Gaming with Cell C 3G: The Verdict

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DarKWateR

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tom110584 said:
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
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review. I just want to know if the online players are local or international. I would like to know how Cell C works in terms of international gaming.
 
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tom110584

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the players on fifa world cup were probably international - there's no way to tell. i'm still getting great online performance no matter who i versus, although one or two players were a bit laggy and i took this to mean that their connections were not up to scratch.
 
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McCrazieGoalz

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Thanks tom for this great review.

I started a thread on PS3 online gaming using Cell C's new connection before I saw your thread. I don't know how to delete it now.

Nevertheless, what I need to find out from you is whether or not there is absolutely no way of connecting the console to the internet with the USB modem connected directly to the console.
 
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MightyMuffinMan

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McCrazieGoalz said:
Nevertheless, what I need to find out from you is whether or not there is absolutely no way of connecting the console to the internet with the USB modem connected directly to the console.
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It don't work as the cell c connection is dial up and the PS3 can't dial out. Why don't you call/e-mail sony and ask them (I'm being serious) and provide them with the make of the usb stick and ask them if its possible for them to add support. Xbox (microsoft) basically told me they not interested in doing that as they would have to support to many drivers etc. (this was when I was on vodacom and excited to own a new xbox 360)
 
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tom110584

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hey mccrazie! i haven't been able to find anything online that suggests you can connect it directly to your ps3. i even emailed the cell c rep! it just doesn't make sense - how can the modem install its drivers on the ps3? and there's no way the ps3 has these drivers built into it. some things like usb keyboards and bluetooth headsets work fine with the ps3 but there's no word from any corner of the world of someone getting a usb modem to work simply by plugging it into a ps3. i think you'll need either a router or a pc to get it working and share the connection by lan cable or wirelessly.

if only it were that easy mate!(^_*)
 
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Synaesthesia

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You get routers which you can just plug in a dongle and it creates a wifi network for you.
 
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McCrazieGoalz

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Thank you guys for the replies even though you are confirming my fears.

I guess I will have to go window shopping for the router incase my PC packs out on me and I need to connect to the PSN.

But, how does it work. I buy the router, plug in the USB modem into it, plug the router into the PS3 then the PS3 should recognise the internet connection?
 
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Deathadder

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Get a wireless 3g Router, Plug your 3g dongle into it and then connect the ps3 / xbox via wireless connection.

That should work from what I have read online.
 
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tom110584

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how much are they are which one do you guys recommend (i.e. which one has been tested and works well)?
 
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stevea

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tom110584 said:
how much are they are which one do you guys recommend (i.e. which one has been tested and works well)?
Click to expand...


read this thread: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/273744-Routers-to-use-with-Cell-C-mobile-internet

and

"I've use 4 different 3G routers that would do the job, Netgear MBR624GU, Huawei D100T, Dovado MBR, Airlive Air3G, and there are many others. None of them require a PC, although you may need a netbook or something just to set them up." from: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...-4G-and-gaming?p=4881124&posted=1#post4881124

i'm browsing around and looks like you can get something from R500 up to R1600
 
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MightyMuffinMan

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Here is My speed test from Umlazi Section V Local and international London International Germany

I played Gears of War 2 Local game on xbox live - no lag, game was lag free. Dunno what the latency was. Friend was in Eastern cape.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 - Little to no lag (similar to my old 384 line before i moved) , ping on local server was 120.

My Pingtest results and
 
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jUgg3rnAut

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What would happen after 12 months? I guess you would just need to either buy a new SIM or just pay the R1499/R2999 again? What I don't get is, if you aren't on contract, how would they activate the 5GB every month?
 
xera

xera

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ping?

what ping do you get?

please could you ping some popular sites, maybe gaming servers, (at least 10 times each) and show results here?
 
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Icarium

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Is that 120 the in game ping, or the server browser ping? If that 120 is ingame, yummy.
 
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