FINALLY getting DSL where I live; I need some info from other DSL users........

[TC4]

Well, the little burg that I live is FINALLY be getting DSL. The local server is gonna add it with the help of the phone company.

I have some quesitions, mostly about how fast I can expect to download files at the speed I am gonna have(768K for downloads, 128K for uploads), and also about the router, as we have one computer next to where the modem is gonna be, but we have a 2nd computer on the other side of the house that will be hooked up too, so I need to know what wiring to use and how to get it to work.

Both computers are IBM NetVistas, so they both have networking abilities built in. We have desided against a wireless network, as that entails a bit more money than we wanna spend.

Any thing you can tell me will be a big help.

[gbear]

Lucky. I'm in Baltimore county, and I can't get DSL according to Verizon. Oy. I'm jealous.

[jbooma]

If you have cable in your area get that instead. I have bad experiences with DSL, but none with cable.

[Kilmer17]

If you are just looking for speed on the net, Id stick to cable.

DSL is great for work programs for me though.

[Opiate-Zeo]

The speed of your downloads mainly depends on what your downloading. At 786k you should average about 70k a sec. But, that all depends on the server your download from, so basically, it'll vary.

As far as the router is concerned, you just need a basic 4 port router. I have a linksys one, but any of them will do. You will need to wire Cat5 (ethernet) cable from the router to your other computer. After the wiring is done, it's pretty simple. The router does the rest of the work.

Most routers have PPPOE already in them. It depends on your dsl provider, but they usually use PPPOE. So you'll need to set up the router with your user/pass to authenticate on the dsl network.

[Guest Matt Kyriacou]

I have Earthlink DSL and my downloads vary from about 70 kb/sec to as much as 200 kb/sec. One thing that I had to do when I hooked my DSL up was to go to a site such as www.pcpitstop.com and run a bandwidth test. I was not getting the speeds that I should have been right out of the box and the site was able to tweak my system with a patch or something. I have been blazing from there.

[TC4]

Originally posted by Kilmer17

If you are just looking for speed on the net, Id stick to cable.

DSL is great for work programs for me though.

Thanks for the input jbooma and Kilmer17, but cable here is out of the question at this time.

We have Adelphia Cable, and about 2 months ago the mayor here asked the local cable spokesperson when they might get cable internet access here, and he was told not anytime in the near future.

Plus remember too that Adelphia has filed for bankrupcy after the owners looted the company of funds when they illegally made loans to themselves and then excused them. There is a guy around the corner from us that used to be a repair man for Adelphia who got laid off. Now he had a new job AND a DirecTV dish in his yard

:laugh:

[Zuskin]

Doesn't DirecTV offer internet access? Based on my dealings with them in the past, I'll go with them before I'll give the damn phone company another dime.

[Johnny Punani2]

CABLE BLOWS!!!

I've had Cable before and currently have Verizon DSL. Cable sucks IMO. You have to share bandwidth with all the other people in your area which blows if you are trying to download large files or play online games at peak times. DSL is much better in that respect because it's a dedicated line directly to the phone substation. Furthermore, I've noticed the ping times on DSL are much lower then cable. I had serious lag problems when I had cable. Even during low usage times 12am-6am.

TC,

You should get a router if your going to get DSL. I recommend the Linksys BEFW11S4 Wireless Router. It's really easy to install and I've gotten really good download speeds using it. Since you also have a second computer. I would recommend you buying the Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet Bridge. It's also really easy to setup. You hook that up to your second computer. Since it's wireless you won't need to run and CAT 5 cable throught your house.

Wireless isn't expensive IMO. You can get the BEFW11S4 for about 80.00 bucks and the WET11 for around 100 bucks.

If you don't wana go wireless then the LinksysBEFSR41 Router is a good choice for you. It's about 50 bucks. You are going to need to string CAT 5 networking line from your second computer to your router. You hook up the DSL Modem CAT 5 cable to the WAN port in the back of your router. Then you attach the CAT 5 cables from your two PC computers to the 1 and 2 port in the back or your router(there are usually 4 ports) and you install the software that came with your router. Config your router and your done! It's easy!!!

[TC4]

Originally posted by Zuskin

Doesn't DirecTV offer internet access? Based on my dealings with them in the past, I'll go with them before I'll give the damn phone company another dime.

DirecTV does have a dish for internet service, called DirectWay. You can get the cheaper one for about $150, but you still have to use a phone line for your uploads but your downloads come off the dish. For about $600, you can get a dish that lets you do both uploads and downloads off the dish. And you can get both your internet as well as all your DirecTV stuff on the same dish.

But now the downside. The problem is that you can only buy the DirectWay dish, not rent it like we do with our DirecTV system. We pay about $27 per month extra for our 3 boxes($9 per box), bot for that you get the benefit of DirecTV coming to fix anything that goes wrong. If you buy everyything, you just get a 1 year warranty and then after that, if anything goes wrong, you basicly have to get someone to fix it for you, or buy new stuff.