How to Speed up BitTorrent Downloads

BitTorrent clients are programs that can open .torrent files which allow users to connect to one another and download data for a specific file such as a video, audio or an application. The speed os BitTorrent downloads can vary greatly, but there are several steps you can take to ensure you are maximizing your internet connection and torrent download speed.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Halt other uses of your network. If your internet connection is being used to download files or surf the net on other computers, it can make your torrent downloads slower. Stop all network traffic on other computers and abort any other downloads you have running on your computer to divert all your network's bandwidth toward your bittorrent downloads.

2. Pick the right torrents. Not all torrents are created equal. The health of a torrent is based on how many seeds and peers there are supplying the file for download. Seeds are users that have the entire file, and peers are other people that only have part or the file downloaded. Always look for a file version with over a hundred seeds and peers.

3. Try a different bittorrent client. Certain bittorrent clients can work faster than others on different computers. If your torrents are slow consider downloading a new torrent program and see whether your download speed improves. Some popular bittorrent programs are utorrent, Bitcomet, and Azureus. (Vuze)

4. Alter your download and upload settings. Many bittorrent clients limit your download speed based on your network settings and preferences within the program. If you set your upload speed too low, your program may punish you by limiting download speed. To avoid this try setting your upload speed higher, but limit the number of simultaneous uploads you allow. Also, instead of setting an unlimited download speed, set the speed to the speed of your internet connection.

Tips & Warnings

• After you finish downloading a file, cancel it from your list so you stop uploading in order to free up bandwidth for new files.
• Only download one torrent at a time if you want to get the fastest speed possible for each one.

[patysson]

on 8/18/2009 nicely said, thanks