slow downloads on a mac

mbartel · June 27th, 2007, 06:32 PM

Wondering if anyone can help out with their experience on how to properly setup a mac for downloading. I have/had a PC that I used for years to download and I can pull an episode in less than a hour. I recently got a new mac and use BitTorrent on it and the download times take over a day, and eventually just stop making progress.

I can run XP on the mac in parallels (need this for work) and can download as I used to on my other PC. Fast and an episode in about an hour. Same connection physically, so it must be a setting of the mac or its client.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Mike

jensked · June 28th, 2007, 08:19 AM

So mac and XP run at the same time? Maybe there's some restriction on the bandwith or on the way XP can use the network connection?

monkeymax · June 28th, 2007, 05:03 PM

Have you tried just the one torrent on the Mac, or have you tried others too? As it can have a lot to do with who you connect to as well.
I've managed to get some amazing speeds with my Mac, but then there have been times where it's just crawled.
I use Bits on Wheels, btw.

speC · June 29th, 2007, 03:58 AM

Hmm i've had tough luck on parrallels, it doesn't like settings working on the outside, (i.e. mac) so I would try to if possible adjust the network settings inside windows to their potential and when you're in OSX you may as well try to download it in OSX

i normally download episodes ~15 minutes...

Viper007Bond · June 29th, 2007, 06:29 AM

Make sure you are using different ports on both machines.

STi Nut · June 30th, 2007, 05:38 AM

How have you set-up your networking on the PC in paralles? i have it briged and it works fine. but i did have a similar problem as i was getting faster downloads in paralles but when i started to use Azureus in OSX it was fine and i am now getting much better speeds.

mbartel · June 30th, 2007, 07:22 AM

Just to be clear. I get quick downloads (45 minutes per 350m episode) on the windows running in parallels on the mac. And, the same speed with the same client on another DELL laptop (PC). Those being my comparison to the mac, it doesn't seem like bittorrent can match them.

I am getting much better performance from BitsOnWheels. It seems to be about the same pace as my PCs. Thanks MonkeyMax.

The azureus is painfully slow like bittorrent.

I am not sure what I should set the ports to, or where, as some were suggesting. I do see that Bittorrent (not working well) and BitsOnWheels (working well) are on the same port. ?

Doing the Azureus test I got 500kb download, but trying to get an episode was crawling. Tried several different ones.

LeMans GTR · June 30th, 2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speC

Hmm i've had tough luck on parrallels, it doesn't like settings working on the outside, (i.e. mac) so I would try to if possible adjust the network settings inside windows to their potential and when you're in OSX you may as well try to download it in OSX

i normally download episodes ~15 minutes...

Woah thats mind blowingly fast, did you somehow configure your internet connection to pull such amazing or is your connection just amazingly fast.

BlitzR · June 30th, 2007, 12:52 PM

Those kinds of speed are available in Australia now, depends on location, and possibly set-up.

jayhawk · July 15th, 2007, 02:05 PM

Neat.

jmello · July 16th, 2007, 12:23 AM

Since the slow download speed doesn't depend on the system, and it runs great in parallels, the obvious problem is the client. Unfortunately, there aren't very many clients for OS X that are both useful and efficient.
As it stands now, you could run Azureus and be able to micromanage your torrents like in windows, run Bitcomet, Tomato Torrent or one of the older clients, or give Transmission a shot. It's beta software, but is suprisingly reliable compared to older versions, and has most of the features anyone could want. Right now, i've got a queue of 104 torrents, currently downloading 5 seeding 5, and downloading at 430kb/s and my processor usage is below 10% on an ancient dual 800 G4.
A third option is to run uTorrent through parallels until the mac version comes out, though I have no idea when it will.

And as always with torrents, check your settings, forward your ports, and restrict your speeds for the fastest connections.

Firecat · July 16th, 2007, 03:25 AM

I use Azureus, and haven't had many issues. I mean, it all depends on who is sharing I guess. When I was downloading Doctor Who eps, they'd finish in under 10 minutes usually.

hajj · July 16th, 2007, 04:42 PM

I run Azureus too and I am praying every day for the uTorrent beta... It should come soon.
Azureus eats resources like no other client. I run a Macbook with 2GB Ram and it's rather slow. Speeds with Azureus are down quite a bit from uTorrent on XP. I hope that uTorrent for mac is going to be as good as on XP.
A little test of uTorrent for Mac images/smilies/wink.gif

LeMans GTR · July 17th, 2007, 07:02 AM

Azureus doesn't each as much ram as vista mate, vista pwns all

STi Nut · July 17th, 2007, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeMans GTR

Azureus doesn't each as much ram as vista mate, vista pwns all

When in doute..... Blame VISTA! images/smilies/tongue.gif

Mally Dangerous · July 23rd, 2007, 02:00 AM

On my Powerbook I have the following setup:
1. Azureus with port 6881 open
2. OS X firewall with TCP 6881-6999 open
3. OS X firewall with UDP 6881-6999 open
4. 6881-6999 open on my DSL modem

Result 150kb - 300kb down

hangthedj · July 24th, 2007, 01:02 AM

I've heard it's better to have a random number port for Azureus opened up, because many ISPs blacklist 6881 and therefore your d/l speeds will be crap. I think I've got my Azureus setup in the 40,000s with the same ports opened on the OSX firewall and the modem. That might help you with the speed.

STi Nut · July 24th, 2007, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hangthedj

I've heard it's better to have a random number port for Azureus opened up, because many ISPs blacklist 6881 and therefore your d/l speeds will be crap. I think I've got my Azureus setup in the 40,000s with the same ports opened on the OSX firewall and the modem. That might help you with the speed.

yeah true, i know that a few in australia do that! i have mine on a random port that i have opened on all relevent levels and i get higher speeds!

June 27th, 2007, 06:32 PM	#1
mbartel Joined: Feb 19th, 2007 Last Online: August 19th, 2008 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	slow downloads on a mac Wondering if anyone can help out with their experience on how to properly setup a mac for downloading. I have/had a PC that I used for years to download and I can pull an episode in less than a hour. I recently got a new mac and use BitTorrent on it and the download times take over a day, and eventually just stop making progress. I can run XP on the mac in parallels (need this for work) and can download as I used to on my other PC. Fast and an episode in about an hour. Same connection physically, so it must be a setting of the mac or its client. Any ideas? Thanks! Mike

June 28th, 2007, 05:03 PM	#3
monkeymax Joined: Dec 7th, 2004 Last Online: Yesterday Location: England Age: 25 Posts: 1,023 Car: Toyota MR2 Mk1, Toyota MR2 Mk1 SC, Peugeot 309 Rep Power: 18	Have you tried just the one torrent on the Mac, or have you tried others too? As it can have a lot to do with who you connect to as well. I've managed to get some amazing speeds with my Mac, but then there have been times where it's just crawled. I use Bits on Wheels, btw. __________________ Yup, two too many cars, but I love 'em: 1991 Peugeot 309 - owned it for four years, currently the only runner and the daily driver... but great fun to drive! French though, so gotta treat her rough to keep her happy. 1989 Toyota MR2 Mk1 - owned it for two years. Love it loads. Currently undergoing a suspension upgrade... 1987 Toyota MR2 Mk1 SC - A project car that had Headgasket issues when I bought it. I've never driven it... yet...

June 29th, 2007, 06:29 AM	#5
Viper007Bond Lazy Head Dude Joined: Sep 21st, 2003 Last Online: 01:13 PM Location: Portland, Oregon Age: 24 Posts: 20,214 Car: Dodge Viper (I wish!) Rep Power: 224	Make sure you are using different ports on both machines. __________________ Fight back against the evil Quiky by +1'ing this post! There is no replacement for displacement. - Wolfgang Bernhard, Chief Operating Officer, Chrysler Group talking about the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ... I ask Herb Helbig, vehicle synthesis manager for SRT and a member of the original Team Viper development group since day one, if they'd ever thought of adding traction control. "It comes with two," he says, pointing at my feet. "Learn to use them." Got it. - Motor Trend on the 2006 Dodge Viper Coupe, November 2005

June 30th, 2007, 12:52 PM	#9
BlitzR Joined: May 1st, 2006 Last Online: 08:49 PM Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 1,485 Rep Power: 14	Those kinds of speed are available in Australia now, depends on location, and possibly set-up. __________________

July 15th, 2007, 02:05 PM	#10
jayhawk Cigar Smoking Man Joined: Dec 11th, 2005 Last Online: 11:23 AM Location: Listening to stories from the Brân Lwyd. Age: 32 Posts: 4,805 Car: MY07 G11 WRX-TR WRB. Rep Power: 77	Neat. __________________ It is nice to have friends like you on this forum. In the wee hours I'll meet you, down by Dun Ringill. Wife is re-employed....maybe I will show up unexpectantly at the next Nürburgring meet...

June 28th, 2007, 08:19 AM	#2
jensked Joined: Mar 31st, 2005 Last Online: September 5th, 2008 Location: Flanders, Belgium Age: 24 Posts: 3,881 Car: RIP Opel Astra -> 2006 Toyota Corolla Wagon Rep Power: 32	So mac and XP run at the same time? Maybe there's some restriction on the bandwith or on the way XP can use the network connection?

June 29th, 2007, 03:58 AM	#4
speC Joined: Dec 15th, 2006 Last Online: March 7th, 2008 Location: You want cheese with that? Posts: 18 Car: Impreza 2.5RS '05 Rep Power: 0	Hmm i've had tough luck on parrallels, it doesn't like settings working on the outside, (i.e. mac) so I would try to if possible adjust the network settings inside windows to their potential and when you're in OSX you may as well try to download it in OSX i normally download episodes ~15 minutes...

June 30th, 2007, 05:38 AM	#6
STi Nut Joined: Dec 30th, 2005 Last Online: August 31st, 2008 Location: Adelaide, Australia Age: 18 Posts: 931 Car: 2008 Toyota Yaris 1.3L 5 Door Auto Rep Power: 11	How have you set-up your networking on the PC in paralles? i have it briged and it works fine. but i did have a similar problem as i was getting faster downloads in paralles but when i started to use Azureus in OSX it was fine and i am now getting much better speeds.

June 30th, 2007, 07:22 AM	#7
mbartel Joined: Feb 19th, 2007 Last Online: August 19th, 2008 Posts: 3 Rep Power: 0	Just to be clear. I get quick downloads (45 minutes per 350m episode) on the windows running in parallels on the mac. And, the same speed with the same client on another DELL laptop (PC). Those being my comparison to the mac, it doesn't seem like bittorrent can match them. I am getting much better performance from BitsOnWheels. It seems to be about the same pace as my PCs. Thanks MonkeyMax. The azureus is painfully slow like bittorrent. I am not sure what I should set the ports to, or where, as some were suggesting. I do see that Bittorrent (not working well) and BitsOnWheels (working well) are on the same port. ? Doing the Azureus test I got 500kb download, but trying to get an episode was crawling. Tried several different ones.

July 16th, 2007, 12:23 AM	#11
jmello Joined: Jul 14th, 2007 Last Online: August 15th, 2008 Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	Since the slow download speed doesn't depend on the system, and it runs great in parallels, the obvious problem is the client. Unfortunately, there aren't very many clients for OS X that are both useful and efficient. As it stands now, you could run Azureus and be able to micromanage your torrents like in windows, run Bitcomet, Tomato Torrent or one of the older clients, or give Transmission a shot. It's beta software, but is suprisingly reliable compared to older versions, and has most of the features anyone could want. Right now, i've got a queue of 104 torrents, currently downloading 5 seeding 5, and downloading at 430kb/s and my processor usage is below 10% on an ancient dual 800 G4. A third option is to run uTorrent through parallels until the mac version comes out, though I have no idea when it will. And as always with torrents, check your settings, forward your ports, and restrict your speeds for the fastest connections.

July 16th, 2007, 03:25 AM	#12
Firecat Politically Charged Joined: Mar 23rd, 2005 Last Online: 09:03 PM Posts: 3,511 Rep Power: 25	I use Azureus, and haven't had many issues. I mean, it all depends on who is sharing I guess. When I was downloading Doctor Who eps, they'd finish in under 10 minutes usually. __________________

July 16th, 2007, 04:42 PM	#13
hajj Joined: Mar 29th, 2005 Last Online: 10:26 PM Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands Posts: 1,626 Rep Power: 16	I run Azureus too and I am praying every day for the uTorrent beta... It should come soon. Azureus eats resources like no other client. I run a Macbook with 2GB Ram and it's rather slow. Speeds with Azureus are down quite a bit from uTorrent on XP. I hope that uTorrent for mac is going to be as good as on XP. A little test of uTorrent for Mac __________________ Global Warming isn't working - I am FREEZING!!

July 17th, 2007, 07:02 AM	#14
LeMans GTR Previously Known As CSL Joined: Dec 20th, 2006 Last Online: 12:13 PM Location: Australia Posts: 1,713 Car: Aston Martin DB9 (In GT4!) Rep Power: 14	Azureus doesn't each as much ram as vista mate, vista pwns all __________________

July 23rd, 2007, 02:00 AM	#16
Mally Dangerous Joined: Oct 31st, 2005 Last Online: September 5th, 2008 Location: Atlanta Posts: 439 Rep Power: 17	On my Powerbook I have the following setup: 1. Azureus with port 6881 open 2. OS X firewall with TCP 6881-6999 open 3. OS X firewall with UDP 6881-6999 open 4. 6881-6999 open on my DSL modem Result 150kb - 300kb down Last edited by Mally Dangerous; July 23rd, 2007 at 11:41 AM. Reason: typo

July 24th, 2007, 01:02 AM	#17
hangthedj Not A Dude Joined: May 20th, 2007 Last Online: August 6th, 2008 Location: Sydney, Australia Age: 24 Posts: 33 Car: '07 Mini Cooper S Rep Power: 6	I've heard it's better to have a random number port for Azureus opened up, because many ISPs blacklist 6881 and therefore your d/l speeds will be crap. I think I've got my Azureus setup in the 40,000s with the same ports opened on the OSX firewall and the modem. That might help you with the speed.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Slow downloads	Cuervo79	Problems	8	May 28th, 2006 06:05 PM
Too slow!!!	cookie720	Photoshopping	18	April 14th, 2005 06:32 AM
downloads extreamly slow!	fishawn2002	Top Gear	4	May 1st, 2004 05:00 AM