How I Can Internet?

[FillerDmon]

Captcha seems to be aware of what day it is. I find that... interesting, I suppose.

In any case, consider me a 101% newb at all things. I note that my access to videos is slow, and that I occasionally have to restart my browser to watch something. I also note that my experience with games ranges anywhere from okay to slow-mo laggy to "roll out some dice on a table top; you ain't playin' shit online".

I have a little bit of disposable income (stupid minimum wage job), so I could go about upgrading my internet. But I have no idea where to start to be able to do so. How would I do so? I get the feeling that it isn't something I can natively fix by installing random programs from a google search, which is why I wanted to come here first.

 

[Cornish]

What kind of internet connection do you currently enjoy? This information should be on your subscription plan. It is entirely possible that the issue isn't, solely, with your internet connection. Have you maintained your computer properly? Do you use anti malware and virus software and if you do, which? What are the specifications of your computer? Do you download often? Etcetera. Slow internet may simply be symptom of something that can be fixed by yourself. Saving you money, hopefully.

 

[SnowyGamester]

Your bandwidth generally isn't limited by your personal software and equipment...it's whatever the cabling and exchange you're connected to can handle minus any throttling performed by your internet service provider, disregarding any other limitations occurring between yourself and whatever internet resource you're contacting. There isn't much you can change yourself unless you have faulty (or really fucking old) network components (cabling, router, etc) or have a malware infection or WiFi piggybacker that is hogging your bandwidth for whatever nefarious purpose. Regardless, I suggest you start by going to speedtest.net and reporting back with your results. You might also want to compare your results to your neighbours' as that should give you an indication of the speeds that should also be available to you. If people nearby are getting better performance you may be getting screwed (assuming you're paying a similar rate).

edit: But as mentioned your internet connection speed may not be your limitation. If you're getting frame drops rather that lag jumps in games and stutters rather than buffers during video playback it may be that your computer can't handle it or is at least in such a state of impairment that it can't.