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submitted 2 weeks ago by janus2@lemmy.zip to c/linuxmemes@lemmy.world
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[-] dimjim@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Noob here, is there a benefit to torrenting Linux distros rather than downloading them from the website?

Edit: thank you for the education!

[-] hellfire103@lemmy.ca 10 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Torrent is fully decentralised and therefore accessible in practically all jurisdictions, regardless of the server status.

In many cases, I have also found Torrents to be considerably faster than direct downloads β€” however, your mileage may vary.

I find they're faster too. Another benefit of them being distributed is the distributor doesn't have to pay for all the bandwidth for every download, which I understand can be a considerable savings for smaller distros.

[-] hellfire103@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago
[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 2 weeks ago

The torrent client also verifies the checksum for each chunk and automatically redownloads any corrupted chunks. With a direct download, you would have to manually verify the checksum and redownload the whole thing if it's corrupted.

[-] janus2@lemmy.zip 3 points 2 weeks ago

i actually did not know that. now i have an excuse for never verifying pfffffff

[-] marcos@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

You save the server bandwidth bills and have all the people currently downloading help you get it instead of competing with you. Also, most torrent clients are way more competent and featurefull for handling downloads than most browsers.

Usually, it doesn't make a lot of difference.

[-] janus2@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

i tell people* it's because torrents are faster**
but it's really because they're cooler

*i made that up i've never gotten that far into a conversation about distro downloads

**in my experience it is actually a bit faster

this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
52 points (100.0% liked)

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