Internet Speed

[bside]

Re: Internet Speed

BPL Broadband Over Power Lines
Its not all that fast tho, basically equal to DSL and cable speeds.

BPL, or actually PLC (Power Line Communications), has a potential speed of 200Mbps. There are just too many difficulties to overcome to reach its technological limit, one of the biggest problem being electric wave leaks possibly interfering w/ other equipments, such as radios.

PLC's advantage is it uses already-installed power lines, while offering the fiber-like speed. But due to the fact that fiber is being rolled over as we speak at much faster rate than PLC overcoming its difficulties, not many people are expecting PLC to compete w/ or replace the current broadband. Nevertheless, it could be a good news for those currently "out of reach" of broadband services.

[Maju]

Re: Internet Speed

Something not to do unless you know what you are doing... hmm i smell burning.... F my processor has melted..... you get the drift.
And yes I have turned up to a computer fire where a kid has overclocked it by miles and it blew the chip, large puff of smoke, no fire but they still called us out so we checked it and basically told them their processor is fried along with the motherboard (most of the diodes close to the processor were toast!!)

Haha!

Overclocking isn't really that risky since modern computers turn themselves off when something overheats too much. The kid in question must have pumped up his core voltage to the max or something to make the chip blow up like that.

A basic guide to CPU (processor) overclocking:

Overclocking both your memory and CPU is usually best done in BIOS. You can access your computer's BIOS by pressing a key when your computer is booting up. The key you need to press varies from motherboard to motherboard. It is documented in your motherboard's manual and it usually briefly appears when the computer is starting up. BIOS is where you can, among other things, change a lot of different settings and monitor heat production and fan speeds. If you have any common sense (don't touch things you don't know about) you won't be able to damage your computer by toying around in BIOS.

Thumb rules:
1) Increase your CPU clock speed first before touching your voltage settings.
2) Always increase your voltage one small step at a time.

A too high clock frequency will lead to either unstability or not being able to boot (start) your computer at all. It's not a problem since BIOS tends to reset its settings when the latter happens. If it doesn't, you can reset it through jumpers or switches on your motherboard. Their locations are documented in your manual.

A higher voltage can allow you to increase your clock frequency further but it also increases heat production. Extremely high voltage settings can fry your computer.

[Thrasher]

Re: Internet Speed

BPL Broadband Over Power Lines
Its not all that fast tho, basically equal to DSL and cable speeds.

[Lambeaus]

Re: Internet Speed

What is that new way for service that they are starting through the power lines. That isn't fiberoptic, is it?

Supposed to be the fastest I think, and not bad priced if your area has it.

[Malevolent]

Re: Internet Speed

Good old "let's take our clothes off because the static can damage sensible parts" line.

HAHAHAHA!!!!!

[Thrasher]

Re: Internet Speed

Utter these three words to her, Phase Change Cooling and see what happens
The only down side is Buying one of those

[Raydeus]

Re: Internet Speed

Yeap what he said. I wouldn't say OCing is Uber skills but its nice to know if you attract that popular, sexy computer savvy girl that sits behind you in math class to sho off your uberness...and how much power you can get out of you CPU...lol

Good old "let's take our clothes off because the static can damage sensible parts" line.

[Jarre]

Re: Internet Speed

Overclocking
Running your memory or processor above there rated speed.

Something not to do unless you know what you are doing... hmm i smell burning.... F my processor has melted..... you get the drift.

And yes I have turned up to a computer fire where a kid has overclocked it by miles and it blew the chip, large puff of smoke, no fire but they still called us out so we checked it and basically told them their processor is fried along with the motherboard (most of the diodes close to the processor were toast!!)

[Malevolent]

Re: Internet Speed

Yeap what he said. I wouldn't say OCing is Uber skills but its nice to know if you attract that popular, sexy computer savvy girl that sits behind you in math class to sho off your uberness...and how much power you can get out of you CPU...lol

[Thrasher]

Re: Internet Speed

Overclocking
Running your memory or processor above there rated speed.

[Skoal]

Re: Internet Speed

Whats an OC?

[Raydeus]

Re: Internet Speed

BTW, IMHO, DSL being "dedicated" lines means pretty much nothing. Sure, DSL makes direct connetion to the phone company, but after that it's all shared anyways. What matters more is their "backbone," as to whether it's fast enough and if it's stable. Unless you live in the area where all the neighbors are heavy internet users and all of them use the same service, cable's speed shouldn't be affected much anyways. Of course, there probably are some bad companies that are letting like 30 users share the same line, which obviously kills the speed by a lot.

Those are the points that make (A)DSL much more reliable at lower domestic speeds (up to 2mbps like it is where I live), because most problems with cable seem to be originated at the connection from your modem to the company.

But you are right, after that all connections are shared. Although it would have to be a really bad company or have connection problems for it to have an effect on your bandwidth after that point.

[Malevolent]

Re: Internet Speed

Good News!!!! I don't have to worry about my connection anymore!!! My f*cking computer is dead now. The nerd patrol or whatever at Best Buy is checking it out for me. When I boot up it loads the Pentium logo then turns off then comes on then off..you get the idea. After they check it out, depending on how much it is I may just buy a new tower.

10$ says he tried his first OC and F'ed up his computer j/k Instead of going to Geek Squad...find a local mom and pop PC parts shop and ask for a Diag on your tower...peice by peice you'll be able to find out what part is causing trouble and prolly at less cost than Geek Squad.

[bside]

Re: Internet Speed

Fiber optix is a huge gamble i think. When i was installing fiber for Wells Fargo and Verizon Wireless's Satelite Towers, its so fragil even in the PVC and heavy duty ruber it comes protected in...and just like any cable (copper, fiber, coaxil), it degrades if theres a lot of turns in the run...So you could say your ethernet cable can slow you down as well...becasue its not transfering info at its optimal performance....anyone care to elaborate??

Yeah, fiber's weakest point is that it can't be "bent" and too fragile. Sometimes people have to give up the service because the fiber optic line can't be wired into the house, due to various factors such as node's location, any obstructing creatures like trees, etc.

But once it's installed, it beats others out. Simply put, it's the best; fast and stable. Not to mention I enjoy the big discount on phone line; instead of "old" copper wire line costing like $15/month, I only pay $4. I get another number for extra $1, too, just like we get a mule in ffxi, without having to install another physical line, and use that number for my business-related calls, while having another for personal use. (I don't think FiOS offers this kind of service, but as long as they have necessary equipments, it should be possible.)

[Malevolent]

Re: Internet Speed

In US, Verizon's FiOS is the largest and most known FTTP (fiber to the premises, also referred to as FTTH, or fiber to the home) service currently available to consumers. FiOS offers the maximum downstream of 50Mbps (varies by areas; most areas seem to be limited to 30Mbps), and upstream up to 5Mbps. Unfortunately, even 30Mbps plan currently costs $179.95/month, so the 5Mbps plan for $34.95/month would be what most of you will get.

Technologically and theoretically, however, you can get the same, or even faster speed than FiOS w/ DSL lines. The fastest DSL standard is VDSL (Very-high-bitrate DSL) and most of the current consumer products have the maximum downstream of 100Mbps and 50Mbps for upstream. But VDSL is designed for the very short distance, up to 1.5km (slightly less than a mile), and if you're located any far, ADSL is better. Not to mention VDSL service is very limited, and often only used in conjuction w/ other technologies, such as connecting your room within the apartment to the exchange box, to which the fiber optic is wired.

ADSL, or Asymmetric DSL, is the kind of DSL technology most widely available to consumers. When general public refers to DSL in US, it means ADSL. US was one of the first conutries to offer DSL service to the general consumers, but seeing the speed currently offered, it seems they're still using the very first technologies that they were using back when they first introduced the service. Using technologies such as High-bit Loading and Quadrable Spectrum, ADSL line can have a max downstream of 50Mbps and upstream of 12.5Mbps, as offered by Yahoo BB Japan, or maybe even higher in the future. Cable on the other hand is technologically limited to 30Mbps, even when they offer FTTN (fiber to the node, or fiber to the neighborhood), but still fast.


However, even if cable or DSL can have very fast speed, as Raydeus pointed out, they have this one big problem; stability. IMO, this is the greatest advantage fiber has over other lines, and this is precisely the reason why I got fiber in my home. Especially w/ DSL which has to use the existing copper wires which could be as old as 50 years, stability issue could cause a nightmare especially for online games which require a stable line if you don't want the sudden disconnects. For another example, I do online stock trades, so any disconnects can cause financial damages by not being able to buy/sell at the very time I want to. Not to mention unlike DSL, the speed stays the same no matter how far you're located from phone company's office.

Despite the fact that FiOS offers only up to 50Mbps, fiber can go a lot faster. In some parts of the world, if not many, fiber has a max of 1Gbps for both down- and up-streams. My plan shares the 1Gbps line within the neighborhood, and each houses are limited to 100Mbps on their end. Normally, I'm getting about 55Mbps. And the price is rougly $60/month.

I'm not saying Verizon is ripping everybody off as the cost of deployment can greatly vary due to the much larger land, but as the technology advances, they will be lower. In the meantime, I'd say 5Mbps plan still is worth every penny you spend just for its great stability.


BTW, IMHO, DSL being "dedicated" lines means pretty much nothing. Sure, DSL makes direct connetion to the phone company, but after that it's all shared anyways. What matters more is their "backbone," as to whether it's fast enough and if it's stable. Unless you live in the area where all the neighbors are heavy internet users and all of them use the same service, cable's speed shouldn't be affected much anyways. Of course, there probably are some bad companies that are letting like 30 users share the same line, which obviously kills the speed by a lot.

great post