Download Manager vs Download Accelerator

Downloading files, especially large ones, can be very frustrating especially when you do not have a fast or reliable connection. To make it easier, you can install programs that were created specifically for downloading; download managers or download accelerators. The main difference between the two is what they are meant to do. A download manager handles the download so that the user doesn’t need to keep checking on it. In comparison, a download accelerator increases the download speed.

A download accelerator achieves the speed increase by establishing multiple connections to a single site. Each connection downloads a different portion of the file. This bypasses the bandwidth limit set by the site for each connection. A download accelerator is still limited by the quality of your connection. If you are on a very low speed connection, then a download accelerator would be of little help. Many sites have also imposed a limit on the number of connections that can be established to curb the abusive hogging of bandwidth.

A download manager’s basic functions include pausing the download when the connection is lost or the computer is turned off and resuming it once the connection is reestablished. Allowing the use to change the priority of the files and allocating more bandwidth to files with higher priority. Download managers are also capable of searching for mirror sites that hold the same file so that there is an alternative when one site goes down. Probably the most important function of a download manager is scheduling downloads to a later time, when no one is using the connection. Some download managers are even able to throttle the speed so that the user can still browse the web without experiencing lag.

Download managers also incorporate the same function as download accelerators in enhancing the speed. Aside from download acceleration, download managers are also capable of other methods like multi-source downloading. Multi-source downloading is better than download acceleration as it downloads the different segments from different sites. This way, you can maximize the limitations each site imposes and download the file as fast as your connection allows.

Download accelerators are virtually extinct and has been absorbed into download managers. Still, there are applications that still carry the name download accelerator although it functions more accurately as a download manager.

Summary:

1.A download manager automatically handles the download while a download accelerator increases the download speed
2.Most download managers also have a download accelerator function
3.Download managers are better than download accelerators

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