Although its not a problem, my question was how to configure the connections area to be the most efficient.

Does having more than five connections help?

If so, how many can I add, and what ip's are best to add?

If I add two hundred ip's does this increase my search results and or download speeds and or sources?

BTW I am always connected and have no problem waiting twenty minutes or more to connect if it means I will get better results.

(4.8.1 Pro, Win XP, Cable connection)

AFAIK LW Basic allows a maximum of 3 UP's to connect thru & LW Pro 5. However if you run as an Ultrapeer then you'll get more.
No it doesn't necessarily help having more than a certain no. & what it does is tie up potential connection options for others trying to connect on the Gnutella network. 3 works fine with LW & 5 for Pro. At times you don't even need that many if you're not in front of your computer & searching.

Thanks I was planning to just start adding ip addresses and hoping that they helped but not if it is going to hurt the other limewire users.

Are there any other ways to optimize limewire?

Some hints:
* After opening LW wait 10 to 20 mins before using. Let it settle down 1st.
* Set both uplds & downlds to autoclear.
* Don't use the Resume button on all incomplete files. This can have side-fx such as affect LW's connection quality. This will also stress LW & your comp. If you use Resume/Find sources then just apply it to a couple or so at one time.
* A well set-up LW can start to automatically continue its dwnlding after it's settled down perhaps 2 out of 3 times you open LW. Optimising LW & Maximising Uplds & Dwnlds A (1st post only) & also Part B which is even better & last & least are search & dwnld hints. The latter one I've been thinking about re-writing for some time. That's just for playing it safe. eg- I show all speeds & qualities.

eg: http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...028#post116028