going from 56k to dsl, how much faster is it?

[red ryder]

right now i have 56k and the average bit rate is around 2-3/second, what about will be the average bit rate for dsl? i'm really considering paying the extra money$$ for it but i'd like to know how much faster it would be. right now it takes about 20-30 minutes to download a song, i'm hoping it'll be cut down a lot. i appreciate all responses. thanx.

[Jester700]

Depends on what's offered. My provider offers 320k, 640k, and 960k download speeds at various prices. I have the 960k option, which is usually in the 800k range in reality. That's kiloBITS, which translates into 100 kiloBYTES/s in comparison to your 2-3 (and my downloads show around 100kb/s). You have a slowish modem (or poor phone line) - my modem gave me around 5kb/s.

DSL kicks ass...

[Nelson37]

DSL speeds are variable depending on what package you buy. Quality of service is a big issue also, in my area Sprint is so godawful bad I recommend Cable Modem if available.

Compared to POTS dial-up either one in a fantastic improvement.

[Timoleon]

I've had DSL for about a year now, with Verizon here in the Northeast US, and I've been very happy with it --- no down time, always fast, etc. People in my area who I know who have cable access through Time-Warner say that at peak usage times in the evening the service can slow down considerably (though of course I have no first-hand knowledge of that).

You'll love having a fast connection, though --- I bet even an overloaded cable is much faster than a dialup. A DSL connection does not seem to have the "piling on" problem, so my advice would be to go with that.

Good Luck! :P

[easydvd]

it's like going from a 1985 Yugo to a new 'vette!!

[edsmith77]

I have a cable modem connection. And it is DEFINATELY the way to go. Lets see, I have three tv's all watching different channels. I have three networked pc's (via a Netgear router from the cable modem) and all three pc's doing downloads. Can't get much more of a load in my house than that and I almost always get 100-150k download speeds. The almost always comes from the fact that some download sites do not have a very robust system or are VERY heavily loaded and then my download speeds drop to around 50K. Even then its still 10 times faster than a dial-up connection.

Cannot get DSL where I live at this time.
Cable modem works GREAT for me.

ED

[guitar_george_skank]

Put it this way. I used to get 4-5KB per second on my 56K modem. I'd leave the PC on all day while I was at work and when I came home i'd have a whole album downloaded.

Now I go and watch a half hour sitcom and when it's over the whole album is on my PC!

Remembet though, on P2P networks like Kazaa or Audiogalaxy, the speed that you download at is still determined by the upload speed of the user your are sharing from. If you are downloading from someone with a modem connection you'll still only get about 4-5 KB per second max.

The first time you go to one of your usual web sites with DSL your jaw will drop with the speed increase!

GGS

[Jester700]

I have a cable modem connection. And it is DEFINATELY the way to go. Lets see, I have three tv's all watching different channels. I have three networked pc's (via a Netgear router from the cable modem) and all three pc's doing downloads. Can't get much more of a load in my house than that and I almost always get 100-150k download speeds. The almost always comes from the fact that some download sites do not have a very robust system or are VERY heavily loaded and then my download speeds drop to around 50K. Even then its still 10 times faster than a dial-up connection.

Cannot get DSL where I live at this time.
Cable modem works GREAT for me.

ED

But the issue isn't how much you have in your HOUSE, which is only equivalent to a few users no matter how much you use. The issue is how many users using how much bandwidth on the line overall. In a town where several hundred people are using the facilities, it can make a difference. One pal of mine got 200k/s downloads when he first got cable, but it sometimes drops to a tenth of that at peak times lately. My DSL was slower at first, but hasn't dropped (of course not - it's not a shared resource). Of course, some people won't see this, since some cable companies constantly upgrade their pipes (and others maybe have few customers!)

[easydvd]

Jester700 wrote:

since some cable companies constantly upgrade their pipes (and others maybe have few customers!)

I'm a sweep/splice tech (I do the upgrades) and can attest to this. Unless you live in an area serviced by Adelphia(READ:Bankrupt), you can expect cable internet where you are, or upgrades if you have it, to constantly increase over the next 2 years or so. This is due mostly to the AOL/Time Warner monster that believes content based broadband is the way for the future. Who knows.....since Time Warner is a huge force in the MPAA maybe we will see legitimate downloadable movies offered by Hollywood

[tgpo]

I have a 1500K Cable Modem. I've gotten speeds of 1.24MB/sec. And that is Megabites not Megabits. It's definitly worth the extra money...the faster the better!

[chopy]

cable is deffinely the way to go. forget dsl i get 300-500KB on almost every download with cable

[easydvd]

where I live in Florida the lower tier of RoadRunners service is rated at768kbs(bits not bytes)upstream and 2.5mbs downstream. The infrastructure is capable of FAR more than that with a head end upgrade. It's only gonna get BETTER.....bandwidth of 1gbs is not too far off. Probably less than 5 years.

[rhegedus]

Well, it really depends on what you're going to use it for.

Broadband allows you to download data much faster than normal dial-up. Here in the UK, it's advertised as being about 9x quicker than dial-up but, trust me, it's much faster (dial-up dl about 4.5k/s : ADSL dl about 60-70k/s). For short files you won't notice the difference, but if it's large files you're after, leave it on continuously and you could have an extra Gig on your HD every day!

But, as guitar_george_skank wrote, if you're using it for P2P downloads, then it all depends on other users upload capability and generosity.

Like all technology, once you get it you will be used to it (wondering how you ever managed before) and will be craving a faster service. As an indication of how much data you can download, when I got my broadband connection in April, I had a 40Gb HD. Now I have a 40 and two 120s, making 280Gb (7x as much), and am looking for another 120G drive.

As a result of broadband, I have discovered the simple process of VCD and SCVD making, and whereas before I used my PC mainly for games, I now use it for video work.

So, get ready - you're going to have fun!!!

Rob

[guitar_george_skank]

@rhegedus

That's exactly what happened to me! I got broadband, a collegue at work told you could download movies with Kazaa, and suddenly i'm a VCD, SVCD freak! There should be a government warning or something!

GGS