[bgtension]

I get 2900kbps but when I download I only seem to get 280kBps. Surely I should get 360kBps, or am I missing something?

[albertd]

Though there are 8 bits in a byte, during data downloading some of what comes down is used for error correction, so the x8 factor becomes invalid and >x10 is probably OK.

[chrisjr]

Originally Posted by bgtension

I get 2900kbps but when I download I only seem to get 280kBps. Surely I should get 360kBps, or am I missing something?

There isn't just the raw data coming down with the file you are downloading. The file is split into packets which also contain extra information that tell all the bits of the internet where those packets are going to.

As a very rough rule of thumb you can divide the speed in bits per second by ten to get the file download speed in bytes per second. Not 100% accurate but close enough.

[Zenith]

It also depends where you got those 2 figures from. Doing a speed test from one site, then downloading from another may not give the same speeds.

It may also depend on whether you measured them at the same time of day.

I get a pretty consistent 6Mbps from most speed tests, and 700kB/s when dowloading from a newsgroup with 8 threads open.