Motorola SB6120 Docsis 3.0 cablemodem $64 at Best Buy this week

[rdrunner]

I don't particularly care for Best Buy but i was interested in the SB6120 Docsis 3.0 cable modem anyway. Since this past Sunday, they had in their weekly circular this modem for $64 + usual tax. It's not available online at that price. In fact, the store doesn't post any signs showing this price and it doesn't come up on the registers either. Because it's on their weekly ad, you may have to have a manager authorize it, which happened without any difficulty. I did notice that the other two boxes were quickly pulled off the shelf thereafter, however. So this is a slight YMMV.

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/phucpholuc/FlashViewofWeeklyAdCircular-BestBuy.png

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab242/phucpholuc/FlashViewofWeeklyAdCircular-Best-1.jpg

Oh, this is my first thread here. Unfortunately, it just so happens to be a Best Buy ad product. yuck...

good luck

correction:

and it never dawned upon me to see the big print "when you sign up for internet service." No one noticed it at the store but this would definitely make the modem a YMMV.

 

[polster]

You forgot to mention 'WHEN YOU SIGN UP FOR INTERNET SERVICE".. So it doesnt work if you already have or dont want Comcast/Roadrunner, etc..

 

[rdrunner]

@ polster

oh, you're absolutely right. I didn't even notice that! Apparently, neither the clerk or manager noticed either. All they did was the price adjustment.

 

[RBC]

I just bought one of these for $80 big improvement over my old linksys BEFCMU10 (which is now FS along with a matching WRT-54G). Biggest improvement I saw was in streaming Netflix - I getting HD quality all the time through my XBox 360 through a Netgear XAV101. No issues at all with provider (Insight) in set-up.

 

[rdrunner]

i wished it had shown more improvement for me. I was upgrading from a SB5120. Can't remember when i got that one. Anywho, it has been very reliable. I'm on Comcast with 20mbps down plan. I get bursts of 28mbps without any problems on the SB5120. With 12 threads, it settles down to 20mbps consistently even during busy prime time periods.

I haven't tested the SB6120 in any way. Not sure how i can "test" it to compare to the older 5120. The relative performance has been exactly the same for me. The "upgrade" was strictly for newer hardware for it's own sake.
The process was easy enough, though. Simply plug the modem in and off we go. I anticipated having to call Comcast to provide them the MAC address. Apparently, that wasn't necessary.

IMHO, I don't think BestBuy will be giving people a hard time with the modem purchase at $64.99 without new service activation. In fact, if you insist on new activation at the store, that may actually pose a problem for the sales staff. lol

 

[ICXRa]

hmmm If I could get the deal it would be a good time to upgrade from my SB4200.

 

[QuantumPion]

i wished it had shown more improvement for me. I was upgrading from a SB5120. Can't remember when i got that one. Anywho, it has been very reliable. I'm on Comcast with 20mbps down plan. I get bursts of 28mbps without any problems on the SB5120. With 12 threads, it settles down to 20mbps consistently even during busy prime time periods.

I haven't tested the SB6120 in any way. Not sure how i can "test" it to compare to the older 5120. The relative performance has been exactly the same for me. The "upgrade" was strictly for newer hardware for it's own sake.
The process was easy enough, though. Simply plug the modem in and off we go. I anticipated having to call Comcast to provide them the MAC address. Apparently, that wasn't necessary.

IMHO, I don't think BestBuy will be giving people a hard time with the modem purchase at $64.99 without new service activation. In fact, if you insist on new activation at the store, that may actually pose a problem for the sales staff. lol

Not all areas have channel bonding enabled yet. I just got it last month. Is the second light from the top blue or green? If it is blue that means channel bonding (i.e. docsis 3.0) is enabled. In order to get the higher tier speeds (> 50 mbps) you have to subscribe to a higher plan.

 

[ivan2]

dont u get cablemodems for free from ur cable company?

 

[LikeLinus]

dont u get cablemodems for free from ur cable company?

Not generally. Comcast charges you a rental fee for a cable modem. Something like $5 a month? At least that is how it was a few years ago.

 

[jrichrds]

dont u get cablemodems for free from ur cable company?

TimeWarner in my region provides them as part of the service. With Comcast, you can rent or purchase your own. Cox doesn't even rent them anymore - purchase only.

 

[jrichrds]

i wished it had shown more improvement for me. I was upgrading from a SB5120. Can't remember when i got that one. Anywho, it has been very reliable. I'm on Comcast with 20mbps down plan. I get bursts of 28mbps without any problems on the SB5120. With 12 threads, it settles down to 20mbps consistently even during busy prime time periods.

I haven't tested the SB6120 in any way. Not sure how i can "test" it to compare to the older 5120. The relative performance has been exactly the same for me. The "upgrade" was strictly for newer hardware for it's own sake.
The process was easy enough, though. Simply plug the modem in and off we go. I anticipated having to call Comcast to provide them the MAC address. Apparently, that wasn't necessary.

Since the MAC is how they identify you on their network, I wonder then if they even know it's you with the new modem. You could probably cancel Internet service and still have it.

 

[Sniper82]

Since the MAC is how they identify you on their network, I wonder then if they even know it's you with the new modem. You could probably cancel Internet service and still have it.

anytime I got a new modem I always had to call with my new mac before the box would even work.

 

[Apex]

i wished it had shown more improvement for me. I was upgrading from a SB5120. Can't remember when i got that one. Anywho, it has been very reliable. I'm on Comcast with 20mbps down plan. I get bursts of 28mbps without any problems on the SB5120. With 12 threads, it settles down to 20mbps consistently even during busy prime time periods.

I haven't tested the SB6120 in any way. Not sure how i can "test" it to compare to the older 5120. The relative performance has been exactly the same for me. The "upgrade" was strictly for newer hardware for it's own sake.
The process was easy enough, though. Simply plug the modem in and off we go. I anticipated having to call Comcast to provide them the MAC address. Apparently, that wasn't necessary.

I went from a SB5101 to a SB6120 just this week. Huge improvement thanks to channel bonding.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/648669916.png

 

[deepinya]

I dont think anyone with standard 6mb or (8mb?) package is going to notice a difference unless you are running a very very old modem.

Apex- what speeds are you paying for?

 

[jrichrds]

I went from a SB5101 to a SB6120 just this week. Huge improvement thanks to channel bonding.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/648669916.png

Woa Apex, NICE! Some folks in Arizona were bragging about pushing 60mbps Powerboost on Cox, and here you are with 100mbps+. Are you in PV or OC service area?

 

[Genx87]

This is tempting. I have 10Mbps from Charter but recently it is pushing slightly higher for sustained and bursty well into the 20s. I can start downloads off at 3+MB\Sec for 10-15 seconds before it starts to settle down to about 1.5MB\sec.

 

[rdrunner]

Not all areas have channel bonding enabled yet. I just got it last month. Is the second light from the top blue or green? If it is blue that means channel bonding (i.e. docsis 3.0) is enabled. In order to get the higher tier speeds (> 50 mbps) you have to subscribe to a higher plan.

just got back from work. the second light is "receive" and it's blue. I wasn't aware Comcast had >50mbps for non-business plans. Actually, i'm not aware what their highest speeds really are. Much of that wouldn't apply to me anyway. I'm not familiar with channel bonding with cable internet service. Will have to look that one up.
thanks

 

[rdrunner]

anytime I got a new modem I always had to call with my new mac before the box would even work.

i wonder if there would be any speed benefit to calling them? My Mac address must show up on their network somehow already if the internet is working.

wow. didn't know Cox cable burst speeds got up to 100mbps+!! Not sure which is worse in Chicago: Comcast or At&t

 

[Apex]

I dont think anyone with standard 6mb or (8mb?) package is going to notice a difference unless you are running a very very old modem.

Apex- what speeds are you paying for?

I'm paying for 20/1.5.

Woa Apex, NICE! Some folks in Arizona were bragging about pushing 60mbps Powerboost on Cox, and here you are with 100mbps+. Are you in PV or OC service area?

PV.

 

[jrichrds]

Apex - Can you test your non-Powerboost speeds (e.g. testmy.net) to see if they've gone up as well?