DSL or Cable?

First off, I debated with myself fairly heavily whether this should be in the Off-Topic forum or the Technical forum. I decided that since it was more technical in nature and that it did relate to my SL gameplay, I'd post here.

Anyways, currently I'm on a cable modem in a populated area and I frequently see my bandwidth drop down to under 10 kbps. No good! In my opinion, if I'm going to pay for broadband, I want broadband!

So, I was considering the other options and here's what I've come up with: T1- Ha. DSL - possible.

My question is to all you SLers out there, would I get better reliability with DSL instead of my cable modem?

The place I'd go through (name withheld) offers four packages--three within my pricerange. The top one I can afford offers bandwidth from 768kbps-1.5kbps and upstream bandwidth of 256kbps. This is what I would go with if I do switch.

So, what do you all think? Would it be a more reliable connection? Would it be a good investment?

Thank you all in advance for your help. SL seems like a great game, but it's nearly unplayable with my current internet.

Dont use SL s #s to determine the speed of your connection. I personally use dslreports
There was a speed test link here that I once used but I cant find it right now.

Cable for me is twice as fast as DSL and I do live in a populated area.

Test your speed before making any drastic changes.

SDSL is the way to go if it's available in your area, although it's pricier... nowhere near a T1 though

i just upgraded my service level, will be paying $160/mo, and basically get half a T1 (768kbps), all to myself

even 384k ($120/mo) SDSL makes SL happy

mind you, these prices are probably higher than you'd find for most other SDSL providers. i use speakeasy, because they r0xx0r

i get what i pay for too... i can call them -- speak to a live person within 5 minutes -- and tell them i think my DSL might go down if i breathe on it, and they'll immediately go through troubleshooting procedures (and they don't treat me like a farking idiot), and if that fails, they immediately schedule a tech dispatch. also, if it's a covad problem (which it usually is), they continue to escalate the trouble ticket @ covad until it gets resolved.

ten thumbs up!

And I thought I was overpaying - $50/mo for 2.5mb cable....
I suppose it is the service though.

Yulidin: In your case DSL should be faster. See if you can get some 3 mo special and no contract..... if it's not better then cancel and go back.

You don't really need Synchronous DSL (SDSL, means you get the same upload speeds as download speeds) unless you are running some servers or something. Most everything on the internet is designed around the idea that you can get things much faster than you can send. It might lower latency on video games a bit, but in my opinion not worth the 3x price modifier.

As always just my 2 cents.

SDSL, is, of course, Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line, as opposed to the more common Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

DSL vs Cable is always a heated debate, and there usually isn't a good clear answer. I started with cable about seven years ago, and switched to ADSL just as soon as my area was ready because I was sick of the poor service that my cable company provided. By switching, I gained stability in my connection and got to deal with less stupidity from technical support. Others in my area report the opposite, though: they switched from DSL to cable, and gained stability and got to deal with less stupidity from technical support.

As for my own setup: I've got a server room connected by 1.5Mbps/500kps ADSL and it hasn't gone down for a millisecond since the initial installation four years ago. I'm exceptionally happy with this service. For Cdn$75 a month, they give me a static IP address mapped to a custom hostname, they leave all my ports alone, and they allow me to run my network however I please. I also have my workstation here (at a different location) hooked up with the same, except on a consumer package for half the price, and it goes down for half a day every other month. I'm less pleased with this service.

I guess the point is, use whatever you want, and be prepared to switch if you become unhappy with the service. It's doubtful that anyone else, especially someone not in your neighbourhood, never mind building, can give you good advice on what will work best for you.

Thanks for all the information. Also, thank you for the link, Misnomer. It talked about cable modem a bit and about some troubleshooting tips. I'm going to try calling the cable company to see if there's any easy fix or anything they can easily identify. If so, great, but more than likely, I'll end up ordering DSL. (I only have ADSL available, but I'm not running any servers, so it's fine.)

Thanks!