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Help needed getting started with ADSL!!

AMO

0
Hi there,
I was thinking of moving to a BB connection as Im fed up of slow dial up connections and time-outs..
The thing is, I absolutely have no idea of where to start from, dont know a good ISP, dont know anything about hardware or installation process..etc

So thought someone might be able to help me out find the best deal for me :)..

I can afford to pay up to £25 but not more..
And as you all probebly have guessed by now, I dont own any piece of hardware.

512kb would be suitable fo me (I guess), as Im planing to break into the gaming world :)..

So, can anyone recommened any ISP for me, I would really appreciate it :) ..
Can you also tell me what you think of following ISPs (how good is their service):
AOL
Virgin
Pipex
Freedom2surf
NDO

Thanks alot again.
 
AOL is good and you can use their service without the AOL software

Virgin are dire- steer clear

Pipex are good - i had their 1MB never had a problem

F2S - Never tried - never will

NDO - They are very good - lots of happy people at www.ndousers.com - they do a kinda no frills package which has a 10GB a week limit (512k) and is £15,99 for the first 5 months then £21,99 afterwards - nothing blocked and the limit is 10GB a week which is very generous - that's 40GB a month which is enough for most people.

remember:

This is a connectivity only service
- Does not include an email address
- Webspace is not included
- Limited to 10GB per week
- No access to Newsgroups

http://www.ndo.com/ndo/Products/Home500_Lite/prdadslhome500lite.html

or they do uncapped for abit more (with equipment included for £27.99 a month with a decent modem)

http://www.ndo.com/ndo/Products/Home500_Complete/prdadslhome500c.html
 
think thats the first time I've seen anyone recommend AOL to anyone, but the best of that bunch have to be pipex and NDO, but if I recommend pipex then simmilar level of service is my own ISP plusnet.

Both pipex & plusnet have been having difficulties the last 2 months, with BT'isums[ie fault reported as BT's], but there packages that include the Router are in your price range. Note don't get a USB or PCI modem package, go for a rotuer as you will end up buying a cheap router in 5 months anyway so invest in one now over a 12 month contract than waste the cash on the USB or PCI modem.
 
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I'm with Pipex, they are very good, NDO is supposed to be very good as well, AOL has a good reputation for newbies but the one time I tried it half the sites in my Favourites folder came up "not found", switching to another isp and they all reappeared; conclusion, AOL filter sites, which in my book is censorship.
 
First of all I would like to thank you all for posting and trying to help me, I really appreciate it ..

Well, I checked some of NDO's users reviews here and most of them are satisfied with the service, so I checked their website as well and I think the Home500 is a really good deal, specially with the 1 month contract which means I can move to another ISP at any time.
They also accept payments by Visa Electron debit card which is absolutely a plus to me as I dont own a credit card.
And the price is kinda good, though a bit expensive (£24.99), just hope they dont need a credite card for the registration process.

Though Im not sure about the hardware. They are selling Binatone ADSL USB Modem, is it good? or its better for me to buy the modem elsewhere?

And regarding the router, I dont think I can afford one at the moment, plus I dont think I'll need it as I only own one PC. (do I need one to connect my PS2 to the internet?).
 
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Do NOT buy an adsl modem USB or otherwise, buy a router, look on adslguide for reviews on routers and modems.
 
reset said:
Do NOT buy an adsl modem USB or otherwise, buy a router, look on adslguide for reviews on routers and modems.

Unless you want to network PC's there is no real advantage to a Router over a USB or PCI modem
 
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Last edited by a moderator:
Web Buddy said:
Unless you want to network PC's there is no real advantage to a Router over a USB or PCI modem

Apart from the fact that USB modems are crap and give you high pings, and you need to click connect every time you boot up, and n00bs using them won't have a firewall so their PC's will become a virusfest :)
 
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Olly said:
Apart from the fact that USB modems are crap and give you high pings, and you need to click connect every time you boot up, and n00bs using them won't have a firewall so their PC's will become a virusfest :)


the chances of your pc becoming a virus fest is minimum, unless you go looking for it.

i agree that routers do have a sligh advantage but nothing to pay more money for. I am kinda happy with my bt voyager, even though its one of the worst modems out it still does its job.

router would hardly give better pings, the real ping matters are in games. i ping less with my free voyager than with a sub 80 quid router.
 
Web Buddy said:
Unless you want to network PC's there is no real advantage to a Router over a USB or PCI modem

Have you personally tried both? I have, and have found routers to have an edge over connection times and a few other things.

And arnt you forgetting the hardware firewall you get with routers?

Also USB modems take more power from a PC which can lead to problems if it has a low power supply.

the chances of your pc becoming a virus fest is minimum, unless you go looking for it.

You not seen the news on the front page then? Average time for a computer without patches (the ones that dont have a firewall are the ones most likely to not bother updating) is 20 mins. After that they usually get infected by a virus that seeks out unprotected computers (blaster anyone?)
 
Hardcore Hustler said:
the chances of your pc becoming a virus fest is minimum, unless you go looking for it.

i agree that routers do have a sligh advantage but nothing to pay more money for. I am kinda happy with my bt voyager, even though its one of the worst modems out it still does its job.

router would hardly give better pings, the real ping matters are in games. i ping less with my free voyager than with a sub 80 quid router.

1. If you leave a PC with an exposed PCI/USB modem then it will be infected by viruses!

2. There is no way you'll get worse pings with a router than a USB modem!
 
Well put it this way, I have always used a Fujitsu FDX310 and see no reason to change, I only need one machine connected and the pings I get are just as good as people with routers.

Just for tests sake, I had a router in here one day to see what the ping difference was, needless to say I was getting pretty much exactly the same pings from the router than I was the USB Modem.

Facts are if you use a decent motherboard with a decent CPU thats pretty new, your unlikely to notice any difference, I certainly don't.

Long as you have a decent software firewall, your fine, the built in XP one does a good enough job, as much as people **** it, I've been using it alongside Nortn AV for 2 years now, never had one security problem AT ALL.
 
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