For online play, 512/128 ADSL or 8mps/128 cable?

hkmlamm

New Member
Hi there

I am next to clueless on computers but I wanted some advice as to what internet connection would best suit me. Now, I know cable is faster but upgrading to a cable plan would cost me a lot more money. I'd just like to know if it is worth it.

I assume that when playing online games, BOTH uploading AND downloading speeds are important right? With the cable connection offering the same uploading speeds (128 something), I was wondering whether cable would still be significantly faster even though it does have an incredible downstream rate.

atm, I'm under the impression that online games require a very demanding internet connection if you don't want lag every 2 seconds. I could be wrong though considering computers/megabytes and other arcane tech stuff is never what it seems to be. Perhaps 512/128 is an acceptable connection speed? Or is that just wishful thinking?

Anyways, any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Many games will adjust down even to dialup connections since not all have either dsl or cable speeds to utilize. Once on a game server a buffer is usually inplace due to the varying connections as well as how many users are logged on. Cable is obviously preferred for the serious gamer. For the occasional or rare gamer the expense outweighs the need.
 
If it's for online play and not for some hardcore downloading then go with DSL, you shouldn't see "slim to non" difference in online play between Cable and DSL you've posted, I've got ADSL 512/128 connection and I don't experiance any lag during gameplay.
 
There's no surprise that dsl goes smooth with only minor issues as a server loads up. You could have cable and still see slow access times on a web site while browsing if that site is frequently visited. Your isp can bog down at times as well do to regularly scheduled maintainence.
 
I tend to think DSL is better as, it's a more direct connection to the internet than cable. Cable is more of a shared connection. I've had both and with cable, the lag was far more noticable. DSL is much more solid and stable in my opinion. It also just depends on the provider as well.
 
You will spend a little more then the advertised low price for high speed dialup but not quite the monthly burden of a cable setup. And as always things do depend on the service provider and gaming servers alike. It seems we are all in agreement with that.
 
Thanks guys, that was very helpful.

It's a relief to hear that the difference is negligible between the 2 listed. I'm not too hardcore an online gamer so i guess DSL will be the way to go for me.
 
For the savings you will see from going with dsl any small glitches will be something to toss in the recycle bin and not worry about. My own rule is that cable is for tv like dsl is for getting answers like this.
 
CmoAMD said:
I have cable, its faster and more reliable than DSL. I love it.
It may be faster in download speeds, but cable is shared internet. Meaning that everyone in your neighborhood, or city even is using the same connection, so if a bunch of people are downloading movies, your going to see it. With DSL, you have a direct link to the telephone company.
 
I used to have a low speed of cable and i hated it! but i know that the more expensive plans were alot faster... so its just about how much money you want to spend, but even with the the low speed games seemed to play fine just downloads were slow.
 
Even if the the neighboorhood was on and downloading, its probably still faster than cable. With DSL, if your far from your phone company, its slower. We could go all day back and forth, plus, my .02 cents is just my opinion from personal experience. I love cable and will choose it over DSL anyday. PEACE!
 
[-0MEGA-] said:
It may be faster in download speeds, but cable is shared internet. Meaning that everyone in your neighborhood, or city even is using the same connection, so if a bunch of people are downloading movies, your going to see it. With DSL, you have a direct link to the telephone company.

Dsl just like a T1 line is a dedicated line for constant connection. Cable has to faster to compensate for the divided bandwidth seen with all those channels for local and premium alike. Then you add the movies at request to that. I think I'll stay with something more reliable, DSL.
 
Well, I'm using cable, and it's fine, no lag. But I want to know how much the cost difference is... like more than $10??
 
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