Xbox Live: Cable Modem or DSL?

[sleeve]

Now that I've got a new place and a steady source of income, I'm finally getting 'round to joining XBL. But first I'd like to know which broadband source is better in the experience of TNL members. I know cable used to have huge problems (lag, drop outs, etc.) when many people in a region got connected at once, but from what I understand this problem has been corrected somewhat. Plus, in my experience DSL can be unreliable too.

Any thoughts?

[Rich]

Cable = faster = good

I'd take cable first any day.

[Joust Williams]

Unfortunately, there's no real clear cut answer. Neither is inherently better than the other. If it's just for Live gaming, then DSL is *usually* better because it tends to be more reliable at the typical expense of high speeds that are really only good for downloading large files rather than data packets from a game. Another upside is cable is almost always capped at some crappy upload speed, so if games use a client-server model and you're the server, it may suck.

But like I said, it's not inherently better because sometimes DSL comapnies oversubscribe, so everyone in your area suffers...they add more people, it sucks for months, they add more pipes, and then the cycle repeats. Best advice is to ask around if you have friends that game in your area.

[BRAD73]

I play with a high speed DSL because cable sucks in my region, but from my experience with playing with buddies on TNL the ones that have cable host smoother matches than I can. Find out your upload speed on cable in your region and compare it to DSL upload speed. I don't think download is as important when being used on Xbox live. Try to get as fast of an upload speed as you can and you should be aight, goodluck.

[soundwave]

It really does matter who your provider is. Cable has always been faster/more reliable where I've lived. Currently I have cable the bandwidth is split amongst 4 PCs, 1 Xbox and a Mac laptop. We have ethernet, wireless and powerline running throughout the house. Dling things is fine. Sometimes when I host on my Xbox things will be laggy but usually when my roommates are on their computers. Otherwise it's pretty smooth. If your cable provider is sound (look on message boards for opinions) you should go with that.

[sleeve]

Turns out that the local DSL provider, Qwest, won't be servicing my area for another month. So I picked Cox Cable by default.

Qwest has a really shitty reputation around here though, so I think I made the right choice.

So I'll be seeing you all on XBL soon. I can't wait!

[MarkRyan]

Whoever has the better upload rate is going to give you less latency in online games. And cable typically has better upload rates.

Of course, no matter what ISP you choose, you'll still have to deal with online gaming twits. Have fun

[isamu]

what are you guys experience with Comcast?

[Prince Planet]

So I'll be seeing you all on XBL soon. I can't wait!

Cool. Any clue on which Live games you'll be making your grand entrance? Presumably not Steel Battalion: Line of Contact.

[dave is ok]

I have Comcast and I like it fine. If you have more than two connections and only a hub or a switch ( no router ) they'll make you pay for extra IP addresses which, sadly can only be bought in packs of ten.