Optimal uTorrent Settings

This post is part of the Ultimate beginners guide for torrents article, please read the full guide.If you want an alternative faster way to download movies, music, games, software instead of torrents, read my Beginners Guide To File Hosters article.
Are you having troubles getting some decent download speeds from your uTorrent? I was having some myself recently so I decided to sack the default settings and pimp it up a bit to suit my taste.One thing you must know when it comes to torrents is that the more you upload the higher your speeds will be, torrent clients are programmed to reward people who upload very fast with a greater download speed.In this tutorial not only will I tweak your utorrent download settings but I will also help you improve your upload settings.
So lets get to it then,first off I want you to open up your browser and go to SpeedTest.net, run a test and keep the results open cause we will use them further down in this guide.Open up your uTorrent go to Options > Preferences…
GENERAL
User Interface Settings:

» Check for updates automatically – CHECKED

» Confirm when deleting torrents – CHECKED

» Show confirmation dialog on exit – UNCHECKED

System Tray:

» Close to tray – UNCHECKED

» Always show tray icon – CHECKED

» Show balloon notifications in tray – CHECKED

» Minimize to tray – CHECKED

» Single click on tray icon to open – CHECKED

» Always activate when clicked – CHECKED

Display Options:

» Alternate list background color – CHECKED

» Show current speed in the title bar – UNCHECKED

» Show graphical progress bar – CHECKED

» Show speed limits in the status bar – UNCHECKED

Windows Integration:

» Associate with .torrent files – PRESSED

» Check association on startup – CHECKED

» Start uTorrent on system startup – UNCHECKED

DOWNLOADS
Location of Downloaded Files:

» All this is optional by you

When Adding Torrent:

» Don’t start the download automatically – UNCHECKED

» Show a window that display the files inside the torrent – CHECKED

» Activate the program window – CHECKED

Other Settings:

» Append .!ut to incomplete files – UNCHECKED

» Prevent standby if there are active torrents – CHECKED

» Pre-allocate all files – UNCHECKED

CONNECTION
Listening Port:

» Port used for incoming connections: – 45682

» Randomize port each time uTorrent starts – UNCHECKED

» Enable UPnP port mapping – UNCHECKED

» Add uTorrent to Windows Firewall exceptions – CHECKED

Proxy Server:

» Type: – (none)

Bandwidth Limiting:

Now this is a bit of a tricky part, remember that speedtest I told you to take at the beginning of this guide? we’re going to use the results.Take your upload speed and divide it by 10 (use the windows calculator), I got 20.9. We only want to use about 85% of that so grab the calculator and work out your result x 0.85 = maximum upload rate. Mine was 17.765 but since uTorrent only allows round numbers, I’ll rounded it up to 18.

» Global maximum upload rate (KB/s): – The result of the division and multiplication above.

» Alternate upload rate when not downloading (KB/s) – UNCHECKED

BITTORRENT
Number of Connections:

» Global maximum number of connections: – The upload speed from the speed test.

» Maximum number of connected peers per torrent – 16

The number of upload slots per torrent is another little tricky part, go back to the Connection tab and look at your Global Maximum upload rate, grab that number and divide it by 4. In my case the result is 4.5, I’ll go on the safe side and round it up to 4 instead of 5.

» Number of upload slots per torrent: – The result of the division above.

» Use additional upload slots if upload speed < 90% - CHECKED

Additional BitTorrent Features:

» Enable DHT Network – CHECKED

» Enable DHT for new torrents – CHECKED

» Ask tracker for scrape information – CHECKED

» Enable Peer Exchange – CHECKED

» IP/Hostname to report to tracker – BLANK

Protocol Encryption:

» Outgoing – DISABLED

Enable Outgoing if you are being unfairly throttled by your ISP.

» Allow incoming legacy connections – CHECKED

QUEUEING
Queueing Settings:

» Maximum number of active torrents (upload or download) – 10

» Maximum number of active downloads – 5

Seed While [Default values]:

» Leave it all like it is.

When Torrent has reached the seeding goal:

» Limit the upload rate to [use 0 to stop torrent] – UNCHECKED

SCHEDULER

» Thats up to you, if you want to create schedules for uTorrent to run and download every day.

OTHER

» Leave it all how it is.

ADVANCE
Only modify this if you plan on patching the TCPIP.sys file which I specify how to do at the bottom of this page.Click on net.max_halfopen change the value from 8 to 40, and click Set.
Now click the Apply button, and click OK. Your changes have been saved! :)
NOTE:To increase speed even more I suggest you do the following, patch the TCPIP.sys file.Why? Windows XP SP2 and Vista limits the number of half-connections to 10. This limitation can impact your bittorrent experience.How? see below:
Windows XP Users:

1. Go to lvllord.de

2. Click on Downloads.

3. Right-click the link (english or german) and click “Save Target As”.

4. Save it in your Desktop.

5. Open the file and run the program located inside the archive, agreeing to the security warning.

6. Some text should scroll by in a MS-DOS window, after it ends, type C.

7. Enter 50 for the number of concurrent half-open connections and press Enter.

8. Type Y and the file should be patched. Cancel any Windows XP warnings that should appear, it is part of Microsoft’s way of ensuring its files are not tampered with (the utility tempers them to break the limit on purpose).

Windows Vista Users:

1. Go to yaronmaor.net

2. Look for the item named – EventID4226Fix for Windows Vista (Line 2)

3. Right-click the link and click “Save Target As”.

4. Save it in your Desktop.

5. Extract all contents of the file to a folder.

6. If you are running 64-bit Vista, double click on InstallPatch64.bat. If you are running 32-Bit Vista, double click on InstallPatch32.bat. Unsure? Run InstallPatch32.bat.

7. Some text should scroll by in a MS-DOS window, after it ends, type Y and press Enter.

8. After the restart notice appears, press any key and restart your PC.

TIP: If you use Comodo Personal Firewall, you might want to check out our guide on how to unblock uTorrent from Comodo’s blocked list.

Also Read:

• Optimal BitComet Settings
• Optimal Azureus Settings
• Comodo Firewall And uTorrent
• Ultimate beginners guide for torrents
• uTorrent