Modem recommendations

"Dave C." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de:

Thanks a lot for the input Dave. I'll put a star next to both of them on my list.

Cheers, Joe

"Warren" wrote in news:4yq3d.13300$wV.10124 @attbi_s54:

Is DOCSIS a particular brand of cablemodem, or does it specify a type? If it's a type, which ones in my list are of the DOCSIS variety?

Why do I need a splitter? I don't plan on having Cable Television, so the only thing that's going to be attached to my cable line is the cable modem.

I'm in agreement with you there.

Are you saying that the cable company has both the ability and the legal right to perform remote firmware upgrades to my modem, that I own? If so, that is a bit disconcerting.

With the exception of the modem's approximate age, the rest of that cannot be known when buying from an unknown/untrustworthy source (e.g. ebay). A certain amount of risk is unavoidable in such endeavors.

This is news to me. There are no Best Buy or Circuit City stores in my town, and I have not seen any advertisements of this nature from my cable company (either in print or on their website). I will check into it though. Thanks for the tip.

Well I'll certainly be glad if you are correct about this.

I very much appreciate your well thought out and informative responses to my post Warren. If you, or anyone else for that matter, can point me to any particular advertisements/deals where I can obtain a new cable modem for as little as I can buy one over ebay, I would very much appreciate that. Thanks.

Joe

You will likely get a lot of votes for the SB5100. I replaced that with the Linksys I marked above. No regrets, faster and more stable. -Dave

I worked as a tech support agent for cable modem for a few years, and we had no troubles to speak of with the early Toshiba's (1100's) compared with many headaches with 3COM's, RCA's and Surfboards. In theory what Warren said is correct, but in reality there are differences. Try to find a rebate deal on the Linksys, which I own (V2) and have never had a moments problem with, and consistently get speeds better than others using my provider, by a little or more. With the right rebate combo, you should end up with a nice Linkys for three or four stamps and sales tax on $70. to $100. Good luck.

dj

DOCSIS cablemodems are almost, but not quite a commodity. They really don't do much other than act as a bridge between your Ethernet LAN (or single computer), and the RF cable network. What's happening on the RF cable has far more effect on you than which cablemodem you pick. In other words, if you don't have a separate cable drop for your cablemodem, the splitter you use is going to be far more important than the cablemodem you choose.

As far as support from the manufacturer, forget about it. If it's not under a warranty that will replace it in case of failure, support from the manufacturer means nothing. (The cable company is more interested in that support even if you own the modem. Firmware updates, and control of how the modem operates is something they handle.)

If your buying a used modem, the most important thing is what conditions the modem had been used under, and how old it is. Heat build-up, and future heat build-up due to layers of dust on the circuit boards and components would be important considerations.

But why buy used? Most cable companies, along with stores like Best Buy and Circuit City have rebate programs that greatly reduce the cost of a modem just to get you as a new cable Internet customer. If you're looking at used modems from sellers who have to ship you the modem, and will charge you for that shipping, you probably won't find a working cablemodem at a significantly less expensive price than what's out there for new cablemodems for new cable customers. Add in the protection of a warranty, and the difference is even less.

So in my opinion, any splitters you need require more thought than the cablemodem, and if you're going to buy, buy a new one. The particular make or model is far behind these two considerations in importance.

"Dave C." wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de:

I agree - it's a good modem. I'm on a 5mbit plan and I get near the maximum speed with the modem. Never had a disconnect with it either.

"BigJIm" wrote in news:1vr3d.72982$MQ5.10549 @attbi_s52:

Some people switch internet services.

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification.

Prior to DOCSIS, systems were proprietary. You had to have the same kind of modem as the headend equipment. Rarely were these modems ever sold to customers (there were exceptions), and never via retail channels. They had no resale value as even if the cable company sold the modem to you, it couldn't be moved to another system as it wouldn't be in the system inventory, and few cable operators would add your modem to their system inventory.

Long explaination, but the short story is that the DOCSIS standard changed that. The only reason why there is a list of modems allowed by your cable company is because they may be using features that require specific config files or firmware updates. If your modem isn't on the list it would theoretically still be able to work on the network, the cable company doesn't want them there, and won't allow them to be registered.

If you have a straight run to the modem, you don't need a splitter. More common is people who have multiple cable outlets, with the signal split. You didn't specify that you didn't.

Then don't get cable. Firmware updates and config files come from the system, not the end user.

Risk and benefit are the keys. If you think the benefit is worth the risk, that's your call. Buying a cablemodem on eBay is more risky than buying one from a big-box retailer in town. Is that risk worth any savings in price? And if there is no savings, obviously its not.

Says who ? I doubt there's much difference in modem speed among the top performers. After all, they are throttled down to whatever speed the ISP allows for whatever tier of service you have. Any modem should be able to pass 3000/512 or 3000/256 (the normal rates for most ISPs) with negligible internal delay.

Lucas Tam wrote in news:Xns9569ED38D31ABnntprogerscom@140.99.99.130:

Well that makes two stars for the SB5100. Thanks Lucas!

Joe

"Dr. Cajones" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Sure wish I could find one of these rebate deals that everyone keeps talking about. I checked Best Buy's web site and didn't see anything. Maybe they only offer this kind of thing in the actual stores? I just found out that Best Buy is going to open a store in my town, but unfortunately that won't be happening until next month and I need to get the service started by the end of this month. Thanks for the feedback Doc.

Joe

"Warren" wrote in news:p%s3d.469486$%_6.10274 @attbi_s01:

I think it's highly unlikely that, as an end user, I'd be unable to initiate a firmware update to a cable modem attached to my computer. Joe

"Carl C. Jackson" wrote in news:ZGf5d.115679$D%.43936@attbi_s51:

Thanks for the recommendation Carl.

Joe

The Toshiba PCX 2600 is brand new and I currently own one......

I currently have the SB4200 - that I own. I do not seem to have any issues with it, occasionally my connection will drag a little , but that is the exception rather than the norm.

Would there be anything to gain, by purchasing a 5100 to replace my 4200?

You do not get to control the version of firmware being used by your modem if it is connected to a cable Internet provider. If you want to disconnect from the cable Internet service, sure, you can put whatever firmware you wish on the modem. But as soon as you connect it to a provider, they get to decide if they will change that firmware.

My impression is that they are only offered in communities where there is a cable provider that joins in the "promotion", as you must sign up for service at the store, as part of the deal. The rebates, as I recall, come in parts, from retailer, modem maker & cable company. so this wouldn't be likely available from the website, but I don't see why it couldn't be, if all parties got it together. so far, though, I have only seen them offered with a trip to the store involved. One part of the rebate is merely for "buying" an envelope of paperwork for the service initiation, as I recall. Of course, keeping all receipts/copies of all submissions, and tracking rebates as they arrive is required due to the integrity of US retailers offering such rebates. Best Buy is not the only retailer that may offer them. Good luck. dj

After monitoring ebay cable modem sales for almost two weeks now, I see that the highly recommended ones -- Linksys BEFCMU10 & Motorola SURFboard SB5100 -- are selling for almost what a new one costs, so I guess I'll have to revise my original request for (general) recommendations to ... of the ones that can be had for less money (say under $30, including S&H), which ones are pretty good and which ones should I stay away from?

There appears to be a definite correlation between price, which I'm sure has a lot to do with the original release date of the product, and DOCSIS version compliance (e.g. 1.0, 1.1, 2.0). So my question is ... what are the major benefits of having a modem that supports DOCSIS 2.0, over one that only supports 1.0/1.1?

Joe