SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Get help with all aspects of SABnzbd
Forum rules
Help us help you:
  • Are you using the latest stable version of SABnzbd? Downloads page.
  • Tell us what system you run SABnzbd on.
  • Adhere to the forum rules.
  • Do you experience problems during downloading?
    Check your connection in Status and Interface settings window.
    Use Test Server in Config > Servers.
    We will probably ask you to do a test using only basic settings.
  • Do you experience problems during repair or unpacking?
    Enable +Debug logging in the Status and Interface settings window and share the relevant parts of the log here using [ code ] sections.
Post Reply
Atticushack
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: January 1st, 2026, 11:51 am

SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by Atticushack »

I've run into a weird issue...

SABnzbd speed increases when using Ookla Speedtest simultaneously!

Regular downloading: ~20MB/s SABnzbd speed.
Running Ookla speedtest at the same time as downloading: ~60MB/s SABnzbd speed. (which is the ISP maximum)

I've tried all sorts of number of connections and other settings, but I haven't seen any relevant differences. Downloading in another app at the same time leads to faster speeds - this is not expected at all.

Does anyone have an idea about what's happening here?
User avatar
sander
Release Testers
Release Testers
Posts: 9429
Joined: January 22nd, 2008, 2:22 pm

Re: SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by sander »

While SABnzbd is not doing anything:

In SABnzbd's upper right corner, click on the wrench symbol ("Status and interface options"), then click on first tab Status, and there click on the Refresh Circled Arrow. Post the values of the lower part here
Atticushack
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: January 1st, 2026, 11:51 am

Re: SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by Atticushack »

Used cache 0 B (0 articles)
System performance (Pystone) 419568 AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core Processor AVX2
Download folder speed 349.6 MB/s C:\usenet\incomplete
Complete folder speed 355.9 MB/s C:\usenet\complete
Internet Bandwidth 47.78 MB/s 382.24 Mbps
User avatar
sander
Release Testers
Release Testers
Posts: 9429
Joined: January 22nd, 2008, 2:22 pm

Re: SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by sander »

OK, nice system specs, and Internet Bandwidth 48 MB/s. Quite good. So SABnzbd should be able to achieve that speed.

> Running Ookla speedtest at the same time as downloading: ~60MB/s SABnzbd speed.

No explanation.

How many newsservers, with which prio and number connections.
Atticushack
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 3
Joined: January 1st, 2026, 11:51 am

Re: SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by Atticushack »

sander wrote: January 1st, 2026, 1:35 pm How many newsservers, with which prio and number connections.
I've got 3 different servers, tried both 0 priority for all servers and also different priorities from 0 to 2. Number of connections from 1 per server to 100. All sorts of combinations, too few connections obviously led to slower speeds. With around 20 connections per server it seemed to be maxed out.

I just checked using bittorrent simultaneously as SABnzbd, and strangely enough that too led to higher download speed for SABnzbd...
User avatar
sander
Release Testers
Release Testers
Posts: 9429
Joined: January 22nd, 2008, 2:22 pm

Re: SABnzbd speed increases (!) when using Ookla Speedtest

Post by sander »

Weird.

On another device on your LAN: what do you experience with SABnzbd?
Post Reply