Whats the best cable modem to buy?

[Dean]

Originally posted by: PCMarine
My 3Com sharkfin cable modem is great with my roadrunner (They provided it). So far it's fast, reliable, and hasnt given me any indication that I need to go out and buy a new one.

I have the same modem with Eastlink High Speed. Overall its a fantastic modem.

 

[zmzhang]

I have the Toshiba PCX2200. Works perfectly. My cable internet hasn't gone down ever since i got it.

 

[GrumpyMan]

That PCX2500 sounds pretty interesting, but I don't see how it could perform better than the 2200 has for me. But you never know.

 

[WyteWatt]

What about the SB4220 ? It has the new DOCSIS 2.0! Heres a part from the website! Motorola's next generation, SURFboard SB4220 Cable Modem, incorporates the latest DOCSIS 2.0.

 

[WyteWatt]

.

 

[murphy55d]

Originally posted by: Dean

Originally posted by: PCMarine
My 3Com sharkfin cable modem is great with my roadrunner (They provided it). So far it's fast, reliable, and hasnt given me any indication that I need to go out and buy a new one.

I have the same modem with Eastlink High Speed. Overall its a fantastic modem.

I have the same modem too, using Charter Pipeline. I rent it, haven't had any complaints, but if I bought one, it'd save $5 a month.

 

[WyteWatt]

It cost $15 a month to rent my cable modem. I am sure you all won't believe that because i know its a lot but its true.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: imtim83
It cost $15 a month to rent my cable modem. I am sure you all won't believe that because i know its a lot but its true.

Some cable services have "escalator" clauses in your service packages, so you need to ask about it before you buy your modem. For example, current service is $30 per month and rental is $10. If you don't rent, rental goes to $0, but then they increase your service to $40. Still no net savings, but at least you will own your modem.

Having said that, I don't know why you haven't bought a modem yet. $15 is ludicrous. Waiting for the next best thing in cable modems is insane, as DOCSIS 1.1 modems have just recently been re/certified. Not only that, but your ISP has to upgrade to the new specs before you would see any benefit, if any. If anything, your speed will be more dependent on how many people share your node or how clean the signal (if split in your house/apt building) is to your modem.

Chiz

 

[WyteWatt]

chizow well the price keeps going up on the cable modem internet access so i think its time to buy a cable modem. Liked renting it because if it died or was broken i wouldn't have to worry about buying another one.

 

[chizow]

Well at $15 a month you could just buy a new one every 6 mos.

My Motorola 4200 has a 3 yr. warranty I believe, as do most makers. How many times have you broken your modem?

Chiz

 

[WyteWatt]

chizow i didn't really ever break it. The first cable modem i had was a huge Cisco cable modem which was just about as big as a VCR. It had like a hub built into it that you could use you just had to get a new firmware from the cable isp. I did get it to work but for some reason the cable isp would always have it get reset and the 2nd computer would never work sometimes when connented to the built in hub. I don't think that cable modem was DOCSIS compat. so good thing i never brought it. Thats the thing i don't want to happen. Buy a cable modem then have the dum cable isp say its not compat. with them no more because they have updated to new cable modems or something. But i guess now a days i won't have that problem it seems. The cable modem i have right now is a Surfboard SB3100.

I wonder if the Surfboard SB4200 will go down in price any next week, or the week after that to like maybe $30 or free after mail in rebate. I know its free after mail in rebate right now but thats only if you signed up to the cable modem isp just now.

The Surfboard SB4200 cable modem on bestbuy.com , etc says it only has a 1 year warranty but the Toshiba cable modems at $99 with no rebates or anything right now has a 5 year warranty. 5 years is a long time. If the Surfboard cable modems had a 3 year warranty that would be a lot better. I still wish i could of kept my Cisco cable modem because it gave me really good speeds, pings, etc. I remember the first day i got my Surfboard SB3100. It gave me higher pings, less speed, etc. I still wish to this day i still had my Cisco cable modem. I just liked that one a lot because it gave me the best quality connection.

 

[RanDum72]

Another feature that most people overlook is the cable modem's ethernet port speed. Most are just 10mbs half-duplex. A few have 10/100 full-duplex speeds. I think the RCA cable modems have this.

 

[Texun]

The surfboards are a safe bet. They tolerate noise better than the Toshiba and usually perform very well. One of the biggest problems with cable modem performance can be funneled in to two categories:

1. Cable plant problems. Motorola holds up where others fail, unless the problem is beyond its ability to recover.

2. Config File. The Config will govern the performance and how well the modem adjusts to power fluctuations, noise, routing, packet management, speed caps, etc. The CF is pushed to the modem by the cable operator when it boots up. Cable companies often push new CF's to the modems without ever interrupting service or with the user knowing anything about it. It is usually a seamless process. However, if the new Config File is buggy, like any patch ur upgrade can be at times, any modem can go down the tubes.

I have a Toshiba and a Moto 4200 and they both work fine, but if I had to do it again they would both be Motorola.

 

[ROTC1983]

One that works 😀

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

i have a general instruments surfboard sb3100 - i havent seen anything about it on the net before, but it works great. before this one i had some blue one (forget what it was called, it was ugly as hell though), and before that i had an RCA. i have never noticed a difference between any of them - but then again my cable co works pretty well. back in the day i used to get up to 6-7Mbit, it was pretty impressive, now i'm capped at 1.5mbit, and i've always had the 128kbit upload cap. but yeah..as far as modems go, they've all worked nicely for me.

 

[WyteWatt]

Well OOL users get 8 to 9 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload for $40 a month. Some people only pay $30 a month because their contract is not up yet. OOL is worth $50 a month.

 

[arcenite]

My Comcast Cable modem has died twice on me. Luckily I rent, so they've replaced it with no charge. Both times was due to over heating. Between me and my sister, that thing never gets a break =]

 

[microAmp]

Originally posted by: Maggotry

Originally posted by: imtim83
Maggotry yes but i am renting it right now. I want to buy one. Is there any new cable modems on the rise that will be coming out soon ?

I wish that were an option for me. Roadrunner charges the same whether you use their modem or your own.

Me too, the only thing I don't like about RR.