I've been using my MSI AMD B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI motherboard for a few months, and I recently upgraded my internet speed from 15 Mbps to 500 Mbps minimum. However, I'm noticing that I'm capped at 100 Mbps through the Ethernet port. I'm wondering if I would benefit from getting a PCIe Ethernet card for faster speeds, especially since I'm using a riser due to my GPU blocking the PCIe slot. Is the problem with the Ethernet port or the motherboard itself? Additionally, I've lost the Wi-Fi antenna, so the Wi-Fi performance isn't great either. I've tried changing the speed and duplex settings to "1.0 Gbps Full duplex" but it didn't help. I suspect there might be an issue with the Ethernet cable, as it's Cat 5e and I might have damaged it while running it through some trunking. I'll update when I can afford a new cable.
5 Answers
Make sure to try a different Ethernet cable first; it can often be the simplest fix. If that doesn’t solve it, then ensure your motherboard’s firmware is up to date. If you still hit a dead end, investing in a network card might be the right choice.
First, check if your router supports 1000 Mbps speeds. Sometimes, a damaged or improperly spliced cable can also prevent achieving those speeds. Make sure to adjust the speed settings for the network adapter manually to 1000 Mbps if necessary.
Motherboards with a 100 Mbps limit are pretty outdated. You might just be using a LAN cable with only 4 wires in the connectors. Double-check the cable you're using to be sure it’s suitable for gigabit speeds!
Most often, a 100 Mbps limit like yours is due to a faulty network cable. One of the wires inside might be broken or it might only have enough wires for 100 Mbps. Try testing with a cable you know supports gigabit speeds.
When you're capped at 100 Mbps, it usually indicates that the link is negotiating at 100 Mbps instead of indicating a slow ISP. Here’s what you should do:
1. Swap the cable with a known-good Cat5e or Cat6 to see if that resolves the issue.
2. Try connecting to a different port on your router.
3. In Windows, check your link speed under Network settings to see what it shows.
4. Make sure the network adapter speed settings are on Auto. If you’ve forced it to 1.0 Gbps Full Duplex and it fails, that points to a cable or port issue.
5. If those all check out, consider updating your LAN driver and BIOS.
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