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Question

My Internet connection and Online Gaming

May 29, 2013 4:53AM PDT

Hi,

I currently have AT&T DSL at up to 3MBPS, it is all they offer so I am stuck unless I get cable.

I did some tests of my connection. These are the closest servers to me. I am in the Houston area

Test 1 Ping 37 Download 2.56 Upload .43

Test 2 Ping 40 Download 2.57 Upload .43

Test 3 Ping 37 Download 2.57 Upload .43

Test 4 Ping 41 Download 2.57 Upload .42

Test 5 Ping 40 Download 2.57 Upload .43

Test 6 Ping 34 Download 2.51 Upload .43

Test 7 Ping 35 Download 2.41 Upload .43

My DSL is rated at 3MBPS download speed so I am getting close to promised speed.

My question is Suddenlink in my area is offering 30Mbps internet and I don't know if switching is worth it. I know that ping and latency impacts gaming more than bandwidth so will switching to a faster cable internet improve the ping or should I keep what I have until AT&T can provide a higher speed.

There are some disadvantages with cable that I have read about like the internet slowing considerably during peak times since it is shared and this is a problem that I do not have with DSL, most of the time I am getting the speeds listed above.

Also, from what I have read my ping is not bad and I do not want to switch to cable and end up with a worse one. That would just make my situation worse.

I guess my overall question is, is switching to cable worth it and will really improve my gaming experience or should I just stick with DSL until AT&T offers a higher speed or even higher speed Uverse?

Thanks for any feedback.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Actually looks quite good for 3 megabit.
May 29, 2013 6:34AM PDT

There is so overhead on speed and the connection is ASYMMETRIC so it's fine on the slower upload speed too.

I usually find that sheer speed is not what matters to games. PING times to the server seem to be the issue. If you want to improve what you have, don't share your internet with anyone or any thing in your house.
Bob

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I've been curious about that too
May 29, 2013 6:41AM PDT
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Opps.
May 29, 2013 6:45AM PDT

I see I dropped some bits on that reply. I meant 'some overhead'.

That's pretty nice speed but in gaming, it's response time and not bit rate that matters. You can tell who games online by them complaining about lag.
Bob

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I took the speed test again 3 hrs. later
May 29, 2013 9:06AM PDT
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Thanks for this
May 29, 2013 1:39PM PDT

your ping is better than in your original test which is what really matters with gaming. Even if I got that Download and Upload speed it would be more than 10X what I get with my DSL.

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I actually tried it
May 29, 2013 2:16PM PDT

on several different sites, when one would ping 32ms another would ping14ms all from Comcast within 50 miles ,so take it for what it's worth, and your welcome...Digger

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I thought it was pretty good
May 29, 2013 8:18AM PDT

but my only problem is I don't want to switch to Cable and end up with worse ping numbers and internet that goes in and out. I guess I'm looking for someone with experience with cable.

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On cable here.
May 29, 2013 8:22AM PDT

And ping times are fine. But if a server is far away across many hops it won't matter. DSL has a technical edge that I'm sure you know about. Cable can get congested in your neighborhood if everyone gets on Netflix in the evenings, but I'll stop since that's been beat to bits.
Bob

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Well, I am paying
May 29, 2013 8:56AM PDT

$70 bucks a month for my DSL and Suddenlink in my area is offering up to 30Mbps for 64.99 for new customers. My wife actually suggested buying the cable for me to game and keeping the DSL so we don't share. Might take her up on that.

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My cable for phone and internet is 70 a month.
May 29, 2013 9:21AM PDT

There are deals all over. The deal here is 33 a month per service but at the time they wanted 90 per month for cable tv plus a rental fee for the DVR but that wasn't why I passed.

It was an odd thing that I had ordered Uverse but the installer arrived and said the card in the box down the street failed so I had to call that in. I told him thanks and then canceled that order. Why should I call in to report and get their system fixed is a mystery to me.

The cable order was placed along with an order for an interior cable installer. They second guessed that I was wrong about the need for the cable so the cable installer didn't show up. Since there was no outlet by the TV, no need for cable TV.

This seems quite odd to me that companies flub the simple stuff so often.
Bob