Broadband: Cable vs DSL

[DurakkenX]

In about 2 weeks I'm changing from DSL to Cable... So in preparation...

I have a cool router that auto-sets itself, but prolly has shytty software outside of that...but i need to know...

I haven't had cable broadband for about 4 years and the last time I had it I was on a school cable network, needless to say it was utter crap. From what the guy tells me there have been massive improvements since then and that Cable is like constantly 15x better than DSL... is that true?

I forget whether I had a prob setting up my PS2 up and I gotta wonder about the Wii and 360, will any of them have probs with the change over that i should know of?

Also, Upload rates and Download rates how much do they differ? i question upload rates because I run 2 websites and need to know whether it's faster or slower to upload... for the record 1 of my sites is on godaddy.com's network and i have SBCYaho DSL...

[Weeaboolits]

Cable is faster, but when I had it, I had more downtime than with DSL, but my DSL has a lot of disconnects, unsure if the downtime was typical or my ISP just sucked. :/

[Sinue_v2]

If you have the option available, go with cable. Most packages start at around 4Mbps. Most DSL packages start at around 1.5Mbps. The only problem with Cable, is that if you're in a densely populated neighborhood with a lot of other people using the same service - it can slow your service down. DSL doesn't have this issue, but generally far slower, for just a little bit less than what you'd pay for Cable on average. Also, depending on how far away you are from the nearest junction, DSL tends to lose it's stability and it's upload/download rates. If you're close to the edge of your DSL's range - don't expect the same level of service as what you're paying for. The closer you are to the nearest junction - the better your connection will be. Cable doesn't suffer this problem.

At least on my end, both Cable and DSL have been very reliable. Though I prefer cable by far.

[Sekani]

It all depends on your ISP. DSL is capable of more consistent high-speed; Cable varies a lot even if the max speed is awesome. Reliablity varies. Prices and packages vary. Which one is "better" will depend on the alternatives where you live.

[DurakkenX]

from what the guy said is the cable only connects to 1 block and of that block 50% have comcast cable and about 50% of those have comcast internet...so something like 25% of a city block and the area i live in is elderly people for the most part so it sounds like i wont have any speed problems but he's a sales man so he could have lied ^.^ still the elderly thing means most likely no problem.

[Kylie]

I have cable, and it's pretty reliable for the most part. However, I do have an infamous problem with it during the night at around 11:30 to 1:00, but it doesn't really bother me because I'm usually tired by then anyways. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif Most people shouldn't have that problem, so I think it's a fine source for Internet.

[Link00seven]

I live in the Metro Detroit area and many people have the same ISP as I do. With that said, my speeds are usually VERY close, if not right on what I pay for, so thats always good.

You shouldnt have any problems with cable. It's gotten much better over the years, at least around here.

[DurakkenX]

On 2007-08-12 18:38, Link00seven wrote:
I live in the Metro Detroit area...


Good to know... where abouts do you live? I live in Roseville, used to live 5 blocks south of 8 and gratiot... and also used to live in warren for HS ^.^

[Blitzkommando]

Until I moved here to Florida today, I was using Road Runner cable service in the Dayton area. It was on paper 8Mbps/512Kbps connection. In actuality though it was 13Mbps/768Kbps at no additional cost. It was rarely disconnected and rarely did I drop much below 12Mbps. I was very happy with the service to say the least, especially for a residential line.

[Otis_Kat]

Usually cable is superior to DSL, but it really all depends where you live. A recent PC Magazine finished a study on the speed of certain ISPs, based on data collected from web surfers with a program they made. One service may be awesome in one area, but completely suck ass in another.

When I get home from work I can post a link to the whole thing.

[Lunar_Night66]

Cable suits me justtt fine.

[360NyTeMaRe]

My DSL is 6mbps, which is pretty damn fast. You can go with Optimum Online (if you live in the North) or ComCast, which supports speeds up to 20mbps which is REALLY F***ING FAST. Faster than T1, I think... My DSL constantly has issues such as randomly ceasing to work until I reset the modem. Also I get random lag spikes.

[Meyfei]

im useing cable and its WAAAAAAY!!!!!!! better then my dsl, i had been constantly getting kicked and random kicks that even lasted 1 hour+, but sence i got cable only 1 disconnect because of a problem from the recieveing end. CABLE FOR THE WIN!!!

[ShinMaruku]

Cable all the way. How else can you get 1 mb per second Dls once a month?

[360NyTeMaRe]

What...?

[Sord]

We used to run cable, and it was much better than our current DSL. We had to switch though, because the company (Charter) was pulling crap with our payments. Now we're on DSL, it slower because they don't have better lines installed in our area. There is a point at least once a day where I have to reset the damn modem to get internet back, was even worse during mid-summer. About 5 disconnects a day, it was a bitch. So I definitly prefered cable when we had it, even though we no longer do.

[astuarlen]

We've had cable internet for at least six years now with three nominally different providers, the latest being Comcast. For us, it has been rather inconsistent, with varying speeds (tending towards slower-than-advertised) and frequent outages (minor losses of connectivity [lasting a few minutes] several times a day, and every few months it craps out entirely for a few days [whereupon complaints lead service reps to protest that it's our fault, and then magically everything goes back to normal in a couple days, whee, even though no, it was never something on their end, ehem]). Not that I'm not just happy to be plugged into my Interwebs at all. I'll be (sadly) on DSL shortly, so we'll see how that goes.