Internet speed question

[wiredk]

I'm currently signed up for Timewarner cable with a 20mb/s connection. Every speedtest I run shows between 18-22mb/s consistently but lately what I've been noticing is confusing me. When I download large files they usually go at around 1.2-1.8mb/s and that's a good enough speed for me but my problem is whenever I download 1 item at this speed my entire network gets bogged down to a crawl. If I have a 20mb/s connection then why is something going at only 1.2mb/s using up my entire connection? Are there other variables I am missing?

Edit: I tried doing a search for this problem on these forums but the search feature doesn't seem to be working.

 

[carnageX]

You're confusing the units.

Your cable connection: 18-22Mbit/s.
Your download rate: 1.2-1.8MB/s.

Mbit = Megabit
MB = Megabyte

So, 1.2-1.8MB/s = 12-18Mbit/s. You're taking up a majority of your network bandwidth when doing that.

 

[wiredk]

Oh man, I feel dumb now, I forgot to check such a simple variable. Thanks for pointing out my mistake, it's been bugging me for quite some time now.

 

[carnageX]

No problem, glad to help. We all make mistakes -- we're human after all .