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Buying Comcast cable...which modem/router? Also, will they run coax to the house???

R

r00st

Junior Member
I just bought a house and am getting comcast cable (the middle of the road one...they claim 15mb/s or something peak, not sure what average reality numbers are).

Which wireless modem should I get? I would like to go Wireless N but am unsure how the whole B/G/N compatability thing goes? I have heard some modems only put out on EITHER G or N...?

My current laptop is G...my girlfriends new laptop is N...So I guess I need one that is compatible with both.

I found this one on new egg but one person mentioned it only supports either G Or N, not both so I think I need to keep looking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-334-_-Product

I dont need anything crazy...being as I just bought a house and am still trying to build a new PC I would like to keep it around 80 bucks.

Second question... I bought a foreclosure and was doing a lot of re-modeling. When working in the backyard we accidentally hacked through the coax cable (buried a convenient 1 inch under the dirt surface)!! I assume its VERY old cable...

Will comcast (or dish network, they will be my tv provider) run fresh coax to the house or how does that work?

Also...once inside my house...Will they run the coax to each room (rooms im paying for with dish, or to the computer room for comast) if none exists? While in my crawl space I saw a MESS of splitters and ratty coax cable that goes all over the darn house. Should I just remove all of this so they run fresh coax or should I just leave it? I know the installers are lazy so I dont really want my high speed internet and HD tv coming through 2-4 splitters and old coax if I can avoid it.

Any info is appreciated!!

Thanks!
 
Also..I am planning on a Roku or apple tv to stream Netflix, not to mention I would like to get back into some light gaming so a non-flakey unit would be preferred of course.
 
they will run new coax to the house- to one location. then split it to other locations. Just order voice,video, and internet - you'd be suprised at how much further they will work.

Be sure to have cash to bribe them -sometimes they'll say screw it and leave since they only get paid $XXX for the job - not per hour/etc. if you want it done that day - not 2 weeks from now.
 
ok thats what I figured. And really im good with comcast just running new line TO the house and then into the basement/computer room.

From there I guess its dish networks responsibility to make sure the rooms im paying to have service in (4) all have coax running to them from their dish.

I remember having comcast come set up internet for my parents last year. They wanted to run the coax through the opened window and notch a hole so it can "hopefully shut all the way" !!! I said NO...go get the drill off your truck and drill a darned hole through the brick and silicone it...do it right or dont do it and finally he agreed.

I understand getting paid for 30 mins of work when 3 hours is required is not cool but then again thats the job they signed up for so I dont want corners cut at my expense.
 
i'm no cable modem guru but i've been running a moto surfboard SB5120 for over 5 years now and the thing has never given me a problem
 
They will replace the drop (line underground to your house) at no cost. A lot of cable companies will replace older RG59 cable for free or small charge but be careful not to rip it out completely because then your home is considered "unwired" and could result in costly "new" outlets. The tech can attach the new cable to the old cable and just pull to replace them (easy). If you rip it all out and he has to go under the house then he'll charge you.

They will provide the modem at no cost. See if they will give you a motorola series as they are the most dependable (before he starts bringing in equipment). Take note of how many lines there are available going from the side of your home to underneath. Companies charge if they don't have any lines to use if the first company you have out uses the only ones. Maybe call and ask how much each company charges and the lesser of the two evils, have out to your home after the other company that would charge more. Comcast will charge. Dunno about Dish. I think if you are getting a DVR with Dish Network, they use 2 but if no DVR, they use 1. Comcast will only need one (even if you have internet, phone & cable with a DVR).

You're right about the wireless. Needs to be N & G. Routers are getting better all around so it doesn't have to be rocket science with 15 down. I like using netgear personally and have no problems with speed. Others are good too. You could get a $30 N wireless usb adapter for your computer too but really thats over kill unless your speeds are going to be higher than the 15 you are getting. G is just fine pulling that speed.

If you can determine if the cable you have is RG59 and not RG6, I'd do everything I could to make the tech's job easier to replace it. Don't rip out the old cable but make sure there is plenty of room by each outlet and even unscrew the outlet plates off and out about 6in and tell them nicely, that you understood that they would replace them with RG6. The tech has many jobs for the day and he looks at every small detail in aspect of time. If you unscrew the plates, thats one more thing he doesn't have to do. Sounds dumb, but trust me.

Some companies now have policies in place that they will not replace the lines that day but will rather come back out with a re-wire guy/crew to replace the RG59. If the tech won't replace them, ask if they have a re-wire crew that can. Sounds like you are getting internet only with comcast. Internet is more picky on signal than video. It needs to be RG6.

They will most likely lay the new cable outside above ground for a day or two and have a different crew come out to bury it. I don't work for either company you listed so don't know their exact policies. Good luck.
 
Just moved into a new house serviced by Comcast. First 3 days in the house internet service died more then 10 times and tv lost signal at least 5 times. Called Comcast and tech came out.
Ran a new drop from pole to interface.
Asked tech to run in new coax inside the house. In this area, inside wiring is my respocibility!!!
Tech suggested buying the wiring protection plan. !@#$%
Said it was $3.95 a month.
Called Comcast and signed up. As soon as I said I wanted it the rep asked if I wanted to schedule a date. Rep said they would redo inside wiring, etc.
I will set up a date in the next week or so after I decide where final placement of tv and internet will go.
Cat is you have to keep the plan for 2 months.
For $8.00 I'll get comcast to redo the inside of the house then drop the service.
BTW replacing the outside drop solved the internet service drops and some of the tv problems. New wiring should fix the rest
 
Along the same lines as Pghpooh mentioned above, when my parents moved into their current home, but during the first summer we were losing Internet connectivity every day, for up to two weeks at a time.

Long story short, it turned out to be the line attached to the utility pole had corroded enough to cause signal issue whenever the line physically moved in the wind or rain. Comcast ended up replacing the line from the utility pole to the house for free. Even got a brand-new Motorola Surfboard out of the deal. Still using the same cable modem to this day, nearly seven years later.
 
Thanks everybody for the info!

I was almost at the checkout screen for the same modem you linked to cableguy but then realized it was a Router not a wireless modem.

Are wireless modems not as popular anymore? Seems like a lot of simple ethernet modems out there for 40-50 bucks then a ton of seperate wireless routers to choose from. I would prefer to have one unit if I can get it for around the 80 range. We used to just rent from comcast (nice if it fails, just take it in for a new one) BUT last I recall its 5/month which means you can have a new one every year if it should fail.

The only 3 I found on newegg under 100 bucks all seem to have little/bad reviews. Maybe I need to just buy the modem and wifi router seperately??

As suggested this seems like a solid modem:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-011-_-Product

But Being 51 by itself leaves me say 30-50 for a wireless router.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-062-_-Product

Seems like a solid combo to me (the noob). One person commented poor streaming (dropped connection) but another said it streams like a champ.
 
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r00st - I have the middle-of-the-road plan, as well (15 mb/s dl, but I forget the upload speed). It will probably depend on where you live, but I consistently get around 20 mb/s download. 15 mb/s is the lowest I've ever seen.
 
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