REALLY Slow Internet Loading--Is there a way to make it faster?

Question

I bought a new Macbook 3 weeks ago at the Apple store. I am a long-time pc user who took the Apple plunge mostly because I am sick of getting viruses all the time. Unfortunately, I am pretty disappointed with the speed of the Internet and REALLY slow loading of websites--especially business websites (cnn.com, WAMU, Citibank, WSJ, etc.) It's not my wireless internet connection because I did a side-by-side test. I sat on my couch with my 4 year old Dell pc and the new Macbook and went to the same websites at exactly the same time. My old Dell was always faster loading each website and in some business-related or video-related sites, about 35-55 seconds faster. Is there anyway to make the apple load websites faster or is slow internet just the price I have to pay to be virus-free? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks,

Answer 1

Well here are some things for you.
the macbook has a 2.4 and 5 GHz wifi module. If you have a N wifi router, it may have the ability to process at the 5 GHz range. Un fortunately most receivers are operating in the 2.4 GHz range.
My recommendation is to lock your access point to either 2.4 if it is a draft N spec or G only if a B/G AP.
If you are using security to lock down your access point and are using WPA or WPA2, set the encryption to AES only.
If you have a draft N AP also set the channel width to 20/40
If you have draft N ad set it to 2.4 you will only get 130 Mb speeds on the Macbook. that is the limitation of not using 5 GHz
Check the forums of your AP manufacturer for known issues and make sure your firmware is up to date.
There is nothing inherent with Macs that make the internet slower. They use the same technology as everyone else. The issue is with how you have your AP set and how the adapter in the MB is setup.
I am going to go out on a limb and assume you do not understand the differences in the settings, frequencies, etc of wireless so it might do you good to learn a bit about it first so you better understand how to get the most out of your equipment. I hope what I have posted gets you started int he right direction