Gaming with Cell C 3G: The Verdict

[tom110584]

okay, so cell c 3G launched in durban yesterday and today i managed to get some serious hands-on time with it after purchasing the 21.6mbps speedstick. i was using vodacom 3G before this, so i have something to compare it to.

i only got a chance to try it out with ps3, as i don't yet have a gold subscription to xbox live. if anyone else can give feedback in this regard, it would be very welcome.

the two games i tried it out with were uncharted 2 and fifa 2010: world cup. i downloaded all the updates needed before i could even start with uncharted 2, as well as two map packs for it. the downloads speeds hovered around 1.5mb/s and the connection was very stable. multiplayer was great - no visible lag and zero dropped connections. vodacom 3G was also pretty stable with UC2, although every now and then my character would freeze for a second or two. nothing like that happened during today's session.

fifa 2010: world cup really sucked on my old vodacom 3G connection - my players felt like they were running in mud the lag was so bad. it really sucked the fun out of the experience. HOWEVER, cell c 3G worked beautifully. it was like playing the AI due to the absolutely minimal lag. i've heard the lag is even less on xbox 360 so you gold members with cell c connections should be in for a treat!

i must also add that my wife was using the same connection as me for browsing the internet while i was playing online, and this didn't cause any hiccups at all. i'm running a lan cable from my pc to my ps3, and sharing the modem's connection.

so all in all, this is the best value for money wireless broadband you can get in south africa at the moment, and for those of us who can't afford a 10mb uncapped adsl line, and are prepared to limit our downloading somewhat, it seems well-suited to online gaming. i bought a 60gb data sim as well as the 21.6mbps speedstick option so all in all it works out to R384 a month for 10 gigs, including the modem. major demos on psn and xbox live are in the region of 1.5gb each so be warned that a measure of restraint is needed on this new deal(^_*)

i will post more feedback on how other games fare online as soon as i have it. would really like to play some demon's souls next!

please tell all your friends and family who are using vodacom and mtn data bundles that they are being financially raped!

i'd be interested to read about your own experiences.

- tom

More Discussions: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/268273-Cell-C-4Gs-and-gaming
Bandwidth Usage: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/280563-Gaming-on-Cell-C-HSPA-real-Bandwidth-usage

 

[Viper25]

Great review.
Thanks for this.
Does online game play on the ps3 use up alot of data?

 

[millennia]

Nice! Guess this means i'm more than likely taking my data over to cell c when they rollout in jhb...

 

[tom110584]

hey viper!

playing online doesn't seem to use nearly as much as downloading updates, demos, add-ons etc. playing either fifa and uncharted 2 for an hour uses up about 50mb. so it's quite easy on your cap! maybe some games are more heavy on the bandwith, but another game that chews up very little mbs is little big planet. as long as you download the level you want to play to your hard drive instead of streaming it live, you use maybe 1-2mb per level.

 

[Venom Rush]

have u tried any PC online gaming? I'd be interested to know what latency you get

 

[tom110584]

yo venom!

unfortunately, i'm not much of a pc gamer and don't have any multiplayer titles. however, what i can say is that if latency is low on a free-to-play service like the playstation network then expect even better results with pc games, especially those with dedicated servers. maybe someone can fill us in on the exact results though...?

 

[Venom Rush]

yo venom!

unfortunately, i'm not much of a pc gamer and don't have any multiplayer titles. however, what i can say is that if latency is low on a free-to-play service like the playstation network then expect even better results with pc games, especially those with dedicated servers. maybe someone can fill us in on the exact results though...?

Well I'm seriously interested in getting Cell C's R2999 package but I just don't want to end up in the same situation that I currently am where I'm getting crap internet from Neotel. Partly why I haven't already gotten it yet, early adoption of a new service seems great in the beginning until loads of people are on the network (mobile networks). Let's just hope Cell C have learnt from Neotel's mistakes.

 

[Shred]

Thanks for the review. Tell me, stupid question; how did you get your PS3 and have your wife surf on it at the same time? What sort of connection sharing did you use?

 

[Michaelbro]

Thanks for the review. Tell me, stupid question; how did you get your PS3 and have your wife surf on it at the same time? What sort of connection sharing did you use?

Router - 1 Lan cable to Pc
1 lan cable to PS3

 

[tom110584]

i don't use a router. i just run a lan cable from the back of my pc to the back of my ps3.

it seems that the 21.6mbps speed stick allows two users to use the same network, whereas we couldn't do this when i was using vodacom 3G and had my samsung sgh-i200 operating as our modem.

pm me if you need more details shred.

 

[Keeper]

Hey Tom! nice review - tell me, what exactly happens after you reach your 5 GigaByte allowance?

I know with Vodacom you only get 300 megabytes for the same money, So I get an extra 4.7 GIG and shouldn't complain - but what happens?

 

[Venom Rush]

Hey Tom! nice review - tell me, what exactly happens after you reach your 5 GigaByte allowance?

I know with Vodacom you only get 300 megabytes for the same money, So I get an extra 4.7 GIG and shouldn't complain - but what happens?

You pay out-of-bundle rates of 34cents per meg

 

[morkhans]

You pay out-of-bundle rates of 34cents per meg

Only if you have air-time loaded, otherwise your internet simply stops.

 

[Keeper]

Only if you have air-time loaded, otherwise your internet simply stops.

Really? That's awesome then!

I thought they would bill you or something

 

[morkhans]

Really? That's awesome then!

I thought they would bill you or something

It's a once-off upfront payment with no contract so there is no way they can bill you

 

[tom110584]

thanks for answering the question for me guys!(^_*)

in the pinetown area i'm getting download speeds of around 1.5mbps for playstation network content like add-ons and updates. anyone getting anything faster than this? to put things in perspective - 1 gig takes about an hour to download at this speed...

 

[tom110584]

i've been playing demon's souls this morning. absolutely perfect online play, and two hours of playing only used up about 10mbs!

 

[battletoad]

Anyone use Cell C yet for SC2 or our warcraft server? My pings on vodacom was usually 150 now i'm lucky to get under 200 (on the war server)

 

[Deathadder]

Great news anyone with Xbox live that can give some feedback ?

 

[MightyMuffinMan]

Great review Tom. It was alot of help. I was about to ask a question about it when I saw your post in the forum.I was unsure if I should take the plunge and cancel my neotel and get the cell c but now I will definitely give it a try. I also have a similar problem like you being unable to get adsl access due to my location. I have had a bad affair with first vodacom and than mtn. Now on Neotel which restricts my gaming. I'll be applying for the cell C tommorrow. I will also test it and let you guys know.

I will test it on my gaming rig: Heroes of newerth; BF:BC2; starcraft 2. (I should just mention that speed has neveer been an issue with any of the other providers, the issue for me has always been lag and being able to maintain the connection to the server)
I'll consider renewing my xbox gold to also test it out but I might just wait for them to launch in SA first in November.

I think alot of users would agree with me on this: I suggest this be made into a sticky for the next 3-4 months. I know that adsl is the best for gaming but that's not the point of this discussion. This is for those of us who are unable to get adsl but are looking for a reasonable wireless alternative.

PS: you can connect 1 pc to the internet and use it as a gateway (I think thats the term) and merely share the connection with other devices connected to that PC. However for best performance (if greater than 1) would be all devices connected to a router which than connects to the PC that connects to the internet. Correct me if I'm wrong.