mrgrey
01-23-08, 09:32 AM
I am a US citizen, living abroad in Australia, and know very little about the ins and outs of network connections. I am used to high-speed, free internet access as I have been working at a US university for the past 7 years - thus plugging in and playing online games with friends has been easier than making toast.
However, now that I am in Australia, I am realizing just how good I had it. First off, to play games with friends back in the states my data has to flow back and forth across the Pacific ocean. To make matters worse, Australians PAY BY THE GB for internet usage (yes, Australia is a 3rd world country).
My question is two-fold: 1st, does anyone know what a minimum recommended speed would be for playing online games (mainly MMORPGs) considering the data is traveling ~ 8000 miles each way?
2nd, does anyone know what the typical data transfer rate for playing an MMORPG is, so I can get an idea of what kind of "cap" plan to get? (similar to minutes on cell phones, but in GB) For example, how many bits is transfered (upload and download) in a typical hour of online gaming? - I realize this statistic may not be very well known, since most of us don't have to worry about usage.
Also, I'm currently in a household with a speed of 512 kbps (really it is more like 440 after overhead), with a 12 GB cap per month. I'm thinking I probably need to upgrade. For those who are interested, if you go over the 12 GB in any given month they switch your line speed to 56k to punish you, until the beginning of the next month.
However, now that I am in Australia, I am realizing just how good I had it. First off, to play games with friends back in the states my data has to flow back and forth across the Pacific ocean. To make matters worse, Australians PAY BY THE GB for internet usage (yes, Australia is a 3rd world country).
My question is two-fold: 1st, does anyone know what a minimum recommended speed would be for playing online games (mainly MMORPGs) considering the data is traveling ~ 8000 miles each way?
2nd, does anyone know what the typical data transfer rate for playing an MMORPG is, so I can get an idea of what kind of "cap" plan to get? (similar to minutes on cell phones, but in GB) For example, how many bits is transfered (upload and download) in a typical hour of online gaming? - I realize this statistic may not be very well known, since most of us don't have to worry about usage.
Also, I'm currently in a household with a speed of 512 kbps (really it is more like 440 after overhead), with a 12 GB cap per month. I'm thinking I probably need to upgrade. For those who are interested, if you go over the 12 GB in any given month they switch your line speed to 56k to punish you, until the beginning of the next month.