802.11ac file transfer is super slow 20MB/s

[KirbyS]

I'm trying to find out why my 802.11ac network is so slow.

PC1 Setup:
Xenon E3-1240 @3.4GHz
16GB Ram
250GB SSD Samsung 840
Intel AC7260 802.11ac connected @650mbps
Windows 7 x64

PC2 Setup:
i7 3770 @3.0GHz
16GB Ram
250gb SSD Samsung 840
Wired Gigabit
Windows 7 x64

Router:
NETGEAR AC1600 Dual Band Wi-Fi Gigabit Router (R6250) all Cat 5 or 6 cables

File transfer speeds on wireless burst around 26MB/s and settle around 20.6MB/s. The files I'm transferring are not "small." They range from 550MB -> 8.5GB in size. When I hook PC1 to the router via ethernet, the speeds are around 80MB/s, but wireless is pretty meh.

 

[Ralston18]

That is the nature of the beast with wireless.

However, to be a bit more direct you may be getting interference from other nearby wireless networks or other electronic devices: e.g., baby monitors etc..

There are software utilities that you can use to check for surrounding/available networks and see the bands and channels in use. Move to a less used channel.

You might look at the network adapters on the two PC's and manually set their speed and duplex manually (versus "Auto" or "Auto negotiate") to match the router. Although the devices are technically compatible they may not play well together.

 

[bill001g]

You are actually getting fairly good speeds for wireless. Your numbers are what you see in many testing sites as close to the maximum speed you can get in real life installations.

You have to remember all those numbers are magic marketing things. If you rated ethernet the same way wireless is you would call all your ports 2g ports because you add upload and download speeds together. At least ethernet can get those speeds you never see wireless get anywhere close except in a lab where they are testing something silly that never happens in the real world.