Gaming Without Wires
We've taken our PS2s into the wireless age, and it's easier than you think. Get the scoop on all the equipment, get to know the standards, and walk away with the kind of knowledge that will make your local CompUSA salesman shudder at your passing.
Published: May 30, 2004
When it comes to making the leap to broadband, you really have two major options: DSL or cable. Don't be fooled by the so-called 5X dial-up speed boosters out there like Earthlink Accelerator, NetZero HiSpeed or AOL TopSpeed. All these services do is compress images before you grab them, which not only results in disgustingly low-res images while surfing, but they do absolutely NOTHING to boost raw data speeds, so your MP3s, file downloads and, most importantly, online gaming won't see a lick of improvement. DSL or Cable are both plenty viable (so don't listen to either the telcos or cable companies poo-poo campaigns), but if you haven't gotten the scoop on what each offers, here's a quick crash course.
:DSL:
Digital Subscriber Lines are offered by a variety of local telephone companies. Chances are you'll probably be serviced by a local Ma Bell spinoff like SBC in most places across the US . Be wary of the smaller services and make sure you check out a site like DSL Reports that offers feedback from customers.
DSL's biggest pro is that is cheap. Most connections up to 1.5 megabits are available for around $30 or so, and the option to jump up to 3 megabits is quickly being offered in major metro markets. The biggest con is that the service is limited by distance, so the farther you are from a relay station, the less of that full 1.5 megabit (that's about 192K/sec download speeds as compared to about 4 to 5K/sec or so on dialup) connection. You can check your distance from the nearest CO by clicking here.
:Cable:
Cable broadband will usually be found anywhere you can get digital cable, though the two don't always go hand in hand. A quick call to your local cable company will let you know if you can get cable high-speed.
Without a doubt, cable's quickest pro is the speed. Cable broadband isn't limited by distance like DSL, but rather offers a massive shared pool of bandwidth for all customers in an area, which is also the biggest con. If you're one of the few people in the pool, you'll see massive speeds, but as more customers sign on and use the service, you can see pretty sharp declines in speed – especially during peak usage times around 7PM.
Cable companies have tried to get around this by offering speed increases (most major metro areas on the east and west coasts now start at 3 megabits), and if you're one of the few customers in your pool, this can mean massive download speeds (as high as 400 or more K/sec – that's over 100 times faster than dial-up).
That speed also comes at a bigger impact on the pocketbook. Cable high speed will typically run you around $45 once the couple-month initial sign-up discount runs out. You'll get the speed (so long as you're relatively alone in your bandwidth pool), but you'll pay for it too.
So long as you're not too far from a CO if you go DSL or have too many people in the pool with cable, both services offer more than enough for online multiplayer, just make sure you check with the appropriate provider for info n distance or number of customers in your area, respectively. We personally opt for cable, but that's mainly because our location near the beach is rather devoid of cable broadband customers, and we can enjoy almost 500K/sec speeds most of the time.
:DSL:
Digital Subscriber Lines are offered by a variety of local telephone companies. Chances are you'll probably be serviced by a local Ma Bell spinoff like SBC in most places across the US . Be wary of the smaller services and make sure you check out a site like DSL Reports that offers feedback from customers.
DSL's biggest pro is that is cheap. Most connections up to 1.5 megabits are available for around $30 or so, and the option to jump up to 3 megabits is quickly being offered in major metro markets. The biggest con is that the service is limited by distance, so the farther you are from a relay station, the less of that full 1.5 megabit (that's about 192K/sec download speeds as compared to about 4 to 5K/sec or so on dialup) connection. You can check your distance from the nearest CO by clicking here.
:Cable:
Cable broadband will usually be found anywhere you can get digital cable, though the two don't always go hand in hand. A quick call to your local cable company will let you know if you can get cable high-speed.
Without a doubt, cable's quickest pro is the speed. Cable broadband isn't limited by distance like DSL, but rather offers a massive shared pool of bandwidth for all customers in an area, which is also the biggest con. If you're one of the few people in the pool, you'll see massive speeds, but as more customers sign on and use the service, you can see pretty sharp declines in speed – especially during peak usage times around 7PM.
Cable companies have tried to get around this by offering speed increases (most major metro areas on the east and west coasts now start at 3 megabits), and if you're one of the few customers in your pool, this can mean massive download speeds (as high as 400 or more K/sec – that's over 100 times faster than dial-up).
That speed also comes at a bigger impact on the pocketbook. Cable high speed will typically run you around $45 once the couple-month initial sign-up discount runs out. You'll get the speed (so long as you're relatively alone in your bandwidth pool), but you'll pay for it too.
So long as you're not too far from a CO if you go DSL or have too many people in the pool with cable, both services offer more than enough for online multiplayer, just make sure you check with the appropriate provider for info n distance or number of customers in your area, respectively. We personally opt for cable, but that's mainly because our location near the beach is rather devoid of cable broadband customers, and we can enjoy almost 500K/sec speeds most of the time.