Internet Speed: What is difference between latency and bandwidth?

Almost everyone today knows how to use the internet but not everyone knows how the internet works. The internet has 2 main factors that affect its speed: bandwidth and latency. Bandwidth is the average rate of data transfer through a communication path and latency is the time delay of incoming data. The higher the latency is, the more delay. How do they affect internet surfing, video chat, downloading and online gaming?

Different types of internet services give different specifications. Most internet using cables such as fiber optics or copper wires offer very low latency and consistent internet but is not that fast (except for the expensive ones). Wireless internet using 3G or 4G signals on the other hand offer very high bandwidth but at higher latencies especially if the weather is bad.

Internet surfing is more reliant of bandwidth because it does not need to load immediately. Having a 3G internet service like mine (Globe Tattoo) gives you very good video streaming because satellite internet service has high bandwidth and high latency. Sure, there is a little delay but after that, video buffs like a champ.

As for video chatting, it would need both good latency and good bandwidth. My experience with having high latency for video chat like Skype is quite bad. The audio stutters while worse for the video stream having frame by frame playback. It’s like using Yahoo Messenger for the web cam back in the dial-up connection days.

Downloading comes in handy whenever you need files that can be used even if there is no internet. Download mainly relies on the bandwidth for its speed. Latency only adds to the stability and consistency of the download speed.

For online gaming, latency is most important. Online games use real-time updates of everything happening inside the game. Having high latency will result in delay and poor gameplay. No one wants to play a fast paced game with lag spikes and long delay times. Only a few online games need high bandwidth.

The kind of internet service you can get also is dependent on whether it is offered in your area. In my case, I have no choice but to go for wireless internet because I live quite far from civilization.

It is always better to know what you are going to get with what you are paying for.

AMD versus Intel, which is better?

Nowadays, there are two companies competing on providing processors for computers. These two are Intel and AMD. Both companies offer a wide array of processors for different needs, but what is the difference between them?

Integrated Electronics Corporation, widely known as Intel is the worlds largest processor manufacturer. Intel started in the year 1968. Following would be Advanced Micro Devices also know as AMD which was founded 1969. There is only a 1 year gap between the manufacturers so their progress shouldn’t be that far from each other. But what really is the difference between the two?

What you pay for is what you get. Intel markets their processors at a higher price compared to AMD but that doesn’t mean that AMD is inferior to Intel or the other way around. Both have their edges compared to each other. Nowadays, both companies make use of APUs (Accelerated Processing Unit) for their processors. Intel Ivy Bridge processors, like the i3, i5 and i7 focuses more on processing power while on the other hand, AMD has their Trinity processors which offers processing power at the same time, better graphics.

A lot of people say that Intel is faster because of their architecture. Meaning that Intel CPUs process more per clock cycle (mhz). For example, the Intel Core i5 2500k is running at a clock speed of 3.3ghz while the AMD A10-5800k is running at 3.8ghz. That’s a 500mhz difference but despite that, the i5 is around 26% faster according to benchmarks made by people. So despite AMD having higher clock speeds, Intel has the upper edge in computing. An Intel processor paired with a dedicated video card will definitely be a lot faster than the Trinity processors but then again, that’s more expensive.

In the Philippines, AMD processors are much cheaper compared to Intel processors. AMD processors cost around P2.5k to 10k while Intel costs around P4.7k to a whopping 50k. So for budget gamers, AMD provides good enough computers for gaming while not being too expensive, while for gaming enthusiasts, Intel offers faster processors at higher prices. Either way, both of Intel and AMD are good, it just depends on what you want.