I've noticed something really odd with my internet speeds. Normally, my speed tests show around 38Mb/s, which is about 5MB/s. However, while downloading a torrent (specifically, an Arch Linux ISO using the Transmission client), my speed peaks at around 10MB/s. This seems strange because it's faster than the speeds reported by my router and any other downloads. How can I be receiving more data through a torrent than what my internet speed tests indicate? For reference, I usually get around 10MB/s for local file transfers between my PCs connected via Ethernet. Can anyone explain how this is happening?
1 Answer
It looks like you might be mixing up the units a bit. Speed tests show speeds in megabits per second (Mb/s), while torrents often show them in megabytes per second (MB/s). So, your 40Mb/s test is actually around 5MB/s. If your torrent shows 10MB/s, it might be that your speed test is hitting a limitation or your plan is either higher than you think or isn't being accurately tested for some reason. Just to double-check, make sure your torrent client isn’t also displaying bits instead of bytes. You could also try downloading a large file from a reputable source and see how that performs while monitoring your router stats.
I see your point about mixing units, but I assure you I'm getting 38-40 megabits (about 5MB/s) on my speed test and that’s consistent with other downloads. The 10MB/s from the torrent is definitely what I'm seeing too.