Limits performance to 100Mbps, introduces delay during connection, displays as 'Network' rather than specific name.
Limits performance to 100Mbps, introduces delay during connection, displays as 'Network' rather than specific name.
Hello everyone! I set up a connection between one of my cable modem/router combo and my personal desktop. I also linked my work laptop to the same switch. Before the switch, my Ethernet cable went straight from the modem to my desktop without any problems. It gave me nearly full speed (250Mbps). After installing the switch, performance dropped to 100Mbps on the desktop and 100Mbps on the laptop. The hardware, software, and settings were all fine—my motherboard, drivers, and Windows were functioning properly. Speed tests from Ookla showed noticeable improvements once the switch was in place.
On my desktop, I tested speeds with different cables: one gave me 235.26Mbps download and 5.85Mbps upload; another improved to 94.69Mbps download and 5.86Mbps upload. On my laptop, when connected directly from the switch (wireless off), I saw 216.57Mbps download and 5.68Mbps upload. When switching back to the direct cable connection, speeds were 93.54Mbps download and 4.60Mbps upload.
I noticed that regardless of which laptop I connected, the Ethernet showed as 'Brett' on my desktop but simply 'Network' on my personal desktop. On my desktop, it always connected instantly to the internet. My work laptop also responded quickly—under 15 seconds after reconnection.
I tried several fixes: restarted the combo, unplugged and replugged it, reinstalled drivers, reset network settings, and even reset the device. Still, I couldn’t find a permanent solution. The only possibilities left were the switch or the Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller. I’m leaning toward the controller, though I know Killer NICs aren’t reliable.
Some advice I’d give: try connecting to another network to see if speeds exceed 100Mbps, and consider reinstalling Windows. If none of these help, the controller might be the culprit. Thanks for your help!
The Killer E2400 relies on a Qualcomm Atheros chipset. Various manufacturers handle different generations of adapters. It’s recommended to remove existing drivers and download the newest complete driver set (including KCC) from the official Killer site, then restart the system. If this doesn’t fix the issue and you have no PCIe space, consider switching to an Intel-based gigabit NIC.
Thanks for the update. My computer is back online with a 1.0 Gbps connection and boots up right away. Here’s what I did today in sequence: Swapped the RJ45 connector on the cable from the modem/router near the computer—no difference. Reinstalled Windows 10—same result. Plugged in a USB WiFi adapter; the wireless network reached full internet speeds (250Mbps), while the wired connection was still capped at 100Mbps. I moved the computer to the modem/router combo and connected using a different cable, achieving 1.0Gbps. You might be wondering if the issue was with the cable itself. I’ll continue reading: I relocated the computer back to its original spot, hooked it into the switch using all previous cables (except the RJ45), and it worked at 1.0Gbps. Here’s my guess. Before moving the switch during installation, I never powered down the PSU or cut the power cable. I suspect that fully disconnecting power from the motherboard—letting everything deenergize—caused the NIC to reset. This makes sense because my GPU lights only reset when the power is completely removed from the board, not just when the computer is turned off. I can’t be sure, but it’s functioning as intended after several restarts and shutdowns.