Tuesday 8 March 2011

How To Speed Up BitTorrent Downloads Part 1

In the first of a new 'How To' series on TorrentWatch we begin with How To Speed Up BitTorrent Downloads Part 1.  BitTorrent is an excellent way to download large files, providing you can achieve a good download speed.  In this article we will cover some of the basic but essential methods to help increase your speeds.



Get the Best Ratio
This one may be obvious to some but it's essential to understand how the ratio of seeds to peers will affect speeds.  Always look for torrents with the best seed to peer ratio. Generally, the more seeds (in relation to peers), the better.  So, for example 100 seeds/100 peers is better than 100 seeds with 150 peers.  Keep in mind that the ratio makes the biggest difference, not just the total number of seeds.

Disable Windows Firewall
Windows Firewall doesn't work well with P2P and can be unreliable. So disable it and download a good (and free) firewall, such as Kerio or Zone Alarm. 

Change the port
By default setting, BitTorrent uses a port 6881-6999 but as BitTorrent generates a lot traffic it is common for ISPs to limit the connection available on the these ports. To avoid this, you can change to another range in your BitTorrent client's settings (if you are behind a router make sure you have your ports forwarded (portforward.com) or UPnP enabled).

Optimize your connection
The TCP optimizer is freeware that optimizes your internet connection. It can help speed up your connection for both regular internet activity and for downloading torrents. Make sure that when you implement it you don't set the slidebar higher than your maximum download rate (this may impact your download speeds).

In part two we will look at encrypting your torrents.  Nearly all ISPs throttle BitTorrent traffic so encrypting your torrents is a must.  The guide will cover the most popular clients (uTorrent, Bitcomet etc) and try to make it as quick and painless as possible to follow!

25 comments:

  1. Nice tips, but I get poor speeds because my internet is soo slow anyway : (

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  2. Things that I will definitely keep in mind in the future!

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  3. I never knew anything about the ports.

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  4. good stuff, you reminded me i need to redo my port forwarding since i reset my router today.

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  5. Solid info man, thanks for the post. Keep it up.

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  6. useful info. thanks dude!

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  7. Cool tips. Already did all this though.

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  8. I usually use uTorrent, thanks for the guide :)

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  9. Oh I really need this, my internet connection has been feeling slow as of late!

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  10. Thanks for this guide mate! Following!

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  11. Already knew this tips, but thanks for reminding :)

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  12. Thanks, I'll set that up now.

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  13. Thanks for the tips! I really appreciate someone taking the time and helping us poor people out!

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  14. Usefull stuff.

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  15. Thanks for posting this. Will be useful!!

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  16. Hmm, I might try Bit Torrent, I've always used Utorrent, but Bit torrent seems nice!

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  17. thanks for the tips man! i'm a big user of bittorrent so this is awesome!

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  18. I hope this helps, the torrents are always slowmode.

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  19. nice. hey maybe a next subject: ratiomaster.
    Most private torrentsites want you to have a positive ratio, so you will not only download but also upload. As you know uploading is illegal. So a lot of people use ratiomaster to fake their ratios. :) thumbs up im following

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