DSL or Cable/Reason - gaming/ +PCs

boyan · Post by **boyan** » Wed Mar 14, 2001 3:21 pm

I can choose between DSL and Cable. The main reason I want fast Internet Connection is playing online games (Q2,Q3,UT). I also have 2 PCs at home connected in LAN. @home just got available in my area and I am about 4500ft from the CO (North Point) for DSL according to ww.DSLreports.com/CO distance. I want to know which is better (DSL or Cable) for lower ping, faster connection and what do you recommend in my case? Also if I have to go with DSL which provider do you suggest? Thanks you …

phamien · Post by **phamien** » Wed Mar 14, 2001 6:33 pm

You should try cable first, as long as your area doesnt suck like mine, you should get around a 50 ping. Otherwise, go with adsl.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Mar 15, 2001 6:52 am

This is a tough call, because it really varies from area to area, going right down to the neighborhood you live in.

Based on my experience in the broad bandwidth area, and I do have a bit, I prefer quality DSL from a quality ISP over cable, but I prefer cable over the usual phone company DSL.

Being very into online gaming, I'm of course concerned with "ping". Ping performance factors heavily on how many hops your data takes on it's trip down the ISP/internet highways to it's destination. Say I go to a client who has a phone company DSL setup, run tracert to my favorite UT server (same state that I'm in), I'll see the data head across CT, into NT, into NJ, turn back around, and end up in Hartford CT where the server is. Total of 24 hops. Do it at my house using DSL from a major ISP in New England, BizOnline. I do it in 3 hops. Cable is usually in the low teens.

Where I am in south eastern Connecticut, we're not too densely populated of an area, so cable users get pretty decent performance. What I like about DSL is once it's installed, you can benchmark it, see what you get, and it's pretty much always going to be that constant in performance. You have a dedicated feed from the CO to your house. Cable I've found to vary a bit, depending on what else is going on in your node, as don't forget with cable you share with your neighbors. But as long as you don't live in a dense area, it won't affet you too much.

glc1 · Post by **glc1** » Fri Mar 16, 2001 12:56 am

DSL, especially SDSL, generally yields lower latency than cable. However, it ultimately depends on your area and provider.

Woofboy · Post by **Woofboy** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 1:12 am

Since Northpoint just folded up and abandoned 30,000 customers overnight with nothing more than an email saying "you're about to lose your service" 2 days before they did... I'd say you should pick the cable #)

(I have SBC dsl here... never trust a clec over an ilec) (competing local exchange carrier versus incumbent local exchange carrier)..

Originally posted by boyan:
I can choose between DSL and Cable. The main reason I want fast Internet Connection is playing online games (Q2,Q3,UT). I also have 2 PCs at home connected in LAN. @home just got available in my area and I am about 4500ft from the CO (North Point) for DSL according to ww.DSLreports.com/CO distance. I want to know which is better (DSL or Cable) for lower ping, faster connection and what do you recommend in my case? Also if I have to go with DSL which provider do you suggest? Thanks you …

hello · Post by **hello** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 2:01 am

I suggest you give cable a shot first. Although it is sometimes faulty, generally at least in my experience it's very good. I average 30-70ms pings to every server east U.S. and midwest. The highest pings i've seen is around 100-120 but those are rare and typically west coast. I am using Mediaone, now at+t roadrunner in the Boston area.

again this is just my experience ...also, obviously a quality SDSL or high speed adsl line would bury mine

good luck whichever you choose.

3v1l807 · Post by **3v1l807** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 5:56 am

Try Cable first, mostly because DSL takes a long time to get installed... like 3 weeks? Or you could order both at the same time and keep the one you like best.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 8:48 am

Yeah I have a friend who has both, he's a super clan match nut with UT. He actually tests the server he's gonna do a clan match on ahead of time first with one, then the other, and he sticks with whichever provides the best ping to that server for that match.
Dunno who he's using for cable, he's down on the CT/NY shoreline border. I think it's Speakeasy for DSL.

Ya know, he does say it's usually DSL 2/3 times which gives the best ping.

fangars · Post by **fangars** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 11:46 am

I myself chose cable for the reason that I can and do have up to 3 computers hooked up at the same time.No timesharing with the wife and son.When I was deciding which of the 2 to go with the dsl only allowed for 1 computer address and the cable 3 so it was clear to me which to go with for my own purposes.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Sun Apr 08, 2001 2:08 pm

Routers Fangar...Routers. Like I'll let the ISP tell me I can't have more than one computer hooked up....peh!