cable modem advise

[rgs80074]

hello everyone,

i am looking for some advise on a cable modem. i don't want to spend a lot of money but i am also tired of renting a modem from the cable company, not as if they didn't more than make their money in the first 7 years i had the modem (have had my current one since 2004 or 2005) then all of a sudden i started to have to pay 2.5 for rent and this year it went up to 3.5.

while their price is not expensive its the point i had the modem for so long before i had to rent it, i was one of the early adopters of the cable service so i had to pay money for them to come out and hand me an ethernet card even though i already had one installed on my pc. and on top of it the modem from them is not even complete, i've been using my own adapter to power it for years but do they give me a break on it.

anyways i can't really tell from searching if there is a better modem out there or even where to buy one like i have other than used off ebay and such.

i've had 3 different modems since i started service in 1999 or 2000ish, one being a shark fin shaped 3com and i had some other one and then this current one.

i've read about other people having slowness and freezeups with their modems which is almost making me want to just get the same one i have, i can get the cable company's middle package and be fine but their lightning package has a faster download speed than the current one will handle.

what does everyone think of my current modem is really my main question (i don't plan on upgrading to their top speed anytime soon), i've had very good luck with it and rarely have had to do anything to reset it.

its model is the toshiba pcx2600


thanks

ryan

 

[Emerald]

Motorola SURFboard SB5101U New $55 Used $20
Motorola SURFboard SB6121 New $75 Used $55

 

[hurley081182]

The Surfboard SB6121 is what I would choose. The extra money will be worth it.

 

[dbhosttexas]

Part of it depends on your service. However for my purposes, on Comcast Blast and above speeds, you will need a DOCSIS 3.0 compatible modem. $73.95. The 5341J has some features not found on other modems that I found highly desireable, particularly the power button. I always hated having to pull the power cord every time the cable company dropped the line, so that I could reset my modem. The button makes this job a LOT easier. Since Comcast has been busy stepping up the speed provisioning in my area recently, and the network hasn't quite stabilized yet, it is hard to say how stable this modem is under long term use, however I have had prior experience with Zoom products, and am honestly very satisfied with their stuff.

The Motorola SurfBoard modems are okay, but make sure you get the latest generation modems to future proof yourself. The SB5101U is only DOCSIS 2.0 compatible, and will NOT work with the faster speeds being pushed out by Comcast at least. Probably other ISPs will have trouble with it too.

I had to make the same choice you did I guess a couple of months ago now, and I looked at the SB6121, and did not like all the negative reviews it got. However it is a crazy popular modem, I was just concerned with the thermal problems people are reporting. I have a home office with a LOT of equipment, so thermal efficiency is VERY important to me.

Whatever way you decide to go, make sure the modem will work with your cable providers network. They should have a list somewhere of approved / supported devices.

 

[hurley081182]

Yes what he said above. I know people that I work with who are getting higher speeds(like 5mbps - 15mbps) wihtout paying for it, just by using this modem.

 

[rgs80074]

i still need to search some more, i saw those reviews and it bothered me too.

here's whats funny the list of approved modems my current one isn't even on it but its worked like a champ from at least 2004

thats 9 years right now, its been like my router i bought around the same time a netgear rangemax mimo, i never have to worry about them.


i have a 10mbps intenert download and 1 upload right now. half of the time when i donwload large things i average right around 10.5Mbps which is faster than my connection.

with this info i am wondering if going to a dossic or whatever it is 3.0 over a 2.0 would even increase it.

i'm actually thinking of purchasing possibly the Motorola sb6121 with an extended warranty (still undecided for sure) and a used toshiba pcx2600 as a spare in case something happens.

 

[dbhosttexas]

If you are happy with 10-15 MB down / 1 up. Stick with your modem. However if you are ever going to want to upgrade to modern broadband of 25mb/s or higher, you will want a DOCSIS 2.0 or DOCSIS 3.0 modem. I am actually a bit surprised that your cable company still supports that old modem. Chances are if they do a speed doubling like Comcast is doing all over the place, your old modem simply won't work any more...

 

[rgs80074]

well my current modem is a docsis 2.0

i might just buy a used one of it i can get them off ebay and amazon for 20 bucks or about 5 1/2 months of rent of the current one

and its not the rent that bothers me its after all the years of having it then they institute monthy rent thats doubled in the last year.