I used Dr TCP to tweak my settings.
My RWIN is 64240 (Could go higher i think)
4.5 to 5 on Firefox with cable internet.
Some might wanna try installing Fasterfox extension and tweaking to optimal settings for your system/internet connection...
http://fasterfox.mozdev.org/
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Also, if on high speed, might try tweaking the latency (global TCP Receive Window) setting...
http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/#IncreasingWindow
I actually got mine set to a value of 128 (decimal value of 128480).
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If using Internet Explorer, tweak the following...
Start by making a backup copy of your Registry in case something goes wrong. Next, choose Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. In the tree pane on the left, navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Internet Settings. With Internet Settings selected on the left, look for an icon that's labeled MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and another labeled MaxConnectionsPerServer. If you don't see them, right-click in the right pane and choose New, DWORD Value. Type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server and press Enter. Right-click a second time and create a DWORD value named MaxConnectionsPerServer. Now double-click MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server. The default value is 4, but since you want to increase this, enter a larger value in the 'Value data' box (use the decimal setting)... I have it set at 10. Now click OK and double-click MaxConnectionsPerServer. The default value is 2, but since you want to increase this, enter a larger value in the 'Value data' box (use the decimal setting)... I have it set at 5. If on really slow 56K, a value of 8/4 respectively may work better.
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If on Win2000 or XP, tweak the following...
Windows 2000 and Windows XP come with a "DNS Client" Service that automatically caches (temporarily saves) DNS addresses. This boosts performance by avoiding repetitive DNS lookups of the same address -- the results of a successful lookup (positive response) are saved and reused until the cache expires.
By default the DNS Client also caches negative responses (including the lack of any response from the DNS server). Unfortunately, that can prevent you from recovering from transient DNS errors for an extended period of time. If, for example, the DNS servers at your ISP are temporarily overloaded, or slow to respond due to network congestion, the DNS Client will cache the negative response. Until that cache entry expires, which can take several minutes, it won't even try to lookup that name again -- you'll just get an immediate error. That prevents you from quickly recovering from DNS errors by simply retrying, the recommended thing to do. This can lead to frustrating delays and seeming loss of connectivity problems...
DNS fix:
http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/files/W2KWXPDNSfix.reg
DNS Fix Undo:
http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/files/...DNSfixundo.inf
After applying the DNS fix for Win2K/XP, do the following... In the RUN box, type
ipconfig /flushdns
and hit enter.
Best to reboot for some tweaks to take effect.
I used Dr TCP to tweak my settings.
My RWIN is 64240 (Could go higher i think)
Download "Mozilla Firefox." It is really fast and provides the best protection against viruses.