Connections top out at 8

[dingus]

Do I need to forward specific ports other than 8332 in order to get > 8 connections on the bitcoin client? Also, does having more than 8 connections really matter?

[mewantsbitcoins]

Yes it does. You are helping the network as other nodes can connect to your client and update their blockchains
Open/forward port 8333

[dingus]

Interesting...just checked up on my forwarded ports and I've had 8333 open this whole time.

[mewantsbitcoins]

Is it forwarding that port to the right(your) IP? If you haven't set a static IP it changes everytime you reboot your computer