[gstelmack]

I just replaced my router at home (it was many years old) with a more recent version of the same model (Netgear RP614 -> RP614v4) because I was noticing some sluggish and weird behavior in my RoadRunner connection, and everything got nice and solid again.

One way to test this is when it happens, eliminate the router from the equation, go straight into cablemodem and try the test. That will tell you real quick if it's the router. It might be, it might not be.

But with cable architecture if everyone on your block starts downloading at the same time, you can lose speed. Someone else in the neighborhood doing something big before heading into work and right when coming home?