My meter has always been decent for the most part, but I did find something on the Microsoft website that was causing a conflict between my modem and my network adapter in Windows 7. Not to mention my Internet dropping off occasionally.
First the conflict. Open Network and Sharing by right clicking the computer in the system tray and click See full map in the upper right side. If you see a question mark in the map, there's a conflict in your network map.
To fix this, click change adapter settings on the left side column. Your Local Area Connection will show up. Left click to highlight Local Area Connection then right click > then click Properties > right click the Authentication tab. Look for the box labeled IEEE 802.1x and uncheck the box if you use a hard wired modem. The question mark in your Internet map will be gone and the conflict it caused will be fixed.
Second, here's a fix for your Internet connections dropping off suddenly.
Open Device manager by typing Device manager in the Windows Start search box. Open Device manager and expand Network Adapters. Right click your Ethernet controller and click Properties > click the Power management tab and uncheck the box that says, Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power.
That's it. This worked for me. My Internet hasn't dropped off since.
The above two problems are potentially what was causing Jakestanfill problems with his new laptop a few years back.