Modem and router recommendation

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JDMStanced

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Im in the market for router and modem combo.
Im using xfinity performance package with asus wifi usb up to 300 mbps.
I get download speed of around 20.

But im planning to upgrade to 450mbps wifi pcie card.
Could you recommend router and modem combo for under $100?
 
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Router/modem combo devices are not that good. It is much better to have separate devices. This way you can upgrade your router without having to buy a new modem, change service without having to buy a new router, and pay less when you have to replace a device due to failure.

Not to mention that no router/modem combo device will even support your 450mbps pcie card.

You would better off getting a Zoom 5341J modem and a TP-LINK wrd3600 router.

As far as your 450mbps pci card you may be better off just getting a powerline adapter anways. These have much more reliable speed then wifi if you do not live an too old of a home with outdated wiring.

Also if you are not sharing files over your local network then having a wifi network 20x...
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boosted1g

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Router/modem combo devices are not that good. It is much better to have separate devices. This way you can upgrade your router without having to buy a new modem, change service without having to buy a new router, and pay less when you have to replace a device due to failure.

Not to mention that no router/modem combo device will even support your 450mbps pcie card.

You would better off getting a Zoom 5341J modem and a TP-LINK wrd3600 router.

As far as your 450mbps pci card you may be better off just getting a powerline adapter anways. These have much more reliable speed then wifi if you do not live an too old of a home with outdated wiring.

Also if you are not sharing files over your local network then having a wifi network 20x faster instead of 15x faster then your download speed is irrelevant.
 
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JDMStanced

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What do you mean by router and modem combo wont support pcie card?

Powerline adapter is above my budget and i only have to use wifi for phone and pc.
My wifi usb has been disconnecting so i thought pcie card would give more consistant connection. And i live in a 800 sqft 1 bed.

Perhaps i should go for 300mbps pcie card if i dont go powerline adapter..

Ps. Looks like this can support 450mbps pcie card.
NETGEAR N450 WiFi DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem Router
 
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boosted1g

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I mean that there is not n450 speed router/modem combo devices. Of course they will support the wifi card, just not at full speed. Sorry for the confusion.

I was not aware of a 450mbps card costing less then $25-30 and a powerline kit was $30-35 so that is why I made the suggestion.

With a PCIE wifi card you often need one with extended antennas. If the antennas are directly attached to the wifi card and the PC tower is blocking the signal (between antennas and router) then the PCI card will be of little help.
 
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JDMStanced

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i test ran internet speed when PC is hooked up directly to router/modem. I'm getting almost 4 times the speed, 83 mbps download speed!
So here's what im going to do. Let me know what you think.
I'll keep my ASUS usb wifi card. buy a longer ethernet cable and hook up pc and router directly. This takes care of my PC.
For my mac and phone wifi,
i'll buy Zoom 5341 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem 5341J, and TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 Wireless N750 Dual Band Router
 
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cat6 is only couple bucks so that won't be hard to get on amazon.
if i use my modem at one place, can i use it at different place when i move?
 
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boosted1g

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Yes, you can use the same modem at a different place, assuming you are using adsl service.

And yes, go with Ethernet, had I known that was an option from the start for your Desktop I would have told you that.
Wired Ethernet is always better then wifi, no latency and faster. Wired Ethernet counts one direction speed as the max speed while wifi counts both tx and rx; so when you say 1gbps speed that means both transmit and receive so 2gpbps total, while on wifi when they say 300 mbps they mean 150 mbps sending data to router, and 150mbps receiving data from router (thus at absolute best conditions you will only get 150mbps transfer speed).

The WDR4300 is also a good router so that is a good combination. I would recommend either way flashing the router to DD-WRT.


For regular patch cables cat6 is not going to give you any benefit over cat5 unless you have 10gbps switches and nic cards. Both of them can operate at the full speed capability of your current networking equipment. So there is no point to pay the premium for cat6 for residential use (it generally does not even make sense cost wise for small offices).
 
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JDMStanced

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I wasn't thinking about going for Ethernet because of too many wires but since this provides very good speed, ill go with this.
what is the purpose of flashing the router to DD-WRT?
oh we have to buy the software..

Before i saw your reply, i already placed an order for Zoom 5341 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem 5341J and Cable Matters® Cat6 Snagless Ethernet Patch Cable in White 20 Feet.
So.. what is 10gbps switches and nic cards.. it doesn't seem like Ethernet cable i ordered doesn't have those :(



 
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boosted1g

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DDWRT is a 3rd party firmware that offers mild to moderate speed improvement, on some routers it makes it more stable, and on all routers it gives you way more options then the factory firmware does.

What we also like about dd-wrt is that no matter if we have a Linksys, or netgear, or tp-link, etc, if you flash any of them to DD-WRT, then no matter what brand you have, all dd-wrt flashed routers have the same available settings with the same menu's etc and you can even transfer over your custom configurations.
Right now every brand and even model line has different firmware layouts with different options and features. It would be like if instead of Microsoft windows, each product line of each computer company had its own custom operating system; so imagine there being 3 different OS software for this years line of Dell PCs, and 4 different ones for HP, etc, etc.


In regards to 10gbps switches/nic:
Pay no attention to that, I was just stating for correctness that cat6 is only better then cat5 if you have the 10gb enterprise hardware. 10gbps equipment is thousands of dollars.
 
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