First off I have 2 computers that I use. A laptop Acer Aspire 7730Z. It's processor is an Intel Pentium dual core processor T3400. Graphics is up to 1244 MB Mobile intel graphics Media accelerator 4500M, 3GB DDR2 ram. Vista Home Premium. Acer Nplify 802.1/gDraft-N WLAN.

ISP is Comcast, highest speed cable I can get.

2nd Computer is Pentium 3.2GHz Hyperthreading technology. 2.5 GB Ram. Nearly 1TB hard disk space spread out over 2 internal and 1 external HD. ATI Radeon X-1950 pro PCIe graphics card. Linux Mint OS latest version.

Which computer is best for bit torrent? Does it matter?
Is the laptop suitable for gaming? Would I be better off going back to a MS OS on my desktop? I also have a PS3.


Just a non geek trying to get a handle of the technology that I have available.


Sorry about the double post. I didn't mean to

I would say that overall the laptop is the better machine for games primarily due to the more ram, a dual core processor and a Microsoft operating system. With that being said your desktop is quite a powerful machine aswell.

Am I correct in assuming that your desktop is using a P4 pentium processor? As far as which computer would be best for bittorrent you have to think about the basics. Which computer can you keep on the longest to seed/complete downloads.

I don't know about you but i'm on and off my laptop all day. Everytime i leave my laptop I close the lid and put it to sleep. To make sure I seed correctly and complete my downloads in a timely manner I use my desktop for the torrents.

I have to say I'm a mac user so my advice may be little off but i'm sure if i am someone with more PC finesse will step in.

Yes, you are correct that the processor on Desktop is a P4. I close my laptop lid as well. Now as far as seeding, what is the generally acceptable practice after your download is complete. I usually seed at least overnight on my desktop.

I would do all the torrenting on the desktop. it has enough ram to do stuff, while downloading to a pretty expansive array of drive space.
typical seed ratios are 1.5, 2.0, and 3.0 to 1. meaning you upload that many times more than you download.

Is that per torrent or overall? I've noticed that on some older stuff, I could probably seed for a very long time before I get of to 1.5.

As a rule keep seeding until you have shared back more than you have downloaded, as for older torrents thats up to you and your conscience but i personally would keep it in the que and it will seed when required

What about bandwidth? How does that work? It seems sometimes I am uploading a lot faster than I am downloading, does uploading consume your bandwidith. I am using Transmission as that is default with Linux Mint. I don't really know how to set it up. Plus other people in my house use the internet.

bandwidth is used in downloading and uploading, if you are uploading faster it probably means there are more leechers than seeds, or the seeders have slower connections due to haveing more people connected to them.

It would be best to find out how much bandwidth you have available and work out how much you can use so theres some left for other people in your house.

Also i would advise, if transmission can do it, to set up a scheduler - so you can seed and download at times of the day that people dont use much internet in your house.