How long for a download?

[ImnoGuru]

Hello all, I would like to know, if someone might answer, how long it takes to download something like a movie, from what they call a torrent site.
I see that mostly, movies are around 750 mb yet some are over 1 and 2 gig for the same (movie for example).
I have ADSL2+ , and Im told its a good speed,
If I were to download something from a site how long might it take to complete a whole file?

[BC_Programmer]

for me, I've managed to download 1 to 2gb files in less then an hour. but I'm on super-fast cable...


Well, you can estimate. take your average download speed in say, firefox, just watch a download and take a reasonable value.


Then simply perform the math- (750*1024) kilobytes / kb/s = seconds to complete.

[ImnoGuru]

Thanks BC_Programmer, where might I "look" for this average download speed?
Is there somewhere that actually gives me a value? Say my ISP, or on my computer? or do I just get a stopwatch?
ImnoGuru   

[x2543]

http://www.speedtest.net/

This website allows you to communicate with a server you pick and it'll report download and upload speeds so you get an idea of how it goes!

For torrents, it depends on number of seeders you got vs number of leechers, some files of same sizes I have completed at fastest, within 30 minues and other times i have to leave pc on overnight and it'll be done by time I get up.


What you can do is to download many files one at a time and take an average of the speeds that the program reports it downloaded at.

[ImnoGuru]

Thanks for that site x2543.
My download test comes in at 1.17mb/s, which doesnt look very impressive for the Australian average of 3.96Mb/s
My upload test wasnt very good either, less than half the Aus average. (well if I dont laugh Id have to cry.

[x2543]

well i wouldn't worry too much about internet being a bit slow unless it's apparently too slow to do what you want to do....

[ImnoGuru]

BC_Programmer, Thanks for the calcs.
So just to clarify if I understand it correctly. The 750 is the size of the file and the 1024 is the speed of bits of information per second = the time in seconds to complete. Divide that by 60 and 60 = minutes then hours.

Therefore a file of say 750 odd @ average of 1.17 Mb/s (Oh crap, a conversion factor)= 12800 secs.  /60... /60.. /24..  8.8 days. 
 

[FlashDriveDT]

That sounds wrong and complicated how you calculated there. If your download speed is 1.17 Mb/s (I take it you mean Megabits and not Megabytes?) and the file you want to download is 750MB then simply do the following:
To make it easier let's say your speed is 1 Mbps (Megabits). 1 Mbps = 0,125 MB/s (Megabytes).
750:0,125 = 6000 seconds. 6000:60=100 minutes.
So it takes about 1 1/2 hours to complete the file provided you get good speed from the source. (Be aware it's a two way street)
You can also calculate your bandwith via this website (at "input":
http://web.forret.com/tools/bandwidth.asp

On another note, why don't you just download a file and simply check what the estimated download time is? Then you know for sure. There's usually a difference between theory and practice anyway.

[nadav224]

For my computer it takes aprox 1 1/2 hours to download 1 gig.

[ImnoGuru]

That sounds wrong and complicated how you calculated there. If your download speed is 1.17 Mb/s (I take it you mean Megabits and not Megabytes?)

Yes. Thanks for clearing that up for me FlashDriveDT I did mean that.

On another note, why don't you just download a file and simply check what the estimated download time is? Then you know for sure. There's usually a difference between theory and practice anyway.

I wanted to know before I tried that, to see if was worthy of me pursuing. The file I wanted seemed unusually large.. = 5.5 Gig.  
I have UTorrent and it said it would take 7 Years 42 weeks  and with my dazzleing speed test, it all seemed so correct.

For my computer it takes approx 1 1/2 hours to download 1 gig.

If I could achieve that level I would be most satisfied nadav224.

[x2543]

7 years 42 weeks.

Well, I did download some files from torrent about 4gb, approx the size of one dvd-5 and it took an overnight download. But that was a good download, and I was on a 5mb/s charter line but 7 years? it depends on what file you are downloading and what its health is.

If there is plenty of seeders and less of leechers, then you should be able to get the download done within a day's time if the download doesn't suddenly stop somewhere in between or any slowdown.

What file are you downloading, I'm curious - don't care what you're downloading, just want to take a look at it anyway 

[BC_Programmer]

another thing is that it won't have an accurate estimate right away- I wait an hour for the download speed to get up to speed and the estimate to level out before deciding wether a large download is worth attempting.

usually within an hour I'll check and it'll say 45 minutes or thereabouts.

[Carbon Dudeoxide]

If I were to download something from a site how long might it take to complete a whole file?

Torrents are nothing like downloading from other websites like Microsoft or Download.com ect.
For example, if you are downloading Speedfan, you are downloading it off their server or a file-hosting website/server.
The download speed depends on your download speed, bandwith, their upload speed, and latency.

When downloading from torrents, you are not downloading from one source, but multiple sources.
Say the torrent has 5 Seeds. This means there are 5 people around the world uploading the file to you. If the file has 500 Seeds, there are 500 people uploading the file to you, all at different speeds.
Your download speed will not always be constant.
Depending on how many Seeds you've got and your bandwith, it can take minutes or days.

[BC_Programmer]

Of course, a slow connection will keep those seeders from uploading to you very quickly. With well-seeded torrents it is pretty much dependent on the amount of ones bandwidth; fewer seeders, say 1 to 5, depend mostly on their combined upload speeds, rather then your download speeds.

[ImnoGuru]

Thanks for that info Carbon Dudeoxide, I didnt realize that.
So a REAL download is direct from a source, and these "torrents" come from anywhere.
Next door, three houses down, Yugoslavia, Venice and so on.

BC_Programmer yes I saw that while transferring the download and it did throw me off a bit.

Ok then, I get it now.
So what about music Albums or songs, are they downloads or only torrent files as well?