Awful Download speed after motherboard replacement.

To begin with, here are the current specs of my rig:

CPU: Intel Core i3 3220 (3.3 GHz)
Motherboard: Asus H61M-E
GPU: Inno3d GT630 2GB DDR3
RAM: Kingston 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3
PSU: Powerlogic MagnumPro 275 (550w peak)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 1TB SATA
Casing: Powerlogic Armageddon AK3 Class Gaming Case
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

Here's the back story to my problem:

I recently had my motherboard replaced by my local store from which I bought my rig's components. It was an Asus P8H61-M LX3 plus R 2.0 but it was damaged after a PSU issue. They informed me that since the same board is unfortunately out of stock, they are compelled to bring in another board of basically the same specs and price range. And since I cannot afford any more delays as I have to use my rig for work and study, I was left with no other choice but to go on with what they are telling me. Hence, after three weeks of waiting, I got my rig back.

Here is my problem now

After testing the rig in that store, I was satisfied nonetheless. My rig's performance was still snappy and fortunately, all my files were still intact. But when I got home, I've noticed something weird. My uTorrent downloads are taking forever!my download speed was only 0.51 Mbps when in fact it should be running at around 10Mbps.

I checked with my mobile phone, tablet and laptop if there was indeed an issue in my connection, to my surprise, there was none and everything was great. Speedtests on my other devices (wirelessly connected) showed almost identical results of 10Mbps (more or less). I checked my cable (rj45) and tried swapping with my spares but to no avail. Then I uninstalled my lan driver and installed one from the Asus site (assuming that the guys from the store haven't updated my new board's drivers). Still, no changes in my DL speed. I tried to connect wirelessly through a USB wireless LAN adapter/dongle and it still shows no signs of improvement. I tried every other possible solutions after weeks of Googling and research but I still cannot fix this thing. However, doing a clean install of the OS is not an option because of the voluminous nature of my school and work files. (I have no external hard drives for back up.)

Everything in my rig performs as expected; snappy, no lagging issues, great gaming experience and a lot more except for my internet and it is getting so frustrating..

One thing I also noticed is that my web surfing is fairly fast enough but my download speed is barely a Mbps. Also, when I am connected to the internet, my computer will freeze after 15 minutes of light usage. Tried to use safe mode with networking but still, it shows the same problem (so maybe it's not an issue of any malware or virus whatsover, eh?). but when I am using my rig offline (say for games, MS Word, Photoshop, etc.) it runs smooth for hours with no problems. I am completely lost. I hope you guys can help me sort this out.

some additional facts:

1.) Asus AI Suite II is not installed as I have read on a lot of forums that its Network iControl is killing DL/UL speeds;

2.) I am using Ookla's Speedtest.net;

3.) I am connected through a fiber connection and not a DSL;

4.) my Download speed is constant at 0.51 Mbps and Upload speed is usually 1.92 Mbps (more or less) whether checking speeds on Normal Windows or safe mode with networking;

5.) Lastly, I am fully aware of the difference between bits (Mb/s) and bytes (MB/s).

Any other possible solution to my woes will be deeply, deeply appreciated.

Cheers! (Sorry for the very long and boring post

Thank you guys!

Drivers installed for the NIC?

Utorrent is a terrible barometer though. You say speedtest.net shows the same.thing?

I would run Malwarebytes from Safe Mode and make sure the system is clean.

EarthDog said:

Drivers installed for the NIC?

Utorrent is a terrible barometer though. You say speedtest.net shows the same.thing?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the fast reply, sir Earthdog. Yes, I've already installed drivers for the NIC, also, tried uninstalling them and Windows automatically reinstalls it.

I concur that uTorrent isn't really a good barometer because of varying number of seeders/leechers, etc. But if not for it, I wouldn't have discovered my problem.

In re: speedtest, yes, basically the same results. It varies but just a little bit.

ATMINSIDE said:

I would run Malwarebytes from Safe Mode and make sure the system is clean.

Click to expand...

Tried your suggestion, bro. Came out clean.

Have you checked speeds with another computer on the same network?

ATMINSIDE said:

Have you checked speeds with another computer on the same network?

Click to expand...

Yep. Tested with my laptop, my mobile phone, girlfriend's iPod Touch, mom's phone. All showed good speeds.

bhennyboi77 said:

Yep. Tested with my laptop, my mobile phone, girlfriend's iPod Touch, mom's phone. All showed good speeds.

Click to expand...

What web browser are you using?

@ATMINSIDE I'm using Google Chrome. Haven't tried other browsers though.

bhennyboi77 said:

@ATMINSIDE I'm using Google Chrome. Haven't tried other browsers though.

Click to expand...

Give another browser a shot, just to make sure.

ATMINSIDE said:

Give another browser a shot, just to make sure.

Click to expand...

Just tried it a few minutes ago. Same results. Also, just to check, I tried downloading a torrent (with a lot of seeders, of course) and still, download speed was awful.

Am I looking at a software or OS problem here? If that's the case, maybe I can live with some of my files being lost and just proceed to do a fresh install of Windows.

But I'm afraid doing so would not solve my problem. Hence, a lot of regrets. What do you think, guys?

Can you boot to Ubuntu on a flash drive and see if download speeds are proper there?
That rules out either hardware or software.

I am yet to try booting from a live disk such as Ubuntu. I'll try as soon as I can.

Anyway, if my download speeds are alright in Ubuntu, then most probably something is wrong with my OS? Otherwise, there's already ahardware failure? Is that what you're trying to tell me?

Yes, if the issue persists in Ubuntu then it is hardware.
If the issue goes away it is limited to Windows.

ATMINSIDE said:

Yes, if the issue persists in Ubuntu then it is hardware.
If the issue goes away it is limited to Windows.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip, ATMINSIDE. Will try your suggestion as soon as I get home from school then update this thread.