GamePro?s Gift Guide 2003: The Gift of Broadband

More and more gamers are getting cable and DSL Internet connections every day. For some families, a high-speed ?net connection might be the Big Gift this year. If so, here?s what you need to know.

? A broadband Internet connection is generally either DSL (for digital subscriber line) or cable (as in the folks who bring you TV). Prices vary depending on where you live, but expect anywhere from $40 a month up. Often, the further away you are from a big city, the more expensive it gets, but that?s slowly changing. Visit dslreports.com and click on ?Find Service? to see what?s available in your zip code and how much it will cost.

? Connection speeds are measured as download/upload; a number of 1500/256 means you can download data at 1500 kilobits per second (or 1.5 megabits per second-you?ll see these abbreviated as Kbps and Mbps respectively) and upload data at 256 kilobits per second. A speed of 1500 Kbps equals a little over 180 KB of data moving every second-around 10 MB a minute-but don?t expect to see it move that fast all the time, if ever, since that?s the maximum possible speed and few connections actually reach it. Your mileage will vary on any number of factors-everything from web traffic (sometimes a problem with cable modem service, depending on how many other users are sharing the wires in your neighborhood) to the physical distance of your house to your ISP (often a problem with DSL connections). Nothing is foolproof, but keep in mind that even a sometimes-slow broadband connection still kicks the stuffing out of a dial-up account, which generally offers only a measly 56 Kbps per second.

? If you want to connect more than one machine to the Internet at the same time-the family computer, multiple consoles, a laptop, or any combination of these-you?ll need a router. A router will direct the Internet traffic inside your home and make sure that the right data goes to the right machines. It also provides automatic firewall protection against hackers (more a PC concern than for console gamers). Check out the popular and easy-to-install LinkSys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router, model BEFSR41 (about $50), which will let you connect four devices to the Internet at once. If you need something wireless to cut down on cable clutter, try the BEFW11S4 for about $25 more.

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