-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Really HighSpeed Broadband Internet Access
- From: Gman <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:25:14 -0400
Don,
It's a great question and a complete answer could probably fill volumes.
But the nutshell answer would be that the two speeds are basically
exclusive of each other. A really fast computer will still feel like it's
crawling across the internet if it's connected via Dial-up. Conversely,
super fast internet speeds only affect the width of the internet pipe and
will allow internet files to be brought into the system as fast as the
system can accept them. Even the slowest system still in operation today
should be able to accept files at the fastest speeds since they cannot
compare to the speeds data travels within the computer.
To try and put it into better perspective, a hard drive spinning at
4500RPM has a typical data transfer rate of about 100 Mbps (before you take
into consideration other possible data bottlenecks within the rest of the
computer). My own DSL connection is rated at 1 Mbps. Cable internet
customers typically get between 3-7 Mbps. Even this article you sent in
claims that they are shooting for 50 Mbps, but only for certain suburban
customers subscribed to a specific service type (FiOS). With networking
overhead, those internet speeds are all reduced by at least 20%, so we're
not even close to needing to worry about the speed of a system when it comes
to choosing an internet plan. My expectation is that those really old
systems will be no longer in service by the time internet speeds overtake
them.
However, it's always a good idea to try and keep your system's speed
above what is required by the apps run on it.
Peace,
G
"The only dumb questions are the ones that are never asked"
----- Original Message -----
From: <dsw32952@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2008 12:55 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Really HighSpeed Broadband Internet Access
> Verizon is increasing the speed on their FiOS network.
>
> http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080618/D91C9B9G0.html
>
> Is it reasonable to think that the higher speed might be wasted on a lot
> of consumers? Especially if they are using an older computer... say a
> 2.0GHz Pentium with 1GB of PC2700 RAM and a 5400RPM (or even 7500 RPM)
> hard drive.
>
> Most of my customers have older slower computers. I usually advise them
> to speed up their computer (buy a newer, faster one) before committing to
> higher priced higher speed internet access.
>
> Should I be advising them differently?
>
> Don
>
>
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