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Do I need DOSSIS 3.0 modem w/ a 20mbps plan?

Sunburn74

Sunburn74

Diamond Member
Simple question. I could buy a cheaper 2.0 modem or could go for the 2-3x more expensive 3.0 modems. My plan is only a 20mbps plan and there is minimal traffic on my home network (if that matters). Will I notice a tangible difference in routine use between a 2.0 modem and a 3.0 modem?

Thanks.
 
Technically no. Depending on the ISP: yes or no.

Myself said:
Docsis 2 is one channel, 3 is up to 4 at a time. Sometimes you see an improvement because the head end only provisions 2.0 modems on a single channel but tells the 3.0 modems to channel hop to a less used channel. One 3.0 user could see a massive improvement on a heavily loaded 2.0 head end. *could* being the key word here.
Click to expand...

Assuming the ISP has DOCSIS 3.0 headends at all.
 
I'm going to say no. I have seen docsis 2.0 modems do 32 mbps. I can do 24 mbps on speed tests on my docsis 2.0 modem. That's the highest my plan allows.

I would either buy a used motorola docsis 2.0 modem from ebay for $20. Or get a docsis 3.0 modem from amazon or staples or wherever when they have them on sale. I think they go for $60-70 sometimes.
 
Last edited:
A 3.0 is only $15 or $20 more than a 2.0-why buy old technology at this point? Go for the 3.0, Staples had one on sale this week for 64.99. ISP's have been upgrading and at some point 3.0 will be needed.
 
Some of this might also depend on your ISP. For example Charter has a feature they call speedboost or something similar, where your connection is uncapped for a short while. Upgrading to a DOCSIS 3.0 modem did make a noticeable difference when just browsing the web even though I have a plan that doesn't require it. Also I think there might be some stability advantages to the multi channel support of DOCSIS 3.0.
 
docsis 2 modems drag down the docsis 3 users - the noise floor for d3 is far less than D2 so it's not a good idea to keep the D2's - why you can't order them from (insert cable provider).
 
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