Virgin Media Deal

jay0109

kooga wrote: »

you'd be bettter of ringing them, are you out of contract

Nope, mid-contract

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

You obviously have a connection issue and should contact UPC.

In their own words "expected average speed during peak hours of at least 180Mb on a wired connection"

Ring support and insist on an engineer.

I wonder are they waiting to be rebranded before offering new packages? Although it could be a while before that happens. Surprised they got rid of most of their offers from upc.ie

lensman wrote: »

We need to clear up a a few things when talking about broadband providers & what they offer, UPC offer speeds up to 240Mb in their 240Mb package which translates to approximately 30MB, Mb=megabit & MB=megabyte, I have their 240Mb BB & the maximum D/L speed I get is 3.5MB which is about 1/10th of the advertised speed.

lensman

These are the latest results from my UPC 240Mb broadband, Dublin 7
[IMG][/img]

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

You have a connection issue. You should contact UPC via the Talk To UPC forum on boards.ie regarding the fault.

I get 240 wired and wireless most of the time (recently). Had some issues in the past. Wireless via my own wireless AC router.

lensman wrote: »

These are the latest results from my UPC 240Mb ...

bk

People should check out this guide to getting most out of their UPC connection and how to test it properly:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057367191

lensman are you sure the ethernet port on you PC supports gigabit ethernet and isn't just 10/100 ?

Also that there isn't any other switches or routers between your PC and modem, that might be causing issues?

I have a SamKnows device, which does a speed test every hour, here are the average results over the last month:

Download: 232.20Mbps
Upload: 24.46Mbps
Latency: 11.07ms
Packet Loss: 0.02%

Fantastic results. I also get 200Mbps over wifi, with my separate wireless router attached to the UPC modem.

beauf

Those results are similar to mine but mine are because my router wired ports are 10/100.

beauf

Bk what's your WiFi router and adapter in the computer, laptop.

bk

beauf wrote: »

Bk what's your WiFi router and adapter in the computer, laptop.

TP-Link Archer C7v2.

Laptop is a Macbook Air with 5GHz 802.11n support, don't know more then that.

I'd recommend the Archer C8 nowadays, currently cheaper then the C7 on Amazon!!

Lots of info here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057367191

lensman

The port on my laptop is 10/100 Ethernet, I disabled the slower built in wireless use a USB 300n wireless adapter.

beauf

You and I won't get faster until we switch to 802.11ac Wifi or use a computer and router with Gigabit Lan ports.

beauf

bk wrote: »

TP-Link Archer C7v2.

Laptop is a Macbook Air with 5GHz 802.11n support, don't know more then that.

I'd recommend the Archer C8 nowadays, currently cheaper then the C7 on Amazon!!

Lots of info here:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057367191

Thanks. The C8 is on my to do list.

lensman

ahh well, the auld lappy is getting on now

rosmoke

I have to mention that every windows computer I have tested, they were all limited to 10-12mb/s because most of them can't see 5ghz wireless networks even the new ones but every macbook I tested they all connect to 5ghz networks even one from 2007.

bk

rosmoke wrote: »

I have to mention that every windows computer I have tested, they were all limited to 10-12mb/s because most of them can't see 5ghz wireless networks even the new ones but every macbook I tested they all connect to 5ghz networks even one from 2007.

I think that is more of a cost thing, rather then a mac versus windows things.

Mac's are expensive premium devices and as such they always come with the best specs available at the time. There is no such thing as a budget Mac.

Windows machines on the other stretch from premium to the super cheap. I think the majority of people (non gamers *) who buy windows machines, buy mostly cheap models. But the cheaper windows machines often have poor specs and only support 2.4GHz 802.11n, etc.

You can absolutely get high end premium windows machines with specs equivalent to macs (802.11ac, etc.), but I find that in general only gamers and a few other people buy those sort of machines.

bk

lensman wrote: »

The port on my laptop is 10/100 Ethernet, I disabled the slower built in wireless use a USB 300n wireless adapter.

That is what I want to get across, I often see people complain that they aren't getting the full performance out of their UPC connection and blaming UPC for that.

But the majority of the time, when you check, it turns out that the UPC connection is in fact delivering the full speed, that the problem lies with the users equipment.

And that is a bit unfair to UPC as they are in fact delivering incredibly fast broadband, at very reasonable prices. Way better then any other ISP in Ireland many times over.

People need to understand that if you want to get the full potential out of such a service, you have to invest a little bit in better equipment to get the most out of it.

It is like buying a Ferrari and then complaining that you can't reach it's maximum speed because you put normal road tires on it and standard petrol in the tank!

Now there is nothing wrong with realising that you laptop isn't good enough and that you can't currently afford to upgrade it and have to wait a few years. That is totally understandable, but people also need to understand this isn't UPC's fault and that with the right gear you can absolutely take advantage of their incredible speeds.

lensman

My daughter has a state of the art gaming desktop a few months old, I'll run the speed test from that maching & see the results;)

rosmoke

bk wrote: »

I think that is more of a cost thing, rather then a mac versus windows things.

Mac's are expensive premium devices and as such they always come with the best specs available at the time. There is no such thing as a budget Mac.

Windows machines on the other stretch from premium to the super cheap. I think the majority of people (non gamers *) who buy windows machines, buy mostly cheap models. But the cheaper windows machines often have poor specs and only support 2.4GHz 802.11n, etc.

You can absolutely get high end premium windows machines with specs equivalent to macs (802.11ac, etc.), but I find that in general only gamers and a few other people buy those sort of machines.

I know but it's hard to understand why a second hand macbook from 2007 which goes for around 100e on Adverts has no problem supporting 5ghz but a 5-600e laptop 2014 doesn't support. And I wasn't complaining about cheap windows computers, 500e is not cheap in my opinion.

bk

rosmoke wrote: »

I know but it's hard to understand why a second hand macbook from 2007 which goes for around 100e on Adverts has no problem supporting 5ghz but a 5-600e laptop 2014 doesn't support. And I wasn't complaining about cheap windows computers, 500e is not cheap in my opinion.

Well €500 is cheap when you consider that Macs start at about €1000 and can go up to €3000! The 2007 Macbook probably cost close to €2000 back in 2007!

The windows manufacturers like to cheap out on areas where they think people aren't technical enough to notice, like wifi, bluetooth, etc. and then stick a massive HD screen on it knowing perfectly well that your average buyer in PC World will only notice the nice screen and not read and understand the detailed specs.

It is an easy way for them to cut corners. As a technically minded person, I can easily see the significant corner cutting on 500e laptops when I walk around PC World.

rosmoke

You can't compare a windows laptop to a mac like that, the brand makes a price difference as well.
It's like you are comparing oneplus two with the latest iphone, or the latest iphone with s6. You can't say that Apple puts hardware worth that much compared to the other competitors. Apple brand costs a lot mainly because of their way of handling customers, so many times I've brought a laptop and they serviced it for free (without having warranty) and they are well known for so many repair programs out of warranty.
Imagine if I would buy an acer laptop with 500e, put the apple logo and I could easily sell it for 1500e, most people won't notice ))

ronano

I'm paying roughly 40.16 euro a month for broadband and phone, think i opted in for online billing while back. I rang the loyalty line and got 6 months half price and tied into a new 12 months contract. It took about 4 minutes all in, i rejected their first offer of 3 months half price. Figure the info be useful 061 272190 was the number

bk

rosmoke wrote: »

You can't compare a windows laptop to a mac like that, the brand makes a price difference as well.

......

Imagine if I would buy an acer laptop with 500e, put the apple logo and I could easily sell it for 1500e, most people won't notice ))

No, that simply isn't true at all!!! Macs aren't simply €500 worth of components with the apple brand on them!

I help many family and friends buy €500 Asus and Acer laptops and while those machines did fine for their relatively light usage, the specs and build quality of these machines comes nowhere close to even a €1000 mac!

A Mac will almost always have high end parts, CPU a high end Intel Core i5 or i7, while the €500 Acer will have a low end pentium or Core i3 CPU.

A mac will have a very fast SSD, while the €500 Acer will have a slow HDD.

Same goes for wireless as you pointed out, RAM, motherboard, etc.

€500 gets you all relatively low end parts and lots of corner cutting. If you look at the actual specs of a Mac and then try and find a windows laptop with the same spec, you will quickly find that you are similar premium €1000+ range windows machines.

For instance go take a look at the specs of a €1600 13" Macbook Pro, now go look for a similar spec of a laptop on Dell. You will find the Dell XPS 13 has give or take the same specs and it costs €1,650

Even looking on the Acer, the closest laptop they have to a Macbook Pro with a similar spec is the Aspire S7 and that costs €1,767 !!!

Macs always have high end specs and PC's with similar specs are equally expensive.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying most people need those high end specs. Many, if not most people get by just fine with €500 laptops for their relatively light needs. But don't kid yourself that you are getting the same specs and build quality from a €500 laptop as a €1500 mac or high end PC.

rosmoke

I don't know where you're buying from but I remember 5 years ago I helped my cousin get a Lenovo i7 brand new with really good specs for 454€. The cheapest i7 15" from Apple 5 years ago was no where near 2000€.
Believe me, I'm an Apple fan as well, I'm using a Macbook for the last 8 years and I believe they are great piece of work but still let's be realistic.
Have another example
This costs 600€
Laptop Asus X555LB-XX026D with procesor Intel® Core™ i7-5500U 2.40GHz, Broadwell™, 15.6", 4GB, 1TB, nVidia GeForce 940M 2GB, Free DOS, Black/Silver

What Macbook 15" i7 with 2gb video board dedicated can you find at 600€?

beauf

You're completely missing the point. AND That laptop doesn't have Wifi AC.

beauf

lensman wrote: »

My daughter has a state of the art gaming desktop a few months old, I'll run the speed test from that maching & see the results;)

Check it has Gigabit Ethernet and/or Wifi AC.

Italiancheese

My 12 month contract is up shortly and I was offered a 12 month contract with 6 months half price €42.49 for 240 broadband, unlimited phone and basic TV package and then it will go back up to €84.99. Has anyone been offered better?? I read back through the thread but can't see if this is good.

jay0109

Italiancheese wrote: »

My 12 month contract is up shortly and I was offered a 12 month contract with 6 months half price €42.49 for 240 broadband, unlimited phone and basic TV package and then it will go back up to €84.99. Has anyone been offered better?? I read back through the thread but can't see if this is good.

Thats exactly what I got last April after much debating with them
Got 2 months free Setanta/BT sports also

Fakman87

Lads I signed up for the €25 a month offer but my first bill was €30. Just wondering is this a mistake from UPC or is this including VAT that isn't listed in the offer? Thanks.

bk

rosmoke wrote: »

This costs 600€
Laptop Asus X555LB-XX026D with procesor Intel® Core™ i7-5500U 2.40GHz, Broadwell™, 15.6", 4GB, 1TB, nVidia GeForce 940M 2GB, Free DOS, Black/Silver

What Macbook 15" i7 with 2gb video board dedicated can you find at 600€?

And where exactly did you find this?

I can't find this available anywhere on the web? The closest I can find is a lower speced model on some relatively dodgy looking Romanian site!!!!

And again, the specs don't actually come anywhere close to a mac. Yes, it does have a nice looking core i7 CPU, but you can see it cutting corners everywhere else:

- Only a pretty low end 1366x768 screen, versus a high end IPS 2560x1600 retina display of a mac.
- 5400 rpm HDD versus SSD in a MAC (this one makes a big difference)
- 4GB of RAM versus 8GB RAM in a mac
- 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM versus 1866MHz LPDDR3 DRAM
- 802.11 b/g/n versus 802.11ac

Basically this is a low end budget laptop that they have stuck a nice CPU and GPU into, but it definitely is cutting corners again. Just this time it is cutting corners on the quality of screen (along with RAM, HDD, etc.), where as most budget laptops put a slightly nicer screen in, but cut the corners on CPU.

Don't get me wrong, it looks like a nice laptop for a gamer on a budget, but it certainly doesn't have the specs to match a mac, nor an alienware.

bk

Fakman87 wrote: »

Lads I signed up for the €25 a month offer but my first bill was €30. Just wondering is this a mistake from UPC or is this including VAT that isn't listed in the offer? Thanks.

Sounds like a mistake, all advertised prices most include VAT.

rosmoke

bk wrote: »

And where exactly did you find this?

I can't find this available anywhere on the web? The closest I can find is a lower speced model on some relatively dodgy looking Romanian site!!!!

And again, the specs don't actually come anywhere close to a mac. Yes, it does have a nice looking core i7 CPU, but you can see it cutting corners everywhere else:

- Only a pretty low end 1366x768 screen, versus a high end IPS 2560x1600 retina display of a mac.
- 5400 rpm HDD versus SSD in a MAC (this one makes a big difference)
- 4GB of RAM versus 8GB RAM in a mac
- 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM versus 1866MHz LPDDR3 DRAM
- 802.11 b/g/n versus 802.11ac

Basically this is a low end budget laptop that they have stuck a nice CPU and GPU into, but it definitely is cutting corners again. Just this time it is cutting corners on the quality of screen (along with RAM, HDD, etc.), where as most budget laptops put a slightly nicer screen in, but cut the corners on CPU.

Don't get me wrong, it looks like a nice laptop for a gamer on a budget, but it certainly doesn't have the specs to match a mac, nor an alienware.

1. Emag is not a dodgy website is the biggest online shop in Central and Eastern Europe available in 4 countries, they just bought Agito.pl (the biggest online retail store in Poland).
2. We just compared a 600e laptop with a 2300e Macbook (cheapest i7 15" on their website) and your argument is that it doesn't have the same amount of ram..

Look with the retina display I agree, but if you take out the 1tb hdd the windows pc has and put a 256gb ssd it should be less than 100e difference, if you swap those 4gb with 8gb it should be less than 70e difference. An 802.11ac card for a laptop is 19e. So with less than 200e you will have almost the same laptop, except the screen and a few other things like thunderbolt, etc.

Have another example One Plus 2 (350e) vs Iphone 6 (700e)
I don't even know why I'm trying to convince you that brand makes the price difference in most of the times, it's a proven fact for so long, I should better stop here.