Changing from cable to long line ADSL, online gaming worries

nichorob

nichorob

nichorob

Soldato
Joined
1 Apr 2003
Posts
5,244
Location
London
Morning,

I'm currently on a Virgin Media cable connection which is perfect for online gaming. My pings and connection stability are always the best on the server. However, i'm moving in with my girlfriend into a no cable area with a BT line that has an attenuation of 63db so about 2.5kms from the exchange. We are either going to go with TalkTalk LLU or Sky LLU, will my online gaming be affected much with this line?

Thanks in advance.
 
My line length is 2.5Km, although it's a good quality line, I'm with O2 and my pings are slightly better than my 20mb VM cable, I sync at about 11mb.
 
I'm about 2km from the exchange and have an attenuation of 30-33db depending on which router i use, doubt a 63db line (it may be more, a lot of routers dont report greater than 63db so it might be 70db etc) would be 2.5km from the exchange unless its really poor quality.
 
One of my friends has a 62.5db line with bt. I gets 1meg down and 0.36 up and pings about 45ish. Not bad seeing as he is around 6km from the exchange, probably more.
 
mr_x_plosion said:
Also make sure you sort all the internal wiring, try connecting to the master socket with no other extensions.
Click to expand...

According to SamKnows we are 1.97km from the exchange (although that is straight line). The attenuation was definitely something like 63db and the noise was around 15db. On bog standard TalkTalk upto 8mb ADSL, the router was claiming it was syncing between 3mb-4mb. This was connected to the master socket (which is the only socket in the flat). I wouldn't have a clue about how to improve the wiring etc as have never been on BT/ADSL before. Any tips would be appreciated. :)
 
Distance from exchange should not affect 'ping'... The only mechanism that does is 'interleaving', this basically allows more stability, but at the expense that pings are doubled.

Saying all that, I am on O2, and get 26ms Pings to some servers with interleaving, so it's not that bad.

I wouldn't worry too much about wiring, if you only have a master socket and no extensions...

Can you not get o2/be LLU where you are, some cracking deals are going around,
 
Can she not move into your place? Haha :D

Joking aside, the difference in ping, aslong as the line is stable should not be much different from your cable connection.

A lot of long lines have something called 'interleaving' turned on. This adds latency to the connection but makes it more stable.

On my line, which connects at 5.6mb interleaving was enabled and my ping rose from 14ms to 27ms (to bbc).

I had it disabled and managed the line myself using a router tool that allows me to control the connection speed.

I'd go with Sky over talk talk. Talk talk are not the greatest of ISP's.
 
I have heard about interleaving. I'm not a big downloader at all, I would happily have a 1mb connection that was good for gaming than a 24mb connection that wasn't! All I care about is pings.

So my best bet is to have interleaving turned on.

I have just got home and checked the line stats:

Up Stream
837 (Kbps.)

Down Stream
3283 (Kbps.)

Noise Margin
15 dB
15 dB

Attenuation
52 dB
--- dB

This is using just bog standard upto 8mb TalkTalk ADSL, not ADSL2+ or LLU or whatever the term is. We are roughly 2km from the exchange as said above. Do the stats seem normal? Would the up/down streams increase with ADSL2+/LLU? I honestly don't have a clue so I apologise for my noobishness.

So baring in mind that I only have the master socket in the house which the router will be hooked up to, there is nothing I can do to improve the line stability myself apart from getting interleaving turned on?
 
Frank Butcher said:
I have heard about interleaving. I'm not a big downloader at all, I would happily have a 1mb connection that was good for gaming than a 24mb connection that wasn't! All I care about is pings.

So my best bet is to have interleaving turned on.

I have just got home and checked the line stats:

Up Stream
837 (Kbps.)

Down Stream
3283 (Kbps.)

Noise Margin
15 dB
15 dB

Attenuation
52 dB
--- dB

This is using just bog standard upto 8mb TalkTalk ADSL, not ADSL2+ or LLU or whatever the term is. We are roughly 2km from the exchange as said above. Do the stats seem normal? Would the up/down streams increase with ADSL2+/LLU? I honestly don't have a clue so I apologise for my noobishness.

So baring in mind that I only have the master socket in the house which the router will be hooked up to, there is nothing I can do to improve the line stability myself apart from getting interleaving turned on?
Click to expand...

Talk Talk ADSL is not the best for anything in all honesty. Their LLU service is a tad better but not up there with the likes of o2/Be and Sky.

If you want to keep your latency low you will want to request interleaving off if it is already enabled. Turning the router on at night should keep the line stable for days aslong as your line is not hammered by noise.

It may be possible to sneak some extra speed out of the line by going onto ADSL2+ on an LLU service.

If you have no other extensions then that is most probably the best you will get although I'd still give the test socket ago (if you have one) just incase.

On LLU products I have seen lines with 63db attenuation connecting at 2.5mb. Matching the chipset on your router with the one in the exhange would sneak more speed/stabillity.

:)

*update - just seen the upstream is 837kbps which highlights the line is already on an LLU service.

If Talk Talk reduced your noise margin from 15db to 6db you would gain more speed, possibly over 4Mb. It could be set that high due to stabillity issues though.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for your replies. I always read the horror stories about TalkTalk but read a lot of good things about their new LLU service. May head back to BT and go with o2 then or switch straight to Sky.

Oh, I completely mucked the interleaving issue up. I need it off then. The router will be on 24/7 so thats not an issue.
 
Frank Butcher said:
Thanks for your replies. I always read the horror stories about TalkTalk but read a lot of good things about their new LLU service. May head back to BT and go with o2 then or switch straight to Sky.

Oh, I completely mucked the interleaving issue up. I need it off then. The router will be on 24/7 so thats not an issue.
Click to expand...

Thats no problem.

I'd steer well clear of o2 on BT. They have a lot of latency/routing issues on their BT based product.

I'd jump straight to Sky or stick with Talk Talk.
 
Ryan111 said:
One of my friends has a 62.5db line with bt. I gets 1meg down and 0.36 up and pings about 45ish. Not bad seeing as he is around 6km from the exchange, probably more.
Click to expand...

I'm on 63dB (LLU) and I get 2meg down, 368kbps up, and I'm about the same distance.

Sounds like BT are limiting him with a higher noise margin.
 
EVH said:
I'm on 63dB (LLU) and I get 2meg down, 368kbps up, and I'm about the same distance.

Sounds like BT are limiting him with a higher noise margin.
Click to expand...

Nope, BT are ADSL, as LLU is ADSL2/+. You will get an higher sync rate with LLU at same length and noise margin.
 
He has a 7db noise margin. The main problem for him is the master socket is in the garage, away from any computers. Its currently running of a 15m extension reel :(
 
Ryan111 said:
He has a 7db noise margin. The main problem for him is the master socket is in the garage, away from any computers. Its currently running of a 15m extension reel :(
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it be simpler for him to connect the router to the master socket and then run a CAT5/6 cable to another router/switch?
 
Well, it would. But the router (Home Hub) has the phone with the free calls as well. And he doesn't have another router to use within the house as the home hub doesn't reach across the whole house from the garage. He has a BIG house.
 
EVH said:
I'm on 63dB (LLU) and I get 2meg down, 368kbps up, and I'm about the same distance.

Sounds like BT are limiting him with a higher noise margin.
Click to expand...

How do you find online gaming, being nosy but notice you have a PS3. I spend a lot of time on MW2 and FIFA10 via PSN. My worst nightmare is moving house, setting up the net and then never getting higher than 2/4 bars in MW2. :p

What ISP are you with?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom