How to Set the BitTorrent Upload/Download Ratio

Downloading movies, songs and other stuff from a BitTorrent client can be fun as long as you have decent download and upload speeds. To optimize the speed for enhancing your BitTorrent experience, you can cap the upload and download speed. According to Torrentfreak.com, your connection is like a pipeline, and if you use maximum upload speed, there will not be sufficient space for files you’re downloading. Similarly, allowing the BitTorrent client to use maximum down speed might sound appealing, but in reality, it will only mess with your connection and you will not be able to browse properly.

Instructions

1. Find out your Internet connection’s download and upload speed. This can be accomplished by a speed testing website (see Resources for links). When you open a website, click on “Start Test.” The website will analyze the connection speed and will show you your computer’s upload and download speeds.

2. Do the math. According to Torrentfreak.com, you should set the upload speed to 80 percent of your connection’s upload speed. For instance, if the maximum upload speed of your Internet connection is 40 kilobytes/second, the optimal upload rate will be 32 kilobytes per second. Similarly, your maximum download speed should be 95 percent of the download speed of your Internet connection. Let us say that your Internet’s download speed is 400 kilobytes/second. In that case, the optimal download rate for your BitTorrent client will be 380 kilobytes per second.

3. Open the BitTorrent application installed on your computer, such as uTorrent, Bitlord or Transmission.

4. Navigate to the application’s “Edit” menu and go to “Preferences.”

5. Find the “Bandwidth” tab in the “Preferences” window.

6. Enter the upload and download speeds in the respective fields.

7. Click “OK” to save the changes.

References

• Torrent Freak: Optimize Your BitTorrent Download Speed

Resources

• Speed Test
• Test Internet Speed
• Speak Easy: Speed Test