DSL OR CABLE which is best Please Respond

[TheCrimsomBlade]

Up till now I have been using Dial up w/56k V92. I now have been told that Verison in my area can now connect me to DSL for $39.00 per month w/unlimited use,9 e-mail addresses,High speed internet,free Web page,and Free multi- computer hook up,And free DSL modem and all the software also free.

I had been thinking I would get the cable internet in my area $49.95 a month and $175.00 hook up plus modem but, I don't know which is better as far as performance,reliability and quallity.

The Verison DSL 786K/286K is what is offered.

so now its Between DSL and CABLE see below.

SO OK all you Ironworkers out there I would really like your input and all I can get. Tell me what you use and which you think is best. give me all the Pros and Cons that you know of and I'll look everything over tomorrow and make up my mind.
I'll say Thank You Now to any and all that respond.

[lethoso]

cable generally has better ping times and throughput speeds than dsl, but i have not much idea how US broadband is, so i can't help you much. Here in ausland cable is also more reliable, but much more expensive for what you get...

[LennonCook]

First thing to get out of the way: is it DSL or ADSL ??
If it`s DSL (upload/download are the same speed), go for the Cable. If it`s *A*DSL, think about what you`ll be using it for - Cable has faster upload than ADSL, but slightly slower download. If you`re going to be doing alot of downloading, and next to no uploading, go for the higher download... if you`re going to be doing much more uploading than posting at forums and sending emails, though, the slower download is a small price to pay for the fast upload.

[ 04-25-2003, 12:56 AM: Message edited by: LennonCook ]

[Bungleau]

Question to ask...

What's the throughput during peak and off-peak times?

With Cable, you're actually on a network segment with other cable users in the area. How many? Depends... and if enough of you get on at the same time, performance will stink. For me, most evenings from about 8 to 10 I can just forget it.

With DSL, you are not supposed to be sharing with anyone else, so your target speeds should be real speeds. The thing to watch out for there is the viability of your DSL provider -- if they go out of business, you could be in a world of hurt.

One additional suggestion: Be sure to buy the modem, and not lease it. I've paid for mine several times over now, but the lease rate has been dropped so low ($3/month) that I can't afford to replace it.

[LordKathen]

I have never used DSL or ADSL so cannot compare the two, but I have Cable and am very pleased. It is a 756kbs-850kbs. For example (checks to see if Yorick is looking) downloading a song, I usually run about 95kbs-125kbs. That means about 30 seconds a meg, depending on the other end and how many people occupy the cable at that time. That is plenty for me!
I only pay 29.95 a month and that of course is the ISP incuded. Just my [img]graemlins/twocents.gif[/img]

[Ziroc]

Go with Cable. Hands down, it's much faster, and as the other Member said, you get much better ping times.

Are you in a densely populated area? Sometimes that can slow cable down, but if you're out in the suburbs, then you should be fine.

Downloading is VERY fast, and Uploading is quite fast as well.. Although, unless you are going to host a website, your upload speeds are a moot point--As long as you have 200kbps for uploads, that is more than enough for online gaming (sending packets) and such.

[ 04-25-2003, 02:28 AM: Message edited by: Ziroc ]

[Epona]

I have ADSL (2 networked PCs - mine and my flatmate's) and find it marginally faster for downloads than the cable connection I used to have. It's far more reliable too! But that would depend upon which company you use - my old cable company had a lot of down-time.

I have no idea what it costs for my ADSL connection - my flatmate sorted it all and pays for it - I just get it as a free bonus for having a nice flatmate!

[Thoran]

My cable connection routinely runs faster than a T1. I have had multiple downloads, say 4 or 5 files all downloading at 60 kBytes/s. I've seen single file downloads as fast as 500 kBytes/s (although it's been a few years since I've seen that kind of speed). 500 kBytes/s is roughly 5000 kbps for you modem people.

Keep in mind that your cable connect will very significantly depending on the technology used in the plant and the loading (number of subscribers) in your neighborhood.

Your best bet is to talk to cable subscribers in your neighborhood and get some performance data... then compare those numbers to the DSL/ADSL numbers.

[Vaskez]

There is no standard speed for Cable - depends on the company - as you can see from what people have said above. ADSL can come in the 512/256 flavour or 1024/256 for example. 512/256 is most common. Most DSL is ADSL (in UK at least). With Cable you very much share a pipe with people in your area, so as Ziroc said, it will likely slow down when a lot of people are downloading. ADSL usually has a contention ratio of 50:1 which means up to 50 people are trying to use the same pipe as you but this doesn't seem to effect me very much. I've got a standard 512/256 ADSL connection and I get around 460-480 download speed most of the time. Upload speed is usually also very consistant around 240kbps.

[Bungleau]

Just for reference, a T1 line is 1,544 kbps, or about 30 times the speed of a 56 kbps dial-up. Cable/DSL tends to be around 200-500kbps optimum, which is better than dial-up but not typically as good as a T1.

But to make it muddier when comparing T1 speeds from an office or university, remember that you're sharing that T1 with everyone else in the office or university. Put 30 people on the segment, and it can be equivalent to dial-up.