Hey @JupiterSnarled
we all started there…
well done, good job 
yes, that is correct and it will have no performance effect on file upload or opening office documents.
can you tell us a little about your server? complete the Support template. Please use this when you request support and don’t forget to tell us about your system resources and internet connection… DSL of Fibre, suggested speeds (100Mbit/s, 250Mbit/s etc…) which router you’re using etc.
maybe the folks here can figure out where the bottleneck is. but be sure to give exact specs… subjective feels-like specs are nothing to go by.
its a good idea to compare your current self-hosted instance with a hosted Nextcloud… there are some providers that let you test Nextcloud. see Sign up for a free Nextcloud account or 🗃️ Hosting providers - Nextcloud community