I have a Windows PC without a monitor that I would like to use for various purposes. I only have a MacBook Pro that I can use to control it via Microsoft's Remote Desktop. I have the Remote Desktop client installed on my MacBook Pro from the App Store and can access the computer.
I have a gigabit ethernet switch connected to my router. The switch is connected to both my MacBook Pro and my Windows PC via ethernet cables. The Windows PC doesn't have any WiFi connectivity.
Despite being connected via gigabit ethernet, I noticed rather high latency when controlling the Windows PC from my MacBook. When watching a video on the Windows PC, the frame rate stutters a lot and the network usage tops out at 20-30 Mbps, which is much below my expectation of 1000 Mbps.
After some searching, I noticed that the MacBook Pro was receiving the remote desktop video data via WiFi. I tried disabling WiFi to force it to use Ethernet, hoping that would speed it up, but it still caps out at the same speed.
Is there a way I can force Microsoft RDP to use Ethernet to give me better video frame rate and lower latency?
An example showing bandwidth topping out (but video is very stuttery):
Remote desktop client preferences: