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Why is it that torrents severely slow down the internet on OS X? (Unlike in Windows)

W

Wogic

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 14, 2009
3
0
I can confirm that this is not a specific software problem. I tried various software on both OS X and Windows, on the same computer using the same connection, and the result is always the same. In Windows, I barely notice that they're running, and in OS X, I'm always needing to refresh the pages several times for them to load, even when it's downloading at a speed of 2 KB/sec.

So what's the big idea? Is there something about ports/sockets that I need to know about OS X? Thanks in advance.


PS: Perhaps the problem isn't related to the torrents at all, but a general slowness in the connection. Whatever it is, I'd appreciate the help.
 
I don't usually set any limits. I don't see how that should effect OS X differently from Windows.

There seems to be a problem for some people with general internet connectivity and download speeds through WiFi in OS X. I haven't found a solution yet. It's been suggested that I turn off IPv6. Maybe I should try that the next time I boot into OS X.
 
If you are using a Mozilla-based browser, following the directions for turning off the IPv6 flag does indeed increase the responsiveness of the browser.
 
Wogic said:
I don't usually set any limits. I don't see how that should effect OS X differently from Windows.

There seems to be a problem for some people with general internet connectivity and download speeds through WiFi in OS X. I haven't found a solution yet. It's been suggested that I turn off IPv6. Maybe I should try that the next time I boot into OS X.
Click to expand...
What is your torrent client under Windows?
 
I use Safari most of the time. I believe the problem is similar to the one mentioned here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/507873/

It's been almost a year since that thread was started. I'd be disappointed if there aren't any solutions yet. I don't wish to be stuck with Windows if I want a decent connection.

Oh I've tried Vuze (Mac) and Vuze (Windows), and the difference in speed is incredible.
 
When you're torrenting, are you doing anything else on the machine that's heavily internet based?

You have to remember torrenting is a bandwidth hog. So if you have a 15Mbps line (like I do), you're internet will be bogged down, period, regardless of OS.

The other thing is that the torrent program you are using. Azureus is Java based. So for Java to work it has to create it's own emulation it runs. This is why Java programs are cross platform. The downside, and the reason why I hate Java, is that it eats up computer resources. When I ran Java programs earlier in my college career, I'd see my RAM usage go up about 25% by leaving it on all day.
 
I'm as big an Apple fan boy as the next but after working with both O/S's for many years I have to sadly say Windows does networking speed much better than OSX.
 
I have 17- inch Macbook pro mid 2010 and i have the same problem, its driving me crazy!!! My brother have the 13 -inch Macbook pro and its working perfect. (better then 17 inch ,ridicolous) but ive noticed one thing, when i was at my friends house and using his wifi, the torrent doesent slow down the internet and all works great, so i dont know actually where is that problem. I know that its in my computer but the question is where maybe my wifi chip doesnt work propery with my rooter....PLEASE HEEEELP !!!
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-gb) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Limit your upload speed.
 
Regardless of OS, this depends on your settings in the torrent application. Limit your connections or they will take up your entire bandwidth.
 
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