Updated my system from 8 Pro x64 to 8.1 pro x64 this past weekend. Ever since speeds from my computer to other computers on our home network (some Win 7, some Win 8) and especially to my two Synology Diskstations have dropped during file transfers from averaging 70/mbps running Win 8 to 22/mbps now running 8.1 .
Updated the NIC driver for the Realtek RTL8111E built-in to my mobo (ASRock Z77 Pro 4) to the latest Oct 2013 but no difference.
I've got a similar issue going on but in my case it's wifi. Linksys router and card, used to get 11 mb/s now it's like 3 mb/s and nothing has changed except 8.0 to 8.1. No other changes. I had to overwrite the default driver choice after upgrade to 8.1 because it was not right. But it's the same exact driver I was using in 8. Seems like there is something in 8.1 that is hamstringing network connections and I can't seem to find the root cause. Bummer because I love to be on the newest versions of the OS.
ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
Sound Card
MOTU Traveler firewire interface
Hard Drives
1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
PSU
Thermaltake 450W
Cooling
stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
Maybe they will notice that the latest driver is not from Oct. 2013 which is back in the original Windows 8 days, in reality the latest version 8.024 "1-24-2014" is sitting right there at the Realtek site for everyone to find.
What gets me is why does Msoft need to change the entire network stack which requires a new driver every time they update this Op system?
I know they did some changes because of DNS security but this is becoming ridiculous.
ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
Sound Card
MOTU Traveler firewire interface
Hard Drives
1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
PSU
Thermaltake 450W
Cooling
stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case