I have several cable speed connections available, faster they go, the more they cost. The cheapest is 384K up and down,  for $22 per month. For $44 I can get 4 MBPS up and 768K down. I have never been to download anything faster than say 150KBPS on any wifi system, even if "connected" at 54mbps so where's the added "speed" going or doing?

What connection speed can I realistically expect to use so I dont pay for what I cant or dont use?

I was downloading a video the other day at home.

I have Comcast and used their lower level of cable modem service.

I was getting 650-700k download speeds for a 50mb file.  If I was home often, and played games online, I'd get the fastest connection I could afford.

The extra speed is only gonna make it all go faster

Quoted: I'd get the fastest connection I could afford. The extra speed is only gonna make it all go faster

+1

I wish i had cable some times.   im stuck with 1.5 down and 384up with dsl.  

Even on a really fast connection, it flatlines out at cable speeds for browsing, for centralized download I usually get about 500-700k depending on the host even though I have a 15M download. However for P2P, the situation is similar in the case of small numbers of uploaders, but if you have 5 files being downloaded at the same time from 5 sources on each file, the bandwith really adds up and my connection handles that kind of strain much better than it did with cable. Also, for gaming faster is always better.

Unless you're gaming online in a very latency-sensitive game or downloading a lot of large P2P files or from places with really fast servers and connections, you'll see it flatten off at about 2 Mbps download, and DSL is just a tad below that in my opinion. At least until more places upgrade their hardware to keep up with the even faster users.

On Wifi you have a 54 Mbps connection to a point that has a 1.5 or 3 Mbps connection, so you're bottlenecked by your ISP. Your computer detects the 54 Mbps because it is a part of that connection, it won't remotely sense the slowest part of the network chain.

Quoted: I have several cable speed connections available, faster they go, the more they cost. The cheapest is 384K up and down,  for $22 per month. For $44 I can get 4 MBPS up and 768K down. I have never been to download anything faster than say 150KBPS on any wifi system, even if "connected" at 54mbps so where's the added "speed" going or doing? What connection speed can I realistically expect to use so I dont pay for what I cant or dont use?

Well first the 54mbps when you connect to a wi-fi is not what you are suppose to get, but what it can handle. Typical internet access via a cable modem will be 3-4 mbps, sharing that at a coffee house and it will go down quick.

If you are going to be gaming, get the fastest one you can. If you are just surfing the web and downloading an occassional file, go with something 1-2 mbps.

-d

fastest you can afford

Cable internet providers (Comcast in my case) have been hit hard by the aggressive DSL pricing (SBC has been $14.95/month, however I think they raised it recently to $15.95/month).  When I moved a year ago, I signed up for their 6 month introductory price (I don't recall what it was).  After the 6 months were up, the price rose to $54.95/month.  I called them up and mentioned that their prices were too high compared to what I could get DSL for.  Immediately, they dropped the price down to $35/month.  This is still more expensive than DSL, but a lot faster too.

By the way, this works for credit cards too.  I call them up every year and tell them I need a better APR (and they usually do that and raise my limit).

Originally Posted By ZULU NINER: Cable internet providers (Comcast in my case) have been hit hard by the aggressive DSL pricing (SBC has been $14.95/month, however I think they raised it recently to $15.95/month).  When I moved a year ago, I signed up for their 6 month introductory price (I don't recall what it was).  After the 6 months were up, the price rose to $54.95/month.  I called them up and mentioned that their prices were too high compared to what I could get DSL for.  Immediately, they dropped the price down to $35/month.  This is still more expensive than DSL, but a lot faster too. By the way, this works for credit cards too.  I call them up every year and tell them I need a better APR (and they usually do that and raise my limit).

DSL sucks usually. I've been with the same cable company for my internet service for atleast 6 years. Rarely have problems and the speed has been upgraded many times. What sucks about DSL is the contracts that most of them make you sign... that is how they can offer the connections for cheaper... as well as not being as fast.

-d

Quoted: Originally Posted By ZULU NINER: Cable internet providers (Comcast in my case) have been hit hard by the aggressive DSL pricing (SBC has been $14.95/month, however I think they raised it recently to $15.95/month).  When I moved a year ago, I signed up for their 6 month introductory price (I don't recall what it was).  After the 6 months were up, the price rose to $54.95/month.  I called them up and mentioned that their prices were too high compared to what I could get DSL for.  Immediately, they dropped the price down to $35/month.  This is still more expensive than DSL, but a lot faster too. By the way, this works for credit cards too.  I call them up every year and tell them I need a better APR (and they usually do that and raise my limit). DSL sucks usually. I've been with the same cable company for my internet service for atleast 6 years. Rarely have problems and the speed has been upgraded many times. What sucks about DSL is the contracts that most of them make you sign... that is how they can offer the connections for cheaper... as well as not being as fast. -d

Well, DSL doesn't really suck; it gives the average user a decent broadband connection at a decent price.  I myself use cable.  What I was saying is leverage the cheap DSL price with your cable provider (tell them that they should give you a better rate because DSL is so cheap).

www.toast.net

....has a "test your internet speed" button. And compares your set up to other hi-speed networks.

(Comcast is usually blowing everybody else out of the water)

RoadRunner for me :)

-d

Quoted: I have several cable speed connections available, faster they go, the more they cost. The cheapest is 384K up and down,  for $22 per month. For $44 I can get 4 MBPS up and 768K down. I have never been to download anything faster than say 150KBPS on any wifi system, even if "connected" at 54mbps so where's the added "speed" going or doing? What connection speed can I realistically expect to use so I dont pay for what I cant or dont use?

I seriously doubt you're getting  4 megabits upload and 768 kilobits down. You may have that reversed. Cable download speeds are always higher than upload.

Looks like you got the 5 megabit download package dizza, that's what we are running on Roadrunner here in Tampa.

You guys don't know how good you have it.  I am stuck with Qwest as upstream and that totally limits options.  Where I work there is neither DSL or Cable for residential, granted its a wide spot in the road in the middle of nowhere.