LAN file transfer speed desktop to laptop much faster than laptop to desktop

[tacchan23]

Hello,
is it normal that the transfer speed from Desktop PC to Laptop is much faster than from Laptop to Desktop?

Speed from Desktop to Laptop is about 55 MB/s on average.
Speed from Laptop to Desktop is about 30 MB/s on average.

Tested transferring the same set of video files between SSD on Desktop and SSD on Laptop.
Dekstop is connected to Router with Gigabit Ethernet cable.
Laptop is connected to WiFi AC 867 Mbps.
Laptop specs: i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M - 4096 MB - RAM 16GB - SSD Samsung CM871 MZNLF128HCHP 128 GB
Desktop specs: i7 3770k - SAPPHIRE HD 7950 3GB OC - RAM 32GB - SSD Trascend SSD370S 256GB

Thanks

 

[greens]

Limiting factor here is probably the HDD.

A full size platter in a desktop spinning at 7200 RPM is usually faster than a 2.5" platter in a laptop spinning at 5400 RPM.

Read time is impacted more greatly than the write speed due to seek time, which is why the slower platter suffers when reading.

 

[tacchan23]

Limiting factor here is probably the HDD.

A full size platter in a desktop spinning at 7200 RPM is usually faster than a 2.5" platter in a laptop spinning at 5400 RPM.

Read time is impacted more greatly than the write speed due to seek time, which is why the slower platter suffers when reading.

Sorry, I forgot to specify that both Desktop and Laptop have SSD. (edited first post now)

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Was the data being transferred identical? This can have a impact, albeit depending on the differences, from small to major.

Not all SSDs have the same specs.

Plus, your machines very likely have different specs, meaning, even if the SSDs are equal, the results would still favor the faster machine.

What this ultimately says is, your laptop queues and transmits data slower than your desktop, which isn't very surprising as desktops often have faster equipment in them, but not always.

 

[tacchan23]

Was the data being transferred identical? This can have a impact, albeit depending on the differences, from small to major.

Not all SSDs have the same specs.

Plus, your machines very likely have different specs, meaning, even if the SSDs are equal, the results would still favor the faster machine.

What this ultimately says is, your laptop queues and transmits data slower than your desktop, which isn't very surprising as desktops often have faster equipment in them, but not always.

While I agree that a HHD would have been a bottleneck for sure, I don't think small differences in specs of the SSD should matter with this kind of speeds (30-50 MB/s). Anyway everything is faster in the Laptop than the Desktop actually.
The data transferred was always the same. (edited first post with the new info)

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

Actually, the biggest bottleneck I would expect to see in all of this would be the wireless network...

Edit: Looking at your specs, the desktop is clearly faster. The memory available for file transfer buffering also may be a contributing factor. How much data are you transferring, enough to exceed the available memory that Windows is going to set aside for buffering?

What OS? Is it the same for both systems?

I personally wouldn't consider those SSDs closely matched at all. I usually look at the 128 GB segment to be the lowest tier for reasonable performance, but often the 256 GB segment and up can enjoy the benefits of more chips, which usually lends itself to better performance due to more data lines for the controller to work with. It's still model specific, but right off the bat I would suspect that as a possibility.

 

[tacchan23]

Actually, the biggest bottleneck I would expect to see in all of this would be the wireless network...

Yes, I agree.
Still wondering why it looks like the wireless part of the connection is slower sending files than receiving them then (unless it's common knowledge that I don't know about)

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

If you want to rule out the WiFi, turn it off and test the laptop via an Ethernet cable. Hopefully that should be easy enough to test.

 

[jsmithepa]

I vote WIFI.

Laptop transmits weaker than receive.

 

[tacchan23]

So my Router only has one Gigabit port (got it from my new ADSL line just yesterday)... I had to use a Gigabit Switch to connect everything.
Transfer speeds are now about 100MB/s from Laptop to Dekstop and 105MB/s from Desktop to Laptop.

But now everything got even more crazy! If I have the Switch connected to the Router only Gigabit port, then transferring files over WiFi will slow down to about 10 MB/s T_T (again, if both computers are connected with cable to the switch, speeds are about 100MB/s but if the Laptop is connected with WiFi then they drops to 10 MB/s).
Anyone has any idea of why this is happening with the Switch? this bothers me a lot more actually as I need at least 2 gigabit ports (1 for Desktop and 1 for NAS)
(btw removing the Switch and going back to the previous configuration reverts also the speeds as before (30MB/s from Laptop and 50MB/s from Desktop))

 

[jsmithepa]

Ethernet and WIFI (normally) should not be ON at the same time. I believe Windows picks the fastest route but am not absolutely sure. For sure Windows doesn't know how to combine ethernet + WIFI to boost your speed beyond 1 gbit.

But anything is possible, it just costs more money. What are you willing to do?

 

[tacchan23]

Ethernet and WIFI (normally) should not be ON at the same time. I believe Windows picks the fastest route but am not absolutely sure. For sure Windows doesn't know how to combine ethernet + WIFI to boost your speed beyond 1 gbit.

But anything is possible, it just costs more money. What are you willing to do?

I am sorry I wasn't clear enough.
The Laptop was tested separetly: once with only WiFi connected and once with only Ethernet cable connected. Not with WiFi and cable at the same time.