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Reliable internet, DESPERATE for some advice please from tech guys and grinders
Hi,
My problem is quite simple but I have no idea how to solve it as I'm not very good with computers etc.
Basically, I just want a reliable internet connection that is capable of multitabling 12 tables with no problems. I want to play on Sky full-time but as things stand it is impossible.
Having had 2 months of constant problems with my internet connection I think the problem may lie with my ISP, Virgin (hope its OK to name them). The problem basically is that my connection seems to fail in some way (not completely) but it causes the tables to become completely unplayable and I get the network error mesage, reconnection message, reload table message etc etc. (When these problems occur internet pages also fail to load on this PC andlaptops around the house.) As a result I have no confidence playing anymore and have lost countless buy-ins over the last couple of months purely down to connection problems.
I think the problem may be the ISP for the following reasons:
I've been in touch with Sky (who were very helpful) and there is no real reason why multitabling 12+ tables should be impossible (even difficult really) and this is also obvious as there players on here who do this routinely.
My PC is new (maybe 6 weeks old?). The spec should be more than capable of multitabling (6 processors etc). The processors are AMD and I have since been led to believe that Intel would have been better but that these should still have no probs. Also, the problems with internet pages not loading occur on laptops around the house.
I bought a new router to replace the standard one. It is apparantly a decent one (Belkin playmax - £100).
I bought powerline adapters so that I could use a 'wired' LAN connection (again these are apparantly decent, netgear 500 mbps - £90)
Although the problems are pretty erratic I have noticed that they mostly centre around 'peak' times. Also, when I use speedtest.net when I'm having the problems (when it lets me) I have noticed that my speed has dropped hugely. My package is upto 50mb which I get quite alot but it often drops down to about 5mb which I think maybe linked to the problems. (Shouldn't 5mb broadband be fast enough anyway, though?).
If any of you guys might have any other possible solutions for these problems I would be really pleased to hear them.
The upshot, though, is that I am currently considering taking out a business broadband package from BT. (As I live with my parents I cannot get rid of my current ISP and BT have said I can have the 2 in the same house no problem). This would mean that I have a proper wired connection at all times and the business side means that it should be about the most reliable option I can get. The deal is £30 excl VAT per month but it's a 24 month contract with no cooling off period if my problems remain. If this will give me a reliable connection, though, then I will definately find this worthwhile and take it up straight away. One final thing about this, the download speed is expected to be 17mb at my home which sounds fine but the upload speed is only 1mb - is the upload speed a problem playing poker?
I would welcome anyone's advice on taking out this package and would also be really interested to hear from any of the full-time grinders on this site as to their set-ups and if they had any similar problems when first starting out.
As I say, I am DESPERATE for help guys as these problems are really getting on top of me now and I just want them sorted, please help if you can.
Thanks very much,
JohnConnor
(Matt)
Comments
Take a look at 'splashies' recent 90-odd page thread in this section, particularly the later pages where we discuss DSL profiling / Signal To Noise ratios on lines etc. Could be that you have a low SnR and need to increase it, which may or may not be a job for your ISP technical support people.
Sorry for the brief reply but am currently insanely busy at work.
Thanks for the reply, even though you are so busy. I was following that thread and have to admit it started to get a little over my head. Nevertheless I will knuckle down and work through it (prob this evening) and see if any of that helps. Just out of interest, if it is one of those problems, would the fix be permanent. Also, if I just went with BT now instead, would I likely get similar problems with them. I am rather naive in the technology world I am afraid.
I would speak to your tech support and tell them you have some reliability issues. Ask if they can tell what SnR your router is reporting. If it's very low (ie, below 6db up or down) then you'll be more prone to dropouts. Basically the higher the number the better. I'm getting about 9db each way on mine and it seems to have stabilised. Running at 6db or below I get issues.
Also you tend to find as the SnR increases you will see a decrease in bandwidth - eg, with my change from 6db upto 9db I saw a bandwidth drop from 11.5mb to 10.5mb, which thankfully is hardly noticeable.
The tech guys should be very familiar with all this.
There are other possibilites (eg rubbish phone line in general) but I'd explore the above in the first instance.
Good luck
The router question - probably depends on your ISP. Some lock you down to theirs, most are more flexy.
Our broadband improved about a millionfold when we moved across from AOHell or whichever other shame to the ISP industry it was.
Would possibly be ADSL2, no idea if that would help you...
If I had too much grief I'd switch to leased line.
If you're not sure look at the modem and post it's make/model on here.
As you have probably read from my thread, I was having same issues as you were. The dropouts have completely stopped since i asked my ISP to increase my SNR(signal to noise ratio). It was set at 6db, but after they increased it to 9db, i have had no problems with dropouts.
However, since then my speed of connection has reduced a lot. This hasn't been a problem playing poker, but is a problem if im downloading something. I'm still working on getting this sorted.
Good luck
Martyn.
Machka, I assumed cable but I don't honestly know. I just looked at the modem and it is a Ubee EDM3528. If it is cable, does the SNR thing not apply then?
Thanks
I would get on to Virgin Media CS and see if they can send you out a Virgin Media Super Hub which is a combined cable modem/router. Generally they are a lot quicker, more stable and are causing less issues for customers.
Thanks again for your help,
Matt
JC
Right, I have these shares in an Eskimo Ice Cube Company... ;-)
Actually there is: playing a hand against an really aggro villain HU, hitting the nut straight and nut flush draw as he bets into you huge, and timing out when he moves in. And to top it off the people in "customer care" have a stinking attitude that unless there's system wide problems it's a fault at your end, even though my connection was fine for everything else.
/end vent