DSL Vs Cable

[SirLoin]

Hi all.I have just ordered DSL and am dumping cable.Has anyone done the same and can I expect a better or more reliable connect?..S.L.O.B..out

[eskimo2]

Sirloin,
I have had both.
The only one who can answer this question is you neighbor, literally.  DSL and cable are both great for gamers, they can both suck as well if the provider is trying to cram too many folks into too small of a wire, or if they are constantly doing "repairs".  Quality can even vary from one part of town to another.
If 10 folks post and tell you that cable sucks and 10 more tell you that DSL rules, I wouldn't bet the farm that that will be the case in your neck of the woods.
Cable sucked for me in Colorado Springs, DSL was fine there.  0osik has had great luck with cable in Alaska, Cable is working fine for me in Ohio as well.
Good luck, hope DSL is an improvement.

eskimo

[Hajo]

SirLoin I guess what is successful for one might depend on where one lives.  Lots of members in our squad have cable and love it!  I know at least 3 of us have Road Runner and love the connection.  Some have several dial up accounts to get a good connection.  So maybe DSL might work better for you.  Remember it's how you get there that counts.  Your DSL might folow same route your cable did...who knows.  Good luck!

[Sikboy]

I've found the same thing as noted above. Cable was Great in California, but was hopeless here in Maryland, where I use DSL instead. The common factor for me is that Earthlink was driving both successful products, while Excite@home was my cable provider. My advice is to select broadband by company and line type.

-Sikboy

[BD]

Just dumped DSL for Cable!

Actually, the DSL service itself was fine, it was the isp that changed.  Qwest sold their business to MSN, and was forcing all their customers to use MSN as their isp.  Personally, I hate MSN, and this was borne out when, this week, MSN's DSL service was down for six days.

The cable seemes to work ok.  Top speed is much higher, but it seemes more "bursty".  DSL was generally smoother, but it had its occasional problems.  Many times, on either service it just depends on the backbone that the provider is using, and really has very little to do with your local loop.

Good luck!

[Sancho]

A lot of DSL line providers have gone out of business.  The Baby Bells are underselling them out of existence.  Now without the competition, what was a $35 dollar/mo ADSL service here in Austin is now $55/mo.  RoadRunner here is $45/mo.

In some places, ADSL is now easier to get (due to initiatives like SWB's Project Pronto), but cable is still for the most part much more widely available, and the time from you order the service until you are online is much shorter with RR.

As to which is better, I'd still say for gaming ADSL is better.  Your connections will have lower ping times and less variance.  For sheer download speed, cable is king.  When all is said and done though, I don't think you're going to be complaining with either cable or DSL if you are moving up from dialup.

[Hooligan]

So in the end even though theoretically DSL should be slightly better, it really depends on your ISP.  If the DSL ISP is more committed to providing a quality connect than the cable company (or vice versa) then that will be the better choice.  It sounds like your cable company sucks so what can it hurt to try DSL?

OTOH I have never known a telephone or cable company that I could honestly describe as "devoted to good customer service".

good luck

Hooligan

[Tac]

The connection does depend on your provider, no matter if it is DSL, CABLE or Dial Up.


Now, as far as YOUR end (your pc) goes, Cable is far, far easier to set up, troubleshoot and maintain.

DSL is a nightmare.