to your cable are powered OFF (set top boxes)
 
Now connect to the internet with your computer
Login to your router and -verifly- there are NO other devices except your computer connected.
 
Now test your bandwidth to your "local" cable hub. The results are probably your best latency and total bandwidth.
For example:  760mbps at 9 ping (under 50 miles distance)
 
So you have 760 mbps total to work with (best case) THATS--> YOUR BREAKING POINT
True "saturation" would attempting be to download over 760 mbps across your connection to single or multiple devices at one time....
Which would be like installing a traffic light on a freeway.... Traffic still moves, but it is delayed.
-------------
Having a lot of devices connected is -not- the issue it once was with modern equipment, the issue is -total bandwidth- available vs use....
-------------
But the issue most people think of as (saturation) is "visible" slow or pausing content/downloads, and this can and does happen often without getting anywhere near ones total bandwidth (unless its low).. a huge number of other factors comes into play with normal numbers of devices and users at the same time.....
--------------
-->with cable, where you are (physically) relative to the MTS or local line server can cause all sorts of issues depending on time of day/number of users connected and can greatly affect your "best case" bandwidth/latency.
-->Also while many users "pay" for a certain "bandwidth" number, in many places that is nowhere near the true performance provided (why you test)   
-->Quite often people have no idea "where" such content is coming from or the factors the content "host" is experiencing.
-->Most users do not understand how many devices and phones do all sorts of things over the connections available that are -NOT- initiated or visible to the user.
*simply logging into windows and having 2 cable boxes, 2 phones on and connected can produce 200+ active connections in a non-use idle state
--->Another great example is seeing your web page freeze with the "waiting for xxxAd server" which of course is not on your end....
--> certain content may have -much- greater bandwidth available, and correspondingly effect your network a lot more than one that is restricted..  
Getting the idea?
 
 
Testing on the different days and times, will give you the best idea of when your connection is likely to work best vs worse
Knowing who is doing what on your network will allow you to get a better idea of what "true" bandwidth you are really using in a given situation vs your total  
 
  

Thanks everyone!
 
Would this work as well ? Having people in my household use whatever they do at the time for example watching/streaming Directv Now and streaming Netflix tv show ? Then adding in downloading of a origin or steam game, downloading from Google Drive as fast as possible with the left over bandwidth with IDM (Internet Download Manager), and streaming a YouTube 1080p video? (I was in a hurry would of done 4k youtube video)
 
BTW my connection is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
 
 
 
 

mike406

ng4ever2
Thanks everyone!
 
Would this work as well ? Having people in my household use whatever they do at the time for example watching/streaming Directv Now and streaming Netflix tv show ? Then adding in downloading of a origin or steam game, downloading from Google Drive as fast as possible with the left over bandwidth with IDM (Internet Download Manager), and streaming a YouTube 1080p video? (I was in a hurry would of done 4k youtube video)
 
BTW my connection is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
 
 
 
 

Origin and Steam by default will utilize as much bandwidth it can for downloading games. So if others in your home are occupying say 20 mbps of bandwidth streaming, Origin/Steam will try to occupy the remaining 80 mbps for game downloads. I guess I should ask, what are you trying to achieve here? Unless you have like 10 people in your house, nobody is going to occupy 100 mbps streaming video.

Trying to see if streaming video, Directv now, Netflix, CBS All Access, buffers during the downloading of a game on Origin/Steam at the same time.
 
When Directv Now goes to 4k how much bandwidth will that use?
 

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2
Thanks everyone!
 
Would this work as well ? Having people in my household use whatever they do at the time for example watching/streaming Directv Now and streaming Netflix tv show ? Then adding in downloading of a origin or steam game, downloading from Google Drive as fast as possible with the left over bandwidth with IDM (Internet Download Manager), and streaming a YouTube 1080p video? (I was in a hurry would of done 4k youtube video)
 
BTW my connection is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
 
 
 
 

Origin and Steam by default will utilize as much bandwidth it can for downloading games. So if others in your home are occupying say 20 mbps of bandwidth streaming, Origin/Steam will try to occupy the remaining 80 mbps for game downloads. I guess I should ask, what are you trying to achieve here? Unless you have like 10 people in your house, nobody is going to occupy 100 mbps streaming video.

Trying to see if streaming video, Directv now, Netflix, CBS All Access, buffers during the downloading of a game on Origin/Steam at the same time.
 
 

It can, if it concerns you, look into enabling QOS on your router and prioritize video streaming - or go into Steam and Origin and cap the bandwidth to 50% of your max.

Yes I have QOS enabled on my Netgear X10 (I believe the model is)
 
I just don't know how to prioritize video streaming ? Yes I looked.

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2
Thanks everyone!
 
Would this work as well ? Having people in my household use whatever they do at the time for example watching/streaming Directv Now and streaming Netflix tv show ? Then adding in downloading of a origin or steam game, downloading from Google Drive as fast as possible with the left over bandwidth with IDM (Internet Download Manager), and streaming a YouTube 1080p video? (I was in a hurry would of done 4k youtube video)
 
BTW my connection is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
 
 
 
 

Origin and Steam by default will utilize as much bandwidth it can for downloading games. So if others in your home are occupying say 20 mbps of bandwidth streaming, Origin/Steam will try to occupy the remaining 80 mbps for game downloads. I guess I should ask, what are you trying to achieve here? Unless you have like 10 people in your house, nobody is going to occupy 100 mbps streaming video.

Trying to see if streaming video, Directv now, Netflix, CBS All Access, buffers during the downloading of a game on Origin/Steam at the same time.
 
 

It can, if it concerns you, look into enabling QOS on your router and prioritize video streaming - or go into Steam and Origin and cap the bandwidth to 50% of your max.

Yes I have QOS enabled on my Netgear X10 (I believe the model is)
 
I just don't know how to prioritize video streaming ? Yes I looked.

If it's Netgear Dynamic QOS, it'll do it automatically. You can also set device priority on the Attached Devices page once Dynamic QOS is enabled. Set smart TV's and/or any media streaming boxes like Roku to High priority.

Should I do it High or Highest ? Thanks but does that really work ? Last router i had Asus rt ac5300 it didn't.

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2

mike406

ng4ever2
Thanks everyone!
 
Would this work as well ? Having people in my household use whatever they do at the time for example watching/streaming Directv Now and streaming Netflix tv show ? Then adding in downloading of a origin or steam game, downloading from Google Drive as fast as possible with the left over bandwidth with IDM (Internet Download Manager), and streaming a YouTube 1080p video? (I was in a hurry would of done 4k youtube video)
 
BTW my connection is 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.
 
 
 
 

Origin and Steam by default will utilize as much bandwidth it can for downloading games. So if others in your home are occupying say 20 mbps of bandwidth streaming, Origin/Steam will try to occupy the remaining 80 mbps for game downloads. I guess I should ask, what are you trying to achieve here? Unless you have like 10 people in your house, nobody is going to occupy 100 mbps streaming video.

Trying to see if streaming video, Directv now, Netflix, CBS All Access, buffers during the downloading of a game on Origin/Steam at the same time.
 
 

It can, if it concerns you, look into enabling QOS on your router and prioritize video streaming - or go into Steam and Origin and cap the bandwidth to 50% of your max.

Yes I have QOS enabled on my Netgear X10 (I believe the model is)
 
I just don't know how to prioritize video streaming ? Yes I looked.

If it's Netgear Dynamic QOS, it'll do it automatically. You can also set device priority on the Attached Devices page once Dynamic QOS is enabled. Set smart TV's and/or any media streaming boxes like Roku to High priority.

Should I do it High or Highest ? Thanks but does that really work ? Last router i had Asus rt ac5300 it didn't.

I have to have it enabled on my R7000P to avoid bad bufferbloat (test here) so yes, it does work. Highest should be reserved for one, maybe two devices that are the most crucial. If everything is set High/Highest it defeats the purpose of QOS as it needs to scale things relatively.

Thanks makes sense.
 
One last question does changing the priority disconnect the internet?

mike406

ng4ever2
- snip -
 
Thanks makes sense.
 
One last question does changing the priority disconnect the internet?

On my router, no it doesn't.

Thank you mike406 and maniacvvv for all of your help!

ng4ever2
Weird the our 3 Roku's are already on highest.
 
 

That's fine. Netgear uses a database so it auto-detects a number of popular devices for you and sets priority accordingly.