Cable vs. DSL

[Inspector Fowler]

For gaming, that is.

I know, I know - in theory, cable has a distinct advantage for speed. However, my "8 Mbps" service from Comcast rarely exceeds 4.5 Mbps, and I'd say it is usually right around 4 Mbps. It also varies in speed greatly depending on time of day, and (I assume) how many of my neighbors are using it.

The bottom line is that I'm unhappy with it. There are no fiber providers in my area yet.

However, DSL is available at a 7Mbps speed. An actual real technician (not a sales guy) that I contacted on the net checked my neighbor's transmission strength and said it would be "real easy" for them to beat my observed speed of 4 Mbps. Their DSL also comes with a "if you don't like it in a month we won't charge you anything" guarantee, which seems like a good way to try their service.

But aside from just speed, are there any caveats for this? Is there some DSL secret that will mess up my gaming? The DSL is from Qwest, which is also likely to be the first company to lay fiber in my neighborhood (whenever that freaking happens).

[TheFlyingOrc]

For gaming, that is.

I know, I know - in theory, cable has a distinct advantage for speed. However, my "8 Mbps" service from Comcast rarely exceeds 4.5 Mbps, and I'd say it is usually right around 4 Mbps. It also varies in speed greatly depending on time of day, and (I assume) how many of my neighbors are using it.

Are you actually doing speed tests, or just noticing that you don't get that much bandwidth? If the second, you have to remember that the speed of the other guy matters, too.

[DiBiddilyBop]

Definitely go with the DSL. Due to the communal nature of cable, speeds can vary, but more importantly, latency can be a big factor. With DSL you have a dedicated line to your provider, so it doesn't matter what your neighbor is doing, you (should) always have a stable connection.

[Goronmon]

If the price difference is negligible, choose DSL. If you would be paying something like $40 for the cable and $100 for the DSL, I'd say go with the cable and save some cash.

[Inspector Fowler]

Are you actually doing speed tests, or just noticing that you don't get that much bandwidth? If the second, you have to remember that the speed of the other guy matters, too.

I've been doing both. With dslreports and speedtest, I've been doing slightly more objective tests, ie, same servers at different times of day. I can, very VERY rarely, get a server to briefly hit 5 Mbps.

More subjectively - a couple years ago, based on the promise of shows over the internet, we dropped our satellite. I notice that many streaming sites like Hulu and Netflix (I was REALLY looking forward to Netflix with the NXE) have a lot of difficulty - a quick burst of speed, then it struggles to keep up, then another burst, etc. The variable speeds are also frustrating for gaming, where I will sometimes have very decent ping, and sometimes I will have lag pouring out my ass. Yes, out my ass.

And! I meant to mention this in the OP, but this is all AFTER a tech came out earlier in the year and made sure the signal was as good as it could get to the house. As in, it's as fast as it will get.

So I'm really leaning towards the DSL, but I want to make sure that somebody can't whip out some article on Wired or something explaining to me how DSL, even at a faster connection speed, will mess up my gaming.

@Goronmon - the price is actually a little less for the DSL.

[sparkfizt]

If you're currently having lag and streaming issues then give the DSL a shot. What you have to remember is that gaming is generally not that bandwith intensive. A low latency 1 megabit line would likely be enough to game and never see lag.

Cable is highly location dependant, I personally pay for a 4-6 megabit comcast connection and routinely end up with transfer rates in excess of 8 megabits/sec. I have latency well under 100ms and never have trouble streaming.

I'm not sure what the cost for me to get dsl would be, I don't have a home phone and I dunno if I'd be forced into getting one in order to receive dsl.

but yeah, give dsl a try if your current performance is unsatisfactory and the tech says your throughput would go up.

[Heresyte]

There's nothing wrong with DSL. DSL is all I've ever used since switching from dial-up in 2001, and I haven't had any problems, while my friends who have tried cable have usually ended up switching to DSL.

In some areas the available DSL service is good and the available Cable service is crap, and in some areas the available Cable service is good and the available DSL service is crap. For some reason the people who live in the cable=good, dsl=bad areas have spread this myth that dsl is inherently shit. This isn't true.

[cawblen]

i prefer DSL over cable anyday (at least with respect to my experience with both)

[fitbabits]

When I move out of the place I'm in right now and get my own place, I'll be sticking with DSL. Cable is simply too expensive for what you get.

[MalReynolds]

i have DSL and i have 500-600KB dl anyway

[Xydarc]

Be wary of Qwest though. They will try to bundle the snot out of you.

[KingGorilla]

www.dslreports.com

All you really need to know about providers in your area. There is no better or worse when it comes to services. It is what is Best for YOU where you are. Also research the company Comcast and AT T are putting in caps, sniffing packets. Throttling bandwidth after the first 10 Mb in many cases, or worse. Look on Ars Technica and Slashdot to better research the company.

[Gormanimal]

I moved from cable to DSL about 6 months ago. Latency was definitely improved with the move, and I find I do actually get more consistent d/l speeds.

[Smoof]

DSL was shit when I had it, from three different companies. Always brutally slow and would disconnect when it rained (line issues). I've been with cable for a few years now and would never go back. My connection is extremely fast, frequently getting something like 9mbps (something around that. I tested the speed, but can't remember right now).

[Wraith]

Only thing I would check on is what your upload speed will be with DSL, compared to the download rate, and whether this is any worse than you're getting now.

[SharpRule]

Qwest DSL has been more reliable than Comcast in my area. I get consistent speed and it's been down maybe a couple times over the 4 yrs. I've had it.

[squirrelTactics]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359002967.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

:D

[KingGorilla]

Fast speed, NAT meet Firewall, firewall wins. I did love the speeds I got in college, do not miss the router conflicts and network errors when trying to play online games though.

[Wraith]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359002967.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

:Dhttp://www.speedtest.net/result/359006449.png

:(

[VerseD]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359006529.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

I guess DSL speed is also dependent on where you live...

I'd recommend trying DSL if you're dissatisfied with your cable service though. It's free, so what do you have to lose?

[KingGorilla]

Sweet fucking Christ! Wraith, set up a Paypal account, we need to start donating to you.

Also, DSL is dependent on how close you are to DSLAM, the closer the better. Spun copper wire fucking sucks is why.

[PathMaster]

DSL, as long as the lines in you area are good. As someone mentioned above, bad lines equal bad times. ;) Usually cheaper as well. Also, don't let the phone company fool you, you do not need to have a phone number with them. That is direct from a Verizon tech.

Edit: Going with the flow..
http://www.speedtest.net/result/359009921.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Wraith]

Sweet fucking Christ! Wraith, set up a Paypal account, we need to start donating to you.It does get better than that, sometimes. I re-tested again and got 445/104 (instead of 343/104).

Pretty slow, but then some people around here can't even get DSL where they live.

*Edit* And hey, at least I'm doing better than PathMaster! :D

[MalReynolds]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359014010.png

holy shit
http://www.speedtest.net/result/359014808.png

[Goronmon]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359013932.png

Time Warner Cable

[Inspector Fowler]

Well, all right. It seems like most people don't have anything too terrible to say about DSL, although a few have had some pretty bad experiences in the past.

I know all about Qwest....years ago my line at work was "Thank you for calling Qwest Choice TV and Online, my name is Wil, my employee number is 6886, how may I help you today?" So I know all about their bundles. We just canceled our home phone, I don't need satellite, I'm happy with Verizon, so I JUST want their DSL.

Unless my wife has some good reason to stop me I'll call their sales department during my lunch break tomorrow.

[Alkanos]

I live out in the middle of nowhere, and we only could start getting cable 5 or so years ago. Definitely no DSL. But this is actually good for cable, since there are less users to leech your bandwidth! :p

So I get pretty good speeds here...
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/AvatarAndy/NYSpeedTest.png

Even at long distance, the speeds aren't too bad
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/AvatarAndy/LASpeedTest.pnghttp://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a118/AvatarAndy/JPSpeedTest.png

And I don't have any fancy stuff, just basic 8Mbit service. It all depends on where you live. I wouldn't touch cable with a 10 foot pole if I lived in the city.

So I'd say give the DSL a try. If it doesn't work out, you're not really losing anything.

[MalReynolds]

Closest server to me's in the states

[Expugnare]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359018501.png (http://www.speedtest.net)
On WiFi nonetheless. Comcast's cable has been pretty good to me.

[fitbabits]

http://www.dslreports.com/im/61433339/8343.png

Via wireless.

[Everyone vs Dinosaurs]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359023693.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Via Qwest Fiber Optics.

$32 a month here. Not bad.

[ShivaX]

Some of you have some crazy terrible speeds.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359044029.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[J'onn J'onnz]

As much as I hate Georgia (no offense to Georgians) my cable connection is damned fast, I just hope I can still get speeds this good after I move.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/359046127.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Seconds Out]

I just got FIOS, its great. I reccomend it over any other service.

[sparkfizt]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359193519.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[Goronmon]

I'm jealous of the upload speed many of you have. Anytime I have to toss a non-trivial file out on dropbox or my web host, it takes forever.

[NoName]

Hehe, I like my work connection. Also, DSL vs. Cable is very much YMMV. Try out DSL and see if you like it better. If it works well, you shouldn't have any problem with gaming.

As for my area, Cable is a lot better than DSL. Then again, Time Warner is a lot better than comcast :).

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359214493.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Edit: Wow, compared to everyone else so far my upload bandwidth is insane...

[torrefaction]

I switched to DSL out of a matter of ethics, right when Comcast first started fucking with torrents. I rarely even use them, except for the occasional TV episode.

But don't FUCK with my internet, bitches.

[KingGorilla]

I'm jealous of the upload speed many of you have. Anytime I have to toss a non-trivial file out on dropbox or my web host, it takes forever.

Which is really something to pay attention to. The upload speed is what really effects your experience with a game. Download speed is rather cheap, as you will almost never get that speed from any remote server. You can only download as fast as the server is uploading to you, in other words. But for things like uploading content to a web server, playing a game, you are talking about needing consistent and fast speeds both ways.

[Dukefrukem]

Here's my Cable...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359377382.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Still waiting for Fios to be available in my area.

[maverick106]

Here's my Cable...

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359377382.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Still waiting for Fios to be available in my area.

Me too. I have a feeling I'll be waiting a long, long time.

[TheKeck]

All I know is that I would love to give DSL a shot if it were an option. I actually am totally fine with my cable service, but Comcast as a company makes me want to kick babies.

[OrangePulp]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359404155.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

My upload looks high, but it's bogus. Any kind of dedicated uploading that goes above 15-20K/s lags the shit out of my connection. Even web pages take forever. And I can rarely get above 40K/s on a single upload.

[RandoM51]

Cable vs. DSL is really a meaningless question due to how many different flavors of each there are.

Best service I ever had specifically for gaming was 1.1Mb SDSL. That gave me enough upstream to run a couple CS/RA2/DoD servers when I wanted to.

Wasn't really fair playing on them myself since I ended up with a 7ms ping and the best anybody else could get was around 15ms.

[Goronmon]

The upload speed is what really effects your experience with a game.Yeah, and that's the "Turbo" version of the internet service that TWC offers and it's the fastest option I've seen (and also, AFAIK, the only option even though I live in downtown Portland). I pay $56 for that. I think the base package is 8Mbps and 386 kbps. Pretty terrible.

Verizon fucked over Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont when they sold the landlines to Fairpoint in March. Fairpoint is completely worthless and the transition has been delayed repeatedly. I think it currently is set for something like January of next year. I would be surprised to see even their basic DSL available right off the bat. Who knows how long it will take before their FIOS-equivalent is available if it takes them that long just to get phone service working. I'm not even sure if they even plan to toss fiber into the ground around here.

[Inspector Fowler]

Well, I also e-mailed Comcast to give them a chance to fix this. They replied IN WRITING that they can see from their end that my DL and UL speeds are half of what I'm paying for. So I'm in the queue to get a technician to come out again and see what the problem really is. They get one chance - if it isn't at least close to what I'm paying for, Qwest is gonna roll out and fix me up right.

Edit - One fucking hour later and we're still chatting. It's going to result in an hilarious post later, though. I think the chat person is STILL from India. It took her 2 and a half minutes to type "I see."

Double Edit: I should have fucking known. This bitch is dumber than a box of rocks. Fucking Jesus I'm pissed. This shit has wasted a whole night, but I still need this stupid whore to send out a technician to my fucking house. (you know I'm pissed, because I don't usually swear THIS bad on CoG :mad:

[Inspector Fowler]

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been well and truly pwned by Comcast Customer "Service" I spent almost two hours in chat with "Nilma", a retard so fucking amazing I wondered (I mean, literally, not some idle wonder) if she was a bot trying to emulate a human.

The Blue is her, the Green is me. The white is my annotations to the increasing levels of retardation I was fighting...obviously those never went into chat.

Wall-O-Text follows:


Hello Wil_, Thank you for contacting Comcast Live Chat Support. My name is Nilma . Please give me one moment to review your information.
how are you today?
I'm doing well, thanks.
Great!
How may I help you today?
Here is the problem - it will take me just a bit to type it out....
Last summer we were having some connection problems. A technician came out (he was super cool, by the way.
Sure. Just take your time, Wil.
That's good to hear.
Separate from the connection problems, I had noticed that my average download speed (measured on speedtest.net and dslreports.com) was around 4 mbps.
At the time, I had the 6 mbps service.
As an apology for the connection problems, the service rep gave me three months of 8 mbps service. I thought that was cool - but....
To further assist you,I need to have your full account holder's name, service address and account number please? WTF? Wasn’t I talking here, lady?
I'm so sorry for the inconvenience that it has caused you.
The account holder's name is *********, service address is *******....errr, hold on for my account number, I'll have to find it.
Thank you for the information.
Sure, take your time.
In any case - I e-mailed your technicians, and got a report back that they could see from their end that I have a download speed of 4400 kbps and an upload speed of 384 kbps when I am (since the 3 months is up) paying for 8000 kbps and 2000 kbps...gimme just a sec to get the account number.
Wil, do you have a router?
My account # is **********
Yes, I do have a router. I have tried to connect without the router, and I get the same speed results. My computer is (fortunately) quite close to the cable modem and router.
Please bypass your router, Wil. Uuuh, in the middle of freaking chatting? In a private chat room? Where the f*** did they find you?
Errr, right now? If I unplug the ethernet from the comp and go straight to the modem, won't it disconnect us from this chat window?
I can do it if it won't disco us, though.
Do you have any wireless connection? What relevance is this? If I unplug my comp from the router I STILL get disco’d, dumbass.
The router provides the wireless connection for the house. However, the house is also wired for CAT5. My computer, my wife's computer, and my Xbox 360 are all on ethernet.
The only devices using the wireless connection are my PS3 and my wife's work laptop.
The computer I am chatting from does not have a wireless adapter.
Please hold on for a minute or two so I can assist you with your concern, Wil.
Okay.

I will be providing you with a link. You need to copy this link to chat back with me. The reason why I'm doing this since we need to bypass the router first. Will that be ok?
Sure. That's fine
Thank you.
We have generated a one time use connection code for you to connect back to the chat system.
Your connection code is 262510.
Please copy the following link and paste it in your browser to connect back to the chat.
http://www.comcastsupport.com/sdcxuser/assistcommon/reconnect.asp?code=262510 (http://www.comcastsupport.com/sdcxuser/assistcommon/reconnect.asp?code=262510)
Please remember that clicking on the link will utilize the one time use code and can not be reused.
Please copy the link and the connection code.
Okay. I'll go disco the router and plug straight into the cable modem. BRB.
Ok then.
I'm plugged straight into the cable modem now.This took me LESS than one minute.
Can you try to check the speed?
Sure. Just a sec...
Ok.
4542 kbps download, 359 kbps upload.
That's from www.speedtest.net (http://www.speedtest.net)
It's almost the same result I always get, although it's usually closer to 4000 kbps even.
I see. It took her 2.5 minutes from my last sentence to type “I see.”
Wil, as I can see it in your account, your speed level is 4Mbps so the records that you are seeing right now which is 4542 kbps download, 359 kbps upload is correct.
As in, I am only supposed to be getting 4 mbps? My bill is pretty clear that I'm paying for 8 mbps...Anger…f***ing…rising…
Or as in, you can also see that I'm only getting 4 mbps when I'm paying for 8 mbps?
Ok, let me check that for you.
I have kind of wondered - with the speeds so consistently at 4 mbps, I wondered if maybe the billing was changed, when my actual service level was not changed.
I totally understand how you feel about it, Wil.
I'm trying everything that I can to help you out with your concern.
It's not so much the overpaying for the service - I am just looking to get the speeds up. My wife does web design part time and I'm a gamer, so we need to make sure we're getting the most from our internet connection. See how damned patient I am being with her?
I see. So you were saying that you want to increase you speed level, right? WHAT?! ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?! DO YOU EVEN READ ENGLISH?! WHAT THE F***ING HELL HAVE WE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, YOU DUMBASS?! I DON’T NEED IT INCREASED, I NEED THE F***ING SPEED I’M F***ING PAYING FOR.
Well, yeah. I realize that the internet isn't ever perfect, but I would expect that with 8 mbps service (with 2 mbps uploads) I would usually get around 7-8 mbps download speeds (higher with the SpeedBoost service).
Ok,Can I have the last four digits of your SSN to assist you further?
My last four are ****, but my wife's are ****. She is the primary account holder, I think.
Thank you so much.
Yes, you're right.
I can see that it's really 8Mbps. I had double checked it. I'm sorry for the confusion. Ah. So you’re f***ing stupid AND confused.
So where do we go from here?
Ok, I'll just send a ticket for you.
Please hold on for a minute. It took her five minutes to type this.
Okay.
Thank you.
Going back Wil, can you tell me what is your modem make/ model?
Hold on one moment, let me go check.
Ok, go ahead.
It's a Motorola SB5100 SURFboard.
Sorry, what I mean is the Mac Address. Ah. I see. Still vamping on the whole “stupid” chord. That’s cool.
I don't know how I can get the modem's Mac Address.
It's actually found at the bottom of the Motorola equipment. Its 12 alphanumeric code.
Okay. Standby.
Sure.
It has two. The first is labeled "HFC MAC ID" and it says, "000E5C69E4D6". The second is labeled "USB MAC ID" and it says, "000EC5983E9D".
Yes, that's correct.
Are you experiencing such slow upload and download in all websites? Okay, we’re well into retardation land now.
Yes. All of the time. Day and night. I never get anything faster than 4.5 mbps. Never.
What I mean is, all websites?
Is there any website in which you experience faster upload and download?
No. Even your technician, who e-mailed me today, says that from his end he can see I'm only getting 4400 down and 384 up.
I see. Thank you for that information.
(Thu Nov 20 2008 21:55:29 GMT-0700 (Mountain StandardCan you disable any anti-virus, pop-up blockers and any active firewalls?
Done, but with no router and no software firewall, I am exposed. Are you serious? I mean, really serious?
Are you going to try and ping me? No, because I bet this dumbass doesn’t know what “ping” means.
It's ok, I'm finishing the ticket for you.
Wil, here's your ticket ID CR145595185.
Thank you, I have copied that down.
Is there anything, I can assist you with? Wha huh? Anything else? You haven’t fixed my first problem, you idiot!!
Wait, what good does this ticket do me?
Is somebody coming out to my house to fix this?
That's to help you out with your concern.HOW DOES A TICKET HELP ME WITH MY CONCERN? ENGLISH, DO YOU SPEAK IT?!
(Thu Nov 20 2008 20:06:36 GMT-0700 (Mountain Standard TimeNilma, I have to go. I cannot spend any more time in chat with you. I feel that this has not helped me out at all.
I don't understand anything that has happened tonight. Good bye. THE WORLD IS LUCKY THAT I WAS THIS POLITE TO HER. I FEEL THAT I COULD HAVE CHANNELLED VADER’S FORCE CHOKE AND KILLED EVERYBODY WHO WORKS AT COMCAST WHEN I HEARD THE LAST BIT….


To cap all this off (I didn’t get this copied down before the chat window closed), she then says, “Please close the chat window by hitting “End Session”. You HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME. Almost two f***ing hours and you didn’t do a damned thing.

[Inspector Fowler]

Last post was near the word cap...

...in the end, I had to call in, and I actually spoke to an American. He is sending a tech out on Monday but said that I "might not like what the tech has to say". You see, fellow CoGs, Comcast says everything is okay on their end, which means there cannot possibly be even a slight problem.

Yes. Every computer in my house, INCLUDING VISITING LAPTOPS FROM MY FRIENDS, gets the same 4X00 kbps downloads, but the problem is me. Even when my fucking computer is hooked to the modem directly, I get 4X00 kbps, but the problem is me.

Goddamn it. If they can't fix this, I am going to delight in walking into the Comcast office, giving them back their modem, and saying, "Jeez, it's crazy how Qwest could get me hooked up with faster DSL than your CABLE. What a world! I guess the problems are all on my end."

[PathMaster]

Yeah, and that's the "Turbo" version of the internet service that TWC offers and it's the fastest option I've seen (and also, AFAIK, the only option even though I live in downtown Portland). I pay $56 for that. I think the base package is 8Mbps and 386 kbps. Pretty terrible.

Verizon fucked over Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont when they sold the landlines to Fairpoint in March. Fairpoint is completely worthless and the transition has been delayed repeatedly. I think it currently is set for something like January of next year. I would be surprised to see even their basic DSL available right off the bat. Who knows how long it will take before their FIOS-equivalent is available if it takes them that long just to get phone service working. I'm not even sure if they even plan to toss fiber into the ground around here.

My brother in law used to work for them, then he was laid off. The company works in this method. Grow big VERY fast, now they have grown too fast, need to shed excess, via lay offs and assets. Wait a bit, repeat again.

Fairpoint may actually be a good thing overall in the end. Verizon was not really willing to build out any more infrastructure. They were not happy with the fact that Vermont alone only had 200k+ landlines for the entire state of Vermont which was only about one third of the state's population.

I have a similar issue across the lake from you in NY. Verizon is unwilling to upgrade the phone lines for many beyond city centers. My 1960's copper is too old but still works so they don't care. A town just south of me has even older copper and the techs simply do not care. The town is basically just a bunch of splits from a main, they frequently lose their phones in any type of weather.

[KingGorilla]

All I know is that I would love to give DSL a shot if it were an option. I actually am totally fine with my cable service, but Comcast as a company makes me want to kick babies.

I can almost guarantee that there is a smaller, local or regional, company in your area with better pricing and packageing.

type your zip code into the search bar at dslreports.
http://www.dslreports.com/search

It looks like there is someone running Fiber in your area. You live in Lehi, right?

[Virtual Machine]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/359599257.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

No idea if that's good or bad.

[PathMaster]

At work:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/359933095.png (http://www.speedtest.net)