i read about connecting to xbox live with dial up -- it was very simple actually. i wanted to do it so I could download updates and such. i just wanted to see what would happen if I connected to a game. I popped in GOW and joined a game and there was little to no lag. i played for probably an hour -- i could even hear people talking. I disconnected for a couple of hours and tried again. This time I had alot more lag, however I did find a lag free game after about 5 or 6 tries. Explain how it is possible that I played GOW with little to no lag on dial-up? It was kind of surreal last night. So do you think I could play a sports game or racing game with little to no lag if GOW worked? I know i have heard that sports games don't require much bandwidth. Please don't flame me and say "Dial up sucks...broadband rocks!! You are ruining the game for everyone else!!" Believe me...I know dial up sucks...I live in a rural area and there is only one provider of broadband and they charge 50 bucks a month. I ain't paying that. I was just wondering how it was technically possible that 56k worked with GOW. I don't think i was messing anyone else's game up. Because i could hear them talking and they didn't cuss at me.

PS - The two times I played with little to no lag -- do you think it may be because the host has an extremely fast connection?

I actually didn't think that you would be able to connect to Live via dialup, esp for a game.

I think you were lagging but just didn't realize it. The way GOW is run for the most part, it seems like no one is really lagging when you just look at the way the characters move. They move pretty damn smoothly, but I noticed that when I'm on the server's side, it's easier to get kills. You also wonder why your opponents are not shooting at you once in a while, I came to the conclusion that there is a lag but the developers just try to hide it.

Notice, how most servers always win the games.

Are you sure you were playing Gears of War and not Pong?

Ooooo $50 a month!! Why have broadband when you can buy $60 360 games? Personally I'd buy games used for 1/2 price 6 months after they come out and get broadband.

Agreed. Broadband would be the LAST thing I would give up these days. I did go back to dial up some 5-6 years ago for a while, but I was really busy anyway.

I'd give up satellite, cable, or take out food before I gave up broadband.

BTW: FPS games run fine on dial up. I played tons of Quake 2 on my PC on dial up at about 100 ping years ago. I was getting a 50,666k or 49k connection though.

Broadband here isn't much cheaper than $50 a month.

Why do you even have Live?

Not what I have seen on my clan's Call of Duty server. Someone with dial up came in - he kept skipping across the field, made it hard for opponent to shoot him. It was funny. I had to set our server to 100 ping limit. because of that.

Try hosting with that dialup. You will be killing everyone hehehehehehe.

hehehehehe LOL

My logic is that if you're not willing to pay for broadband, you shouldn't be gaming on XBox Live, because you are indeed ruining the experience for others.

$50 is pretty average for broadband. What are you paying for dialup?

2007... and there are still people using dial-up

With how big file sizes are now, downloading anything on dial-up is masochistic.

In fairness...my father lives right outside the city limits, and doesn't have access to either DSL or cable internet. AT&T says service isn't available in his area, and despite living one block away from Comcast, they say the same.

The last online game I played with dial-up was Unreal Tournament. It was playable, but just barely.

$50 is twice as much as what I pay for mine. $50 might be worth it to you guys but you have to realize not everyone has the same disposable income.

A really good dial-up connection (like my dial up at my Grandma's house at 50-51k) gives you around a 100 ping given that you are gaming on a really good, really close server (I'm in Michigan, say, a Chicago server). And that's enough - although I'd bet modern games aren't spending as much effort on getting higher pings to play OK.

Having worked for a dial-up ISP briefly some years ago, though, I can say - most dial up connections will likely connect at 38k-44k. That tends to be more like 120-170 ping, and that's not so playable.

Good to see someone else has great taste in games here. I still have this on my ancient PC and still play from time-to-time but no-online. I just wish I kept all the mods.

Kenny J - Buzz Starhopper

I last left the dial-up scene in 1999, and I honestly can't believe how people can still be using that technology.

And as others have said - you may not have noticed any lag, but trust me - the others did.

17.00 for dial-up. I am trying to convince the wife to let me get a 784k/384k DSL package that the only provider in my county is offering. They are charging 39.95 for it -- which is a rip off IMHO, but I have no choice.

And for the other guy up there who asked why I have Live without broadband. I don't -- I was just using the free 1 month gold that came with the 360.

And for the other guy up there who said I was ruining the experience for everyone -- chill. I only played online that one night. I am just gonna use dial up to download updates and patches -- I don't plan to playing games anymore. Anyway I hope to get some form of DSL in the near future.

If he was lagging that badly he would have been kicked. What kind of speed does your 56k connect at?

It is true, GoW hides your own lag very well (you appear to be very smooth, moving around, firing, aiming, etc), but your opponent would be warping all over the place.

well that makes sense of why I thought I was not lagging. anyway I am hoping I can convince my wife to let me get DSL sometime next month.