Getting your max download speed?

So, I'm at work downloading some super high res images for a project, the files are all 100-200 MB each. I start downloading the first file, and it's topping out at 100 K / Sec. I click to start downloading the 2nd file, it adds it to the download manager list thingy, and suddenly my first file drops down to 80K/sec, but the new file is also 80k/sec. The more files I add to the list, the more it seems my max can go, up to like 500k if I do the math right.

So, if my speed can go that high with multiple files, why is it so low when I download just one? Is there any way I can tell my mac to always use it's max download speed no matter what?

I know my speed can also vary based on the server it's hosted on and whatever is happening between us, but it just seems like my Mac is able to download a lot more when there's multiple files than when there's just 1.

 

oh .. well, that's no fair.