It is likely 5e. It should say it on the side of the cable.
On a workstation, you DEFINITELY set it to Programs. Think about it. You want your server to run the background services. You want your workstation, which has a lot of it committed to Program Files, to be set to Programs.
You can almost not go wrong with the page file. By default, it would be on the system (C) drive. It's best practices to move it. Doesn't matter where your AC folder is. The paging file can make a difference especially in situations when your RAM is low. But, I doubt it will really change your situation.
Personally, I would do what I suggested yesterday. Buy a relatively inexpensive 1GB switch. $35.00. Connect the two computers to that switch with Cat5e or Cat6 and see how they work.
