Why do torrent programs hog up system resources so badly?

Why do torrents slow down my PC so badly? Are there any torrent programs out there that works with Vista that won't cause a massive slowdown of my PC? BitComet is beating the crap out of my system every time I use it.

 

Hmm, doesn't slow my system down at all, Do you mean your whole PC or just the internet part?

 

No, it slows down the whole system. If I'm using BitComet internet often fails to connect to sites, any online game will usually see a massive latency spike that is continuous, and sound will shudder and many other things. I usually run BitComet when preparing for sleep but sometimes my PC gets so slow I have to do a soft reboot. Other then that my PC is fine if I'm not running a torrent program so I think I will first check out these optimization thread links that were posted.

 

Almost sounds to me like you have connection issues. Run a speed test here and see what you get.

http://www.testmy.net/tools/test/

 

Maybe need to optimize/lower # of connections within BitComet settings, or lower number of downloads at a time.
P2P can easily overwhelm a cheap router with a large number of connections (if you are using a router).
Anti-virus program may also be a cause if it has to continuously check downloaded pieces.

Another popular p2p program is called uTorrent which isn't as aggressive as BitComet.

Of course check your system for any possibilities of spyware/malware/virus.

 

The first time I used BitTorrent, my browsing speed was drastically affected, too. Then I learned that BitTorrent was set up improperly for my internet connection. After configuring BitTorrent to limit total download speeds to a certain percent of my internet connection's maximum download speed (forgot the actual percentage already), browsing speed went back to normal.

It didn't affect my computer as a whole, though. :confused

 

Utorrent is less resource intensive than BitComet. Stay away from Vuze(old Azureus) the biggest resource hog.

Make sure you limit your Upload speed to 80% of max. no matter which client you choose, (download speed is less important because you rarely reach max anyway). Limiting your torrent upload speed leaves your connection bandwidth to browse the web etc.

 

The default max upload rate when I installed BitTorrent was only 8 kB/s. That's way below 80% with a decent internet connection. But max download rate was set to Unlimited by default.

I kept the max upload rate at default and changed only the max download rate.

 

download utorrent, (www.utorrent.com) i have it running on my computer and it's variating between %0-2 processor usage and 9-10MB memory usage

configuring the internet settings is really easy too

 

Sorry, my mistake. Default upload rate was Unlimited. The 8 kB/s is for when seeding goal has been reached. :-o