SCOLANATOR
Established Member
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- Mar 26, 2012
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- 309
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So after a couple of weeks on my new Virgin super hub 3 connection I'm regretting the switch from sky. My sky connection was great, and reliable, but limited to about 60Mb, gaming was perfect though. Having seen an offer for 100Mb from Virgin for a couple of quid more, I went for it. I'm greedy.
I activated it a couple of weeks ago and all seemed well until I started to play some Xbox last week. Playing FIFA I have not had one smooth game since, playing most evenings. The connection indicator prior to each match never shows full green bars, and there is regular stutters and freezes throughout every match.
It seems I should have done some research prior to the switch as i now read their forums there are people on here who have been suffering with poor connections for years.
I've had Virgin for years. Currently on 200/12 and get more like 230/12. I also upgraded from a SH1 to a SH2 to a SH2ac and as computer/networking guy I have absolutely no complaints about the SH2ac - rock solid, good wireless coverage, no issues with latency etc. I specifically stayed away from upgrading to the SH3 as I knew about the Intel Puma 6 even before Virgin launched the SH3 with it. The Puma 6 is fundamentally broken and no amount of firmware will ever fix it despite what Intel/Virgin promise. It needs totally replaced.
As for gaming on the SH2ac, it's been fantastic. I'm a competitive PC gamer (with the occasional PS4 game here and there) with CSGO, BF, WoT etc. Never had a single issue with Virgin and the Superb 2ac. I honestly feel terrible for people struggling with the broken SH3, it would drive me off the deep end if I had to live with it.
So it's not Virgin's network/connection that most people are complaining about (outside of a few oversubscribed areas but they do tend to fix that). It's the absolute piece of junk that the SH3 is with the Puma 6 chipset. It's so bad Intel has been facing class action lawsuits over it.
Once they bring out a SH4 that hopefully has much improved (ie not Puma 6/7) then I'd very much recommend giving them another shot. But until then, stay well clear, the SH3 is an abomination.
Oh, the problem is so bad it even has its own website if you are interested:
Bad Modems