Of course all these net based speed tests are relative to the server you're downloading from and the hops to get there, if you want to monitor your true network speed for what you're actually downloading/uploading get something like, for windows, "Cool beans system info" (although I'm sure there are many more, and probably better) that will show you your real-time data rates over your network interface.
As with most things in life, a little raw data can make things a bit clearer
