DSL or Cable - You Make the Choice! (1023 hits)
Category: Computers & InternetRating: 0.13 on 32 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by <chateaudisaster.at.aol.com> (View user info) at 2004-01-13 22:22:31 EST
My wife has finally agreed to allow me to get rid of our dial-up connection and...
No, wait...Let me start over.
:::ahem::: :::deep manly voice:::
The other day I informed my wife that we are getting rid of our dial-up connection and getting something faster! (much better)
The only question is: DSL or Cable. Yes, there are price differences, but they aren't major. However, I can't seem to get a good, relatively un-biased opinion on which is better.
So, I am throwing it out to all of you, the collective denizens of Ubersite: Taking money out of the equation, which is better - in terms of speed, relability, ease of use (and installation), etc - DSL or Cable?
User Reviews
Submitted by poisonyourkids (user info) at 2004-03-12 09:29:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
this is nerd talk.
where i come from, nerds have their pants pulled down and they are spanked with moon rocks... now drop those sweatpants...
Submitted by yidele (user info) at 2004-03-12 09:18:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
It all depends on the provider & how your service is offered. I have DSL, and it's great, but mostly DSL means dialup pools & random ip assignment, which forces some to use dynamic DNS in order to offer services. ADSL uses a portion of the bandwidth available over a twisted pair connection for data services, which means you have to iolate the analog phones with a filter. It works well over fairly short distances, but your milage can vary with phone cable lenght & quality. Also, dialup pools are a security pain in the ass.
Submitted by The Cable Guy at 2004-01-14 12:06:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
If your provider is Adelphia cable sucks. Mail and news are horrible. In fact mail is down more than it is up.
As far as bandwidth goes, the speed varies between 30 kbps and 3000 kbps, depending on what day it is and so forth. When it works it's great, when it doesn't it's slower than dial up.
I've never had DSL and other cable providers may actually provide good service... 6 of one, half dozen of another.
Submitted by DrunkMonk (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:56:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I use cable, but had them crank down my actual TV cable to limited basic.
But since I have the cable modem, they can't cut off the non-premium channels.
So I get all the non-movie channels for around $10/month, plus the $50-ish for internet.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:45:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I went with cable just so I could get rid of my house phone. I don't remember now why, but for some reason we would have still needed a phone for dsl. It's very possible that I don't know what I'm talking about, it's been a couple of years.
Submitted by Insanethemind (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:36:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
How about my penis?
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:36:17 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Id go with cable but it depends on where you live really. I guess the neighborhood i live in doesnt have alot of people with cable as well because i get blazing speeds. Its much faster than the T1 i have at work.
Submitted by theorist (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:28:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
It all depends on where you are. I had cable back home. I now live in a small hick town in southern Japan with DSL and its just as fast here as the cable was back home.
Submitted by defender0417 (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:23:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
There are a thousand different variables which can make one better than the other. Proximiy to server, how many people are on at a given time, or even if the cable you are using has aged a few years just to name a few. In theory cable should be faster than dsl, it depends on what type of dsl you get as well, the closer you are to the dsl server the faster it will be, etc... Cable should be faster, yet this is not always the case as when a great deal of people are using it (even if not activly) the speed will suffer far worse than it would on dsl. At home I use cable, but that is just personal preference, it really depends on where you live, and how many other people around you have it.
Submitted by NotApologizing (user info) at 2004-01-14 09:12:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I had DSL for 5 weeks and 6 days (until the last day of the free trial period). HOLY FUCK it sucked compared to cable. Not only was my dsl much slower and less reliable, but you often times have to get it through your phone company. And the only thing worse than dealing with a cable company is dealing with a fucking phone company.
If your choice is cable or dsl, I say take cable. I would happily pay $15/month more for cable, although I think the prices are much closer than that in reality.
And sorry, but I usually don't rate on this type of advice post. I don't have a problem with the post, I just don't give a rating. But I would give DSL a -2. IF DSL were a member of this site I would say:
"DSL you fucking newb. ESAD. Then leave. -2 you piece of shit. And quit plagiarizing maddox!"
Submitted by drky (user info) at 2004-01-14 08:47:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Right, i have a 512k cable line, i don't know what the standards/prices are in the usa but in the uk at the mo 512k cable seems to be the standard cable connection and is about £25 a month, for this i get a 512k bandwidth(supposedly) line thats always on. However cable is shared between everybody else on your street/local area connection aswell. This normally causes a great decrease in bandwidth and slows down the up/downstream quite a lot at some points. It is also shared again at the internet access point between a few other local area's/streets (this is as i understand it) which again decreases the bandwidth.
If i have my file sharing client running and a few things downloading the speeds generally settle around 13k/sec ish with upload settling at 5-6k/sec... While the client is running my browsing is just as slow as a 56k modem line... When not on browsing is fine...
I also have 2 pc's networked up in my house, we can both access the net for browsing fine but when it comes to online gaming only one of us has enough bandwidth to play at a time...
I have been talking about changing to an (A)DSL line which are roughly the same price if not cheaper. DSL lines are shared but they are only shared at the point of internet access, so a 512k dsl line would give you a dedicated 512k bandwidth which is shared with between a maximum of 50 or 20 (you choose when you subscribe) other people.
Thus they both should provide you with the same speed but the dsl line is alot more stable(this also normally depends on distance from the phone network office/hub but these days they're are pretty good) and provides an overall higher bandwidth...
I'm personally going to upgrade to a 1mb adsl line from my 512k cable because the cost is roughly the same and from everyone i've talked to the overall service is much better...
Hope this has helped + if anyone can either correct/add anything to this i would appreciate it...
Submitted by Kristen (user info) at 2004-01-14 08:46:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
These people are nuts. If you want good, quality service at a reasonalble price, stick with AOL. It's so...swell.
Submitted by glasscpp (user info) at 2004-01-14 08:39:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I only bought cable because of the horror stories my buddy would tell me all the time at work from using DSL. There's my $0.02, hope it helps.
cheers,
glasscpp
Submitted by jimbo (user info) at 2004-01-14 07:22:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Don't be a fool. Cable all the way.
Submitted by korthrun (user info) at 2004-01-14 06:03:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Cable all the way. DSL is trouble almost every time.
One thing you may wanna do is see what providers any possible net cafe type places in your area use
or finda friend/nieghbor so you can compare. The network yoru going through can make as much as a difference as cable vs. dsl.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2004-01-14 05:41:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
CABLE CABLE CABLE CABLE
Submitted by squattail (user info) at 2004-01-14 05:36:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I will tell you which you should get. ADSL 512 unlimited. It should be cheaper than unlimited cable, and although it is only like 1/5 times as fast as most cable, it is still almost 10 times faster than 56k. It will allow you to view sites faster, and play any online game for up to 3 PCs. If you want to download fast, pay 5$ and go to a local lan, it takes the fuss out of searching warez and getting slow speeds on kazaa. Anything that is on the internet that is worth getting will be there, just look them up.
Submitted by MmmVag (user info) at 2004-01-14 01:58:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
T3 is awesome, but university firewalls are a pain, you have to mask ports to lower numbers. I'm not really sure how to explain that cause i'm not really sure how I did it, all I remember is it was a pain.
Not all of us *obviously* have access to T3, so we consider cable and DSL. DSL is slower yes... usually. Really I feel, and i'm pretty sure i'm right, feel free to correct me, that if your in a low traffic area, such as a suburb, cable is superior, however, DSL can perform better in a higher traffic area, such as the city. I believe it also depends on the type of cable you order and how close you are to wherever it is they send the cable... thing. I know it speed degenerates the further away you are from the... thing.
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2004-01-14 01:49:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
The T-3 is a school line, I'm not paying that much for it...It's not all that fast when the whole fucking school is running it.
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2004-01-14 01:44:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Cable. DSL was a nightmare for me. I was part of the dreaded EarthLink <-> Covad <-> Ameritech/SBC Bermuda Triangle where nobody could figure out how to keep the whole thing up for more than a week.
Cable has worked great and I get a faster speed than I ever had on DSL. I have cable through RCN. While they are a big company, at least they aren't AT&T / Comcast. I'd rather cut off a nut than buy anything from AT&T.
Submitted by Gillespie (user info) at 2004-01-14 01:33:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Cable is faster, DSL is more reliable. Go with what you think works. If you go with cable, get something that others in the area suggest, more people will notice an overstressed cable connection.
-J
Submitted by gbusman (user info) at 2004-01-14 01:19:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Cable - it's faster, and easier. You won't have to deal with login names and passwords, which means your router (surely you'll get a router?) will work right out of the box.
-Bus
Submitted by jonukah (user info) at 2004-01-14 00:36:48 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
T Fucking 3?
Would you mind forking some of that cash this way so I can fix my Daewooga?
Submitted by Death_Metal_Dude (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:41:19 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
T fucking 3
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:37:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
cable has ALWAYS been better to me than DSL, I say go with cable.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:35:54 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
i hate cable. stupid cablevision and charles dolan.
DSL!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by distressedjester (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:33:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
i've got DSL...its not bad, ive been on T1 and its looads faster.
even tho it says i get T1 speed..something like 1532k.
Submitted by Redrum (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:30:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
It seems to depend upon the area. I've had both DSL and Cable here and I'm glad I settled upon DSL. You might want to check around with locals and see what they prefer. I get the feeling you've already tried that though.
Submitted by quack (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:28:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
cable seems more reliable to me. dsl seemed finicky when a friend had it.
Submitted by angrykoz (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:26:43 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
I'm goin with cable, that way you have a thicker piece of wire to strangle yourself with......
Submitted by DJMattB241 (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:25:29 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
all i have to say is this:
Personal Experience:
I had cable.
Tested speed: 3Mb/sec
We moved to an area that only had DSL.
Thats where I live now.
Tested speed: 700Kb/sec
the place i tested them at was the same, so even if the numbers are wrong, they're wrong by the same amount.
i would kill to have cable again.
Submitted by bargled (user info) at 2004-01-13 22:25:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Fiber optic.