Is my broadband too powerful for my computer?

[DiddlyQuaQua]

My ISP provides cable broadband up to 4Mb.
However, I only have a very low spec computer - Pentium II, 350MHz with only 196MB RAM and 512 cache memory.
I have recently done some free tests from sites on the internet and recorded my download speeds at only 1375 Kb/s and upload at around 270 Kb/s but bandwidth speed of around 3.12Mbps.
My question is....am I wasting money on this broadband speed and if I downgraded to their 2Mb package would I notice it slowing?

[Mattk]

Depends what you use your pc for.For general surfing you wont notice any difference but obviously downloads could well be slower.

[rojash]

Whilst it's true that your machine is a pretty low spec by modern standards, the demands made by a 4 Mb network connection are trivial. You don't say how you are connecting. If you have a USB modem then the bottleneck could be in the USB port. You might find adding a USB 2 port to your machine, or switching to ethernet or wireless improves the performance.

[OBonio]

Sounds like the same package as me. VirginMedia/NTL is it?

As rojash said, your machine is quite slow by modern standards, but it would still handle a 10/100Mb network card which is what my cable modem plugs into. So a 4Mb connection would be a trivial thing to handle.

Again, as rojash mentioned, if it plugs in via USB then you may want to upgrade to a USB 2.0 controller which will provide a much higher connection speed between bcable modem and computer.