How to Optimize Utorrent
uTorrent is one of the most widely used BitTorrent client programs. A BitTorrent client is an application that is able to open .torrent files which connect users to one another to simultaneously download and upload data, such as music, videos and programs. Since torrent files are often used to share large amounts of data, achieving faster transfer speeds by optimizing uTorrent can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to complete downloads.
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Instructions
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Choose the right torrents. Data can only be downloaded through torrents if there are other people sharing the file you want. Make sure that you download torrents with as many peers and seeds as possible to ensure the best download speeds. Torrent download sites usually list the "health" of a torrent, and list the number of seeds and peers. Look for torrents with over 100 seeds, if possible.
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Shut down other network activity. uTorrent will not be able to download fast if your network is using up all its bandwidth on other processes. If you are downloading other files, or other computers on your network are using up bandwidth, shut them off, or pause them until your uTorrent download is complete.
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Alter your global upload and download speed settings in uTorrent. BitTorrent clients often punish users for not setting a high enough upload speed. If no one uploads files, then they cannot be shared, therefore setting your upload speed higher can often increase your download speeds. Open uTorrent, and click "Options," then "Preferences." Click on the "Bandwidth" tab and change the global upload rate to about 75 percent of your max upload speed, and the global download rate to 95 percent of your max download speed. You can come back and tweak the settings later to see if you can get faster download speed--setting the upload speed too high or too low will harm performance. Also setting download speed to 0 (unlimited) may also harm performance.
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Change your port number. The port number you have set for uTorrent can affect your download speed. Click "Options," then "Speed Guide." Setting the number somewhere between 50000 and 65535 may work best. You can click "Test if port is forwarded properly," to see if your network has conflicts with that port, and to get information about how to resolve any issue.
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Make exceptions in your firewall. If your firewall is set to block the ports uTorrent uses, it can inhibit performance. If you have Windows Firewall, click "Options," "Preferences," "Connection," and then check the box next to "Add Windows Firewall Exception," and click "Apply." If you run your own third party firewall, like ZoneAlarm, use the options in the program to make an exception for uTorrent.
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Change maximum number of connections. Having a lot of peers and seeds is generally positive, but when your computer tries to connect to too many peers and seeds with a slow connection, it can hamper your download speed. Go back to "Preferences" and click "Bandwidth." If you have faster download speeds, set 100 max download connections and 20 per torrent, and 3 or 4 upload slots. There is not a certain setting that will guarantee the best speed. It may take some trial and error to find the settings that work best for your computer.
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Tips & Warnings
uTorrent is a very light program, meaning it takes up a small amount of hard drive space, and a small amount of RAM when it runs. This makes it very efficient when multitasking. Updates are released for uTorrent periodically which can give additional options to the user. Check uTorrent's website periodically to make sure you have the latest version. You can also click "Help," then "Check for Updates," in uTorrent.
