Throught all these years, both DSL amd Cable have claimed to be faster. DSL claims to be faster than Cable and vice versa. Here is the truth about both of them. Dial up users, if you are planning to change to eitheir one, I suggest u to read this forum. I have listed a few pros and cons about DSL and Cable. I have gathered the info from various sites. They are not 100% acurrate, but it'll do. If any of u are wondering what DSL means, it means Digital Subscribers Line.
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PROS
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DSL- Your on personal connection, very few connection interupptions, runs at 1500kps, can be accesed from a phone jack

Cable-Runs at 3500kps
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CONS
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DSL-Speed is depended on distance from ISP office to ur home or office.

Cable-Speed is slowed down by amount of people watching Cable TV, Cable dosent give u ur own personal connection.
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I personally go with DSL since I have Verizon.

So what do u think is better? DSL or CABLE?

I also personally go with DSL since I have Verizon and I'm quite closer to the ISP office!

Consider 768Kbps/6Mbps ADSL at $100/month. SDSL is much more expensive - 1.5Mbps/1.5Mbps $300/month. VDSL should be rolling out in a few years with 3Mbps/26Mbps (the theoretical maximum is 16Mbps/52Mbps at 4,000ft). VDSL is a complete cable alternative and will be sold as one.

I'm not trying to sell any DSL service here, there are practical limits such as 18,000ft maximum distance from the service provider switch for most services and a loss of some quality starting at 6-9,000ft. DSL uncapped is basically unheard of nowadays, but was fondly remembered by early adopters (back when ISP policies were very loose). It's starting to come back up though. Once VDSL comes in at a decent price with pay-per-channel packaging, cable better have more than just digital quality. That is unless all services are owned by the same company.

I have DSL and have been on friend's cable connections. I have also had friends on my DSL whom have cable. The general consensus is they like the constant speed of mine better. Why won't they change? Because they have cable tv too and do not want to cross over to satellite tv (which is cheaper than cable in my area) but aerial reception is lousy. For them it boils down to already having an established email adress and the regular reception. For me I researched the cheapest/ best option and took it.

When all else fails beat the $%!* out of it!!!

I had both DSl and Cable modem and my Cable is MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH faster then my DSL line. I get sometimes 4500 KBPS , where my DSL line only gets if I am lucky 800 KBPS.. the price is about the same. I am allowed 20 gig download each month, I use about 8 or 9 gig per month..

Here is a very important thing about DSL over cable modem

DSL , tranfer data over a old copper line while Cable transfers data over a digtial line to you.

Here is something else thats coming that going to put in a new rinkel.. a friend of mine work for a untility company, they are going to start offering broadband service thru you electric outlet's, now that's going to put the DSL/Cable modem companies out of business.

Think about it... broadband service thru your elect outlet's

I prefer cable over dsl, but that is only a personal preference. In my area cable speeds are much faster than the local dsl speeds.

you need to do more research

INSTALL
Cable - plug in, turn on computer.
DSL- plug in, call ISP and tell them you're stupid.

INSTALLING A ROUTER
Cable - plug in, turn on router
DSL - plug in, call router tech support

DOWNLOADS
Cable - fast(high traffic) to blazing(low traffic)
DSL - moderate(far from telcom) to almost fast (close to telcom)

RELIABILITY
Cable - it works always, sometimes drops for 15 minutes
DSL - it works usually, sometimes drops for a couple hours or a day.

PRICE
Cable - expensive
DSL - expensive

-DF

ABIT NF7-S v2.0
2500+@2200Mhz(11x200)
512MB HyperX(2-2-2-11)

dark friend
maybe in your area that's true.
But I have never lost a signal with my DSL, never needed tech support for either modem or router set up, but do agree with the cost on both.

When all else fails beat the $%!* out of it!!!

Cox Communications is the main media company in my area. They give you everything you need with one simple line going to your house. CABLE! From normal cable through high-definition tv to hish speed internet.

With regards to darkfriends post. He is absolutely right. All you have to do is plug in the modem/router and your computer sets everything up for you. Its so easy.

The only time cable might be at reduced speeds (i cant say slow because that never applies) is during prime time for maybe an hour and a half. Doesn't matter the distance from anything. I have friend who live in the country and still have blazing speeds. When it comes to total speed cable is much more faster than DSL. i'm not saying this just because. I have cable and my grandparents have DSL through the phoneline. My cable is much faster.

The only thing that I have heard of that could put cable internet out of business is the thing that Brian said about the broadband service through teh electrical outlet. I don't even think that will happen and if it does it will be a heck of a long time before it does.

Cable obviously wins!

Thanks for the help!

-Winter

Dude, I have DSL and I never called tech support for a thing. You just plug the damn thing in like you would cable. Routers work the same no matter how your connected. ?????

Right now for $29.95 per/month DSL 1.5 Mbps/256 kbps

or

$49.95 per/month 3mbps/256 kbps cable.

Of course, cable is a little faster, but I have never seen a cable connection get 3mbps down.Usually I see them top out at about 2.5 mbps.

I've never had a problem with disconnect or slow service. However my dads cable connection goes out twice a week. Also, when it is peak tv time you can tell a difference in the conncetion speed.

Brian,

Your limited on the amount of download per month? WTF?

Never heard of an ISP giving bandwidth restricitons? UK NTL is something s--- like 6 gig per month. DSL companys have no restrictions.

I personally like cable. Cable is much faster in my area than DSL. Contrary to what someone had mentioned cable technology is a shared resource among the people in your local coverage area but speed is not affected by people watching TV but is affected by those browsing the web. Cable TV and Interent access are transfered on different frequencies. Interent is provided on a much higher unused frequency, whereas TV shows are broadcasted on the lower ones.

DSL usually has better upload speeds than cable. But most of the time what are we doing on the net? Downloading of course. So unless you are using your connection for FTP server or something of that nature you should probably go with cable. (if costs permit) No bandwidth restrictions in my area. But cable access is 47.00 monthly for 3mbps and up, and DSL is 29.95 monthly for 768kps. And yes i do get higher speeds than 3mbps (comcast)

i would have to give prop to cable since comcast is block away from my i get 3.7mb to 4.0mb every day i run 3 game servers without any LAG problems ! i tryed yahoo ADSL and sucks major ass .. 800kb to 1.5

-Agree with nick

QuIk

Abit NF7-S 2.0
2500+xp mobile
512DDR 3200
64mb Geforce4 MMx440
Super X Alien 500Watt

DSL, cable hasnt been laid where I live, so thats that.

Why are we arguing this? It totally depends on who provides the cable and DSL. In my particular area, (AZ) a 256/256 DSL connection goes for about the same price as a 3.2M/256 cable connection. Depending on which servers I download from, I often get the entire 3.2Mbps.

Reliability, ease of setup, cost, speed...They all depend on the particular provider and area. It's not hard to do a simple speed/cost comparison and figure out which one is better for you.

Once the technology anonproxy referred to becomes cost-effective, I may switch. For now, going cable is a no-brainer. Besides, I'll always go out of my way to avoid doing business with Qwest...Spirit of service my !@#$.

-SN

*unbiased DSL user

Brian said:
"Here is something else thats coming that going to put in a new rinkel.. a friend of mine work for a untility company, they are going to start offering broadband service thru you electric outlet's, now that's going to put the DSL/Cable modem companies out of business."

>>There is one problem with networking via wall outlets, spikes and brownouts...
...I, along with some friends decided to have a LAN party at my house using a network cables that plug into the power outlets.
we experienced abrubt disconnections when the air conditioner switched on and off, when the microwave was in use, and when the iron was in use...

that said, data sent via home electrical wiring is vulnerable to corruption/ distortion in the event that a large power consuming device is switched on or off when connected to the same line

we tried installing filters on the outlets; but we ended up with less disconnections and more corrupt data.

also if you're wondering, ethernet (not internet yet) via the wall outlet topped at 11MBits/sec.

kids, don't do drugs... ther's a time and a place for everything...
college.

Depends on the area

I think there are DSL Services that are faster than Cable, but in some areas only

In my area, only Basic DSL(128/368) is avalible. Thats why im thinking of getting COmcast Cable..

Abit IS7 865PE
Pentium 4 2.6ghz @ 3.2ghz
eVGA GeForce FX 5900 SE

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I have Verizon DSL and love it! I am 10,000 ft from the CO and I get 1.5Mbps speed. I live in DC and I play X-box (better than PS2) live with my friend in NYC. I am always kicking his ass because of the lag he gets when we play.
Bottom line is if you are in a highly dense and populated area you will definitely not see the great speeds that Cable modems say they have. When you have so many people sharing the same bandwidth its only a matter of time until it slows. I like consistency!

Cable is about 20 bucks more because of those high speeds so if I am gonna pay an extra 20 bucks I better have maximum speed ALL the time. DSL is as reliable as your phone line so people who see slower speeds may have a suckie phone line. On top of that with all these storms we have been having in the east lately my Cable goes out every time! So for me that would be Cable and Internet Service...what the hell else am I suppose to do! So keep your Cable..fine with me...just remember when it goes out or during PRIMETIME there is someone out there with DSL, surfing and downloading away while spending the extra 20 bucks a month he saved on pre-viewed DVD's (2 for 20) from Blockbuster. Who wins the race the tortoise or the hare?

But just like you said "am 10,000 ft from the CO and I get 1.5Mbps speed." I'm 8 miles from the CO and i get 3.0 Mbps on cable. It all just depends on the ever changing variables of distance, service, population density, bandwidth load. Not everyone is that close to the CO. So what even if the speed slowed. It still would be faster than 1.5Mps DSL, which is actually $10 more a month in my area.