[gef4000 mx]

I am rebuilding a computer so that it can maximize download speeds, I was wandering whether or not two NICs running at the same time makes a difference, and how you would set that connection type up, the only other connection that might be running on this is a wireless laptop which would be connected to my wireless.

[peterh]

None, IP works by using a single IP address and sends to a specific network card using a specific MAC address. You can team 2 networkcars for features like Network Load Balancing or Fault Tolerance but not faster downloading.

[peterh]

To improve download speeds:

1. Use one internet application at a time.
2. Configure router/switch and network card to use a specific network speed and duplex mode to avoid renegotiation of speeds.
3. Reduce number of users sharing the same internet connection.
4. Live near a telephone exchange where ADSL speeds are higher
5. Spend more in a faster ADSL connection (8MB is fastest at present)
6. Make sure 'Receive Buffer Size' for NIC is set to maximum value.
7. Make sure MTU value in registry is set to optimal value.
8. Make sure applications use compression wherever possible when sending/receiving data to reduce amount to send/receive.

[gef4000 mx]

Allright I understand all of the above except 2 and 6. Could you please explain more?