Here’s a conundrum for you. I was uploading video files to my Google Drive, and noticed that uploading via the web GUI using Chrome appeared to be twice as fast as uploading through the same interface using Firefox. I measure upload and download rates through my Wi-Fi network adapter using SoftPerfect’s Networx, the Network Meter gadget, and the Windows Resource Monitor. All three agreed, more or less, that the upload rate for a video file via Chrome was 2.2 MB/s, as against the rate for a similar file via Firefox of 1.1 MB/s.
At first I thought Chrome was getting around my ISP’s upload rate limit in some way. Then I checked using payload files from ThinkBroadband (http://www.thinkbroadband.com/download/) . These are ZIP files of regular sizes (100 MB, 200MB, etc.) with randomised contents. The times taken to upload a couple of them are actually consistent with my normal upload rate of 1.1 MB/s, irrespective of whether Chrome or Firefox is used.
So how does Chrome deceive three rate measurement utilities, all measuring the rate through my Broadcom 4313 802.11b/g/n wifi adapter, into thinking that the upload rate is twice the actual rate?
System: HP Pavilion dv7 4141sa, running Windows 8.1 Professional, fully updated. Wireless connection to TP-Link router, connected via FTTC to ISP Origin Broadband (UK), who seem to use PlusNet’s links.
This one has really got me going. Any bright ideas?
