Tips on speeding up Windows Shared Folders

[thesonyuh]

Hey!! *DISCLAIMER* I'm a NEWBIE with these stuffs. So I've setup a PC (let's just call it HTPC for this post) that contains all my files. Its main use is just for archive and not to stream multimedia stuffs (but I've already setup Plex server on it just in case I would need to). 

 

My problem is, when trasferring files from laptop to the HTPC through wifi, I only get 2.5MB/s. Granted, it's through laptop's wifi and HTPC's wifi. And my router and desktop switch can only handle 10/100mbps transfers.

 

What can I upgrade to speed up the transfer speed to at least USB transfer speed territory?

 

Also, if I upgrade my switch to gigabit and keep the router at 10/100mbps, would that still be a bottleneck if, say, I transfer file through wire (HTPC & laptop wired to gigabit switch)?

[Alex Atkin UK]

If you upgrade to a Gigabit switch and plug both into that then yes, you will get Gigabit between them with no detriment to the rest of your network.

On the other hand you could upgrade your router to Gigabit, get a second router to use just as a Gigabit switch/WiFi Access Point, or get a proper WiFi Access Point with multiple Gigabit ports - which would improve your WiFi speed too.  Assuming of course your laptops WiFi chipset is something decent like 802.11ac, otherwise you would have to upgrade that too.

But ultimately the cheapest and fastest option is indeed using a Gigabit switch.