Setting up my new media server with a DIR-655, slow speeds

[infiniteengine]

Hi, I've been looking everywhere trying to figure this out since I started considering a media server/HTPC to consolidate my files but I've had no real luck figuring out if I'm doing this right. Now I'm completely finished building and setting up my new HTPC and just thought I should finally post and get this sorted out.

In my apartment I have an Earthlink cable that gets me around 10mpbs/0.5mps measured speeds, with my functional download and upload rates capping at about 1200/60Kbps. The modem is connected to a D-Link DIR-655 which connects the three laptops in my apartment wirelessly (Intel Wireless N cards and one G in the netbook), and my new HTPC through its LAN. I live in New York in a tiny apartment, so my laptops are never more than 8 feet from the router or 6 feet from each other (when my girlfriend and I are both using ours.)

Given this setup, I feel like my transfer rates are insanely slow from one computer to another, and this is becoming a problem since I'd like to pretty much save everything I download on my laptop directly to my HTPC. Currently, I have their folders setup to share through the Network section of Windows Vista (and now 7 but speeds stayed the same when I upgraded.) When simply copying one file from my laptop HDD to the HTPC my transfer rate is around 5-6Mbps.

If anyone could help me figure out whats going wrong and what I need to configure here it'd be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[bigclaw]

When simply copying one file from my laptop HDD to the HTPC my transfer rate is around 5-6Mbps.

Is this from the N notebook or G notebook? Is it Mbytes or mbits?

 

[infiniteengine]

Ah, sorry, its Mbytes, and this is the notebook with the wireless N card. The G gets around 1Mbyte/s but I'm not as concerned with that, its really the connection between my primary laptop I'm concerned with.

 

[thiggins]

The problem is that you are going wireless to wireless. There is only one radio in the router, which must receive the signal from one laptop, then retransmit it to the other. So two radios are sharing bandwidth.

5 to 6 MBytes/sec is 40 to 48 Mbits/sec, which isn't actually too bad.
Try connecting one of your notebooks via Ethernet and the transfer speed will increase.

 

[infiniteengine]

Thanks for the advice, but those speeds are actually from my laptop (on wireless lan) to the HTPC I use with an ethernet card. All in all though, are you saying 6MB/s is fairly reasonable?

 

[thiggins]

All in all though, are you saying 6MB/s is fairly reasonable?

Yes. Not unreasonable for draft 11n in a crowded airspace.