ADSL? New hardware? .. Decisions decisons

[Greef]

This is an issue plenty of people must be thinking about/ have already resolved/ be rethinking...

I recently got paid.. woohoo

I checked the BT website & it seems that if I get a BT line installed (currently NTL), I can get an ADSL line

Hovever this could cost alot & not be that great it seems (heard plenty of peeps moaning about openworld, demon etc..)
Cost:
Phone line install £100ish
ADSL install £75 (half price)
ADSL modem £100 ????
Helpline calls/Miscellanious bits not thought of/Network card?/
£100 ???
ADSL subscription£35/mth
Line rental? £10?

Adds up!
Or will I wait for NTL cable modem in my area & buy new hardware now? see: http://forums.barrysworld.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=127854&t=9597#post127854

Hmmm /me ponders indecisively..........

 

[Will]

That really is a tough one mate - I'd probably go for ADSL, but it depends on how long NTL are gonna take. If they don't give you a date when you ask them, take ADSL.

 

[Perplex]

If you choose ADSL over CableModem, you are fucking retarded.

The prosecution rests m'lud

 

[Embattle]

Just remember if you do take ADSL there is no turning back, you sign a 12 month contract

 

[]SK[]

Originally posted by Perplex
If you choose ADSL over CableModem, you are fucking retarded.

The prosecution rests m'lud

'retard'
You like this word huh?

 

[throdgrain]

hate to say it, but succintely put i think perp

 

[throdgrain]

just to elucidate (good word huh?) what with the stuff ive heard about dsl,im staying with isdn in my non-cable-modem area.

 

[Mr_Horus]

What stuff might that be? It's shit?

 

[old.Reverend Flatus]

I have to say I can't complain about my ADSL connection. I've had it for three months and, apart from a couple of disconnections due to 'maintenance', it's been fine. But I don't have a choice here as cable modems aren't available, so it's ADSL or nothing.

 

[old.Reverend Flatus]

Originally posted by Embattle
Just remember if you do take ADSL there is no turning back, you sign a 12 month contract

Yes but surely that's the same with cable?

 

[SoWat]

If you know cable is going to be available then I'd wait for that, especially if online gaming is your top priority.

Otherwise get ADSL as it's fine for all other Internet stuff, but only so-so for gaming. Pings are low, but packet loss is pretty grim (on BTO anyway).

As far as BTOpenworld goes, I've had no problems at all, apart from the packet loss, but I don't spend as much time gaming as I used to so it's fine.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Reverend Flatus

Yes but surely that's the same with cable?

Yes but my point is don't rush to get it since you can't get out should cable arrive a month later.

 

[old.[AXE]Raith]

There is no difference between Cable Modem and ADSL performance wise, it is just the provider that matter.

There are just as many people having problems with NTL as there are BTOpenworld.

Given the choice, I would take Nildram ADSL, service is excellent and you use their network rather than BT's. Even though my line test failed as they didnt provide ER-ADSL, So I had to order through Openworld to get this.

Nildram also offer a Move DSL package so you can swap ISP's

 

[old.Reverend Flatus]

Originally posted by SoWat
Otherwise get ADSL as it's fine for all other Internet stuff, but only so-so for gaming. Pings are low, but packet loss is pretty grim (on BTO anyway).

Not had any problems with packet loss.

Originally posted by [AXE]Raith
Given the choice, I would take Nildram ADSL, service is excellent and you use their network rather than BT's.

Yes, I'm with Nildram and they've been fine.

 

[Perplex]

Originally posted by [AXE]Raith
There is no difference between Cable Modem and ADSL performance wise, it is just the provider that matter.

Apart fromt he £150 vs £25 installation charges? Apart from the £40pcm vs £25pcm subscription charges? Apart from being foeced to use USB, or being able to use an ethernet NIC?

Sure, no differences at all. Given also that cable is better for gaming anyway

 

[Embattle]

 

[Mr_Horus]

Actually, NTL doesnt have a 12 month contract.
That only applies if you RENT the cm.
If you buy it, you dont have the long contract.

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Horus^
Actually, NTL doesnt have a 12 month contract.
That only applies if you RENT the cm.
If you buy it, you dont have the long contract.

Telewest does

 

[Will]

Why sould you buy a cable modem and then only use it for a short time? Seems pretty daft to me.

 

[Speccy]

ADSL has a 250k upload speed. cable is 128k afaik. certainly useful for those peer-peer games of opflash

my ADSL has been generally excellent since I got it at the start of the year tho ive had prob a total of 8 days downtime (mostly due to administrative fuckups).

 

[Perplex]

Give a shit. Cable will be 1024/256 soon enough, for a very nominal increase in subsciption. Wish I could say the same for DSL

 

[Speccy]

well i dont i can get 2mb if i want, i cant get cable in my area, and anyway i do all my downloads whilst im work with a remote console so 512 is fine even for the h00ge *cough* demo *cough* releases.

 

[old.Delboy]

Cable is the better value for money option (obviously).

Still ADSL via Nildram is a great service. So it should be for the dosh paid.

Cable is better for gaming? What crap.

You tell that to the Q2 leagues I was playing with who's clans wondered if their cable would hold up during the weekend for matches.

Akin to throwing dice for a 6. (or maybe a DM20?)

And we're not just talking about one m8 who has cable, or pointing the finger at providers in the UK, elsewhere can be just as shite. (lots of differing reasons for this)

And the other obvious thing about Cable is : How many of your neighbours are sharing your bandwith? For some ppl they're the only ones. Pld

This doesnt apply to ADSL at that point, Read: Contention ratio

 

[Will]

It all depends on your area - The only time I've seen someone ping lower than me recently was a guy on a Janet2 connection, and I am always first to connect to a CS game.

Guess I live and area where I don't share any bandwidth, and I live within a mile of the headend...

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Delboy
Cable is better for gaming? What crap.

You tell that to the Q2 leagues I was playing with who's clans wondered if their cable would hold up during the weekend for matches.

And the other obvious thing about Cable is : How many of your neighbours are sharing your bandwith? For some ppl they're the only ones. Pld

This doesnt apply to ADSL at that point, Read: Contention ratio

CM users often get better pings than ADSL users.

That last bit is BS since CM cables are fat cables right from the door even if they're shared you won't notice it. ADSL is also shared as soon as you hit the excahnge which will never be more than 3.5km away, in most cases, and that distance is covered much less than a second.

 

[old.[AXE]Raith]

Originally posted by Perplex


Apart fromt he £150 vs £25 installation charges? Apart from the £40pcm vs £25pcm subscription charges? Apart from being foeced to use USB, or being able to use an ethernet NIC?

Sure, no differences at all. Given also that cable is better for gaming anyway

Why dont you read the post before you comment or do I have to spell it out for you again.

There is no difference between Cable Modems and ADSL PERFORMANCE wise


Think you might see that one

 

[Will]

Apart from the total different technologies, the differing upstream bandwidth, and the different performance in real life?

 

[old.[AXE]Raith]

RL is different because that comes down to the provider not the technology.

 

[old.[AXE]Raith]

and in a Perfect Provider on both technologies could you tell the difference between a 30 and a 35 ping.

If it is a pure gaming connection you want then go for an independent Telco ISDN line. Contant 30-40 ping with no PL at all

 

[old.Delboy]

A user has nice ping otherwise the connection is crap, still nice ping tho! Jeez.......

Personally I dont give a flying fuck about 5 milliseconds difference in ping. Give me a stable low latency conn which I'm now getting.

If ppl want to boast about their ultra low ping which is 2 milliseconds below their mate then fine. Can you honestly say that on average it has an significant effect on your gaming across the board?