dsl speeds, does this sound right?

[Kookstick]

I just moved from San Diego where I had @home cable internet, to a small town where they just got dsl, the best i'm getting on some bandwidth tests i've run is 124.2 kbps and 15.2 k bytes/sec download speeds. I was getting 200 kb/sec before.Could it be the server or is this topped out cause it sure doesn't look like much faster than 56k. I have been to speedguide.net and the registry hacks helped a bit but this is definately not worth 45 dollars a month like this.Does anyone have any ideas or can someone tell me if these speeds sound about right.Also forgot to mention the web pages load slow and napster times out because it is so slow. Thanks
System specs:P3 500, 256 mb pc 133, win 2000,
3com etherlink nic card and other stuff

[Gurm]

Well, how much bandwidth are you PAYING for? DSL is sold by the kb/sec., and starts at around 160 (which is what it sounds like you're getting).

To test speed, fire up your FTP client and connect to ftp2.sierra.com and download a really big game demo (or start to) and see what you get on raw throughput.

You should be able to pay for more bandwidth (although I dunno what your local company offers). DSL is seldom worth it compared to cable, except in areas like Metro Boston where there are a dozen companies offering broadband or high speed digital and they HAVE to compete.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Helevitia]

Kookstick,

The truth is, Cable is typically faster(download speeds) for less money. @home gives 1-3 "Mega bits per second" download which is equivilant to 125-275 "Kilo bytes per second. DSL has a much bigger range of choices to choose from. You can get anywhere from 128Kbps up to 1Mbps and beyond. Notice I am saying bits which means you take the number and divide it by 8 to get the true bandwith.

bits per second/8=bytes per second

Of course, the more bandwidth you want, the more it costs. I have @home and I've seen as high as 575Kbps. That is awesome! Anyway, I'm just babbling and I hope some of this helped. Just be happy they had DSL

Edit: I should also mention that DSL is dedicated bandwidth where the bps never change, whereas cable is shared bandwidth that will shrink as more uses are added to the same shared line.

Dave

[This message has been edited by Helevitia (edited 20 September 2000).]

[Liquid Snake]

I don't want to start a DSL vs. cable debate, but I feel DSL is better because of the more stable connection. Cable in general has better download speeds, but DSL usually has better upload speeds. But it depends on where you live, some cable users get 3mbps all day long, some get 56K speeds at peak times. Also, remember that some servers are only a T1/fractional T3, so sometimes cable isn't any faster than DSL.

Yeah, DSL is sold by kbps. You could try the speed test at www.dslreports.com. You might want to ask in the forums there, more people may be able to help.

[This message has been edited by Liquid Snake (edited 20 September 2000).]

[Helevitia]

Actually, it is a known fact that DSL users have far more problems than cables users. And I am not just talking about connections. It takes longer for installations, The installer typically is not adequately trained(cables has there probs too), There are more "outages" with DSL, it typically costs more for slower speeds, and one other thing I can't remember. DSL definitely has better upload speeds(@home only has 128Kbs upload). Don't get me wrong, cables has its faults as well. I know Liquid Snake didn't want to start an us vs. thm war, but I couldn't resist Please just take this as more info for you to look at. BTW-All of the information I have mentioned I have either researched, read in a magazine, or found out through my own experiences.

Dave

[Greebe]

OT, Dave you be married yet? Haven't seen you on ICQ lately (hello!

[Greebe]

Dave, it's B = Bytes, B/8 = bits per sec

[Gurm]

Kookstick,

If you're only paying for 128 then be damn happy to get 124! But yeah, the extra $10/mo. is worth it for the jump to 512k.

I take it there's no cable in your neighborhood yet?

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[ahartman]

I disagree, Gurm.

DSL isn't like using a modem. If you're paying for 128, you should be getting AT LEAST 128. Every DSL I've seen advertised gives floor rates, not ceiling rates. Unless there's some goofy thing with your service, I'd complain.

Also, speed drops as your distance increases from the teleco's central office (switching station). When they hooked you up, they should've done a line test and given you your guaranteed data rate.

Yes, the extra pipe is worth the $10.

I use cable, but my cable company has a SLA that says they will never have more than 125 people on a node (which would support 300) to keep speeds high. Gotta love those 178K (big K) downloads...

Good Luck

[Gurm]

I hate to be argumentative, but...

When I say 124k is damn good for a 128k line, I mean that getting a 124k SINGLE TRANSFER is good.

Remember that there's some overhead, as well as other packets being passed back and forth. Then there's the matter of parity. Your real transfer speed is more like:

bits/9 = bytes

than

bits/8 = bytes

This is true MOST of the time. So in reality, he's probably getting more like
(15.2*9)=136.8k

PLUS the overhead, and any other network activity that's occuring.

Now I too agree and they should be selling him the MINIMUM and not the MAXIMUM. However, in my area DSL sucks... and they do the same thing. If you pay for 200k you get not ONE BIT OVER 200k.

So his speed is "about right". Not worth bitching too loud over. But he should definitely go to 512k.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Greebe]

I'll agree 100% with that assessment.

[Kookstick]

Thanks so far everyone, I am going to call them today, I just wanted to get some info first.BTW I believe it is 128 i'm paying for, for an additional 10 bucks I can goto 512/256 maybe thats what I might have to do. Later

[Liquid Snake]

Well, I feel the price of DSL is the worst part. I am paying $199/month for a 1mbps SDSL line. My installation time was actually pretty fast (41 days). The majority of installation delays are caused by the local phone co. (Bell Atlantic/Verizon is one of the worst, and they are my phone co. I was lucky that my install went so fast). I have not had an outage since I got DSL (1 month).

Also, what pings do you cable users get? I get 5ms to my ISP gateway. The best ping I've gotten in games is 15ms - 30ms.

[Helevitia]

5ms to your ISP is really good. I'd tell you mine but it appears to be flaky right now. I get lows of 45ms and highs of 750ms. Seems as though it is bouncing right now. I've seen better though. In games I average about 60-75ms and my best has been 30-40ms.

Dave

[Hamlet]

Or, you're just lucky like me. I have a part of the swedish backbone 100m from my appartment =).

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Athlon 800@1GHz/MSI 6167/128mb/7200rpm UD66/SB128/G400Max/Win98/Win2k/RH6.2/Be5