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Modem/router buying advice

discdude said:
You have failed me, Pit.
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Sorry - what's your provider? Comcast or some other cable entity? Are you using their shitty rental modem and router or do you have your own?

Comcast/Xfinity in the DC area gives out the massive wireless router/modem combos that are absolute garbage. I've had a couple friends grab modern modems and keep using their same router and see 2x or more speed improvements.

Primarily OSX or Windows?
 
DCDeac said:
Sorry - what's your provider? Comcast or some other cable entity? Are you using their shitty rental modem and router or do you have your own?

Comcast/Xfinity in the DC area gives out the massive wireless router/modem combos that are absolute garbage. I've had a couple friends grab modern modems and keep using their same router and see 2x or more speed improvements.

Primarily OSX or Windows?
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I have Comcast

I currently have my own router/modem combo

I use windows for laptop, but have apple phones that get used the most (wife has an apple too)
 
discdude said:
Should I be upset with those numbers considering I am paying for 100 mbps
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Definitely. We pay for 75Mpbs down and 10Mbps up. At those speeds you should see zero difference between ethernet/wireless tech, so it has to be something in your setup. I'm on a 2011 Macbook and my download is 75Mbps upload is 12Mbps average using Speedtest.net. We have an Arris Surfboard 6141 with DOCSIS 3.0 support. Just replacing their basic modem with that made a huge difference.

For the router we use an Apple Time Machine because their automatic backups are worth it, and it's a pretty good router. But anything well-reviewed by CNET that has modern radio support should be fine. If you have a large house I'd go with a few Google WiFis.

If you modem is fine and your router is dated, you could always go the cheap route and try to flash it with DD-WRT. A lot of older routers actually have really solid hardware but absolutely garbage firmware and they stop getting any updates beyond bug fixes after a couple years. Putting DD-WRT can give you a huge performance boost, and is a particularly good option if you have older wireless tech in a Windows laptop.
 
The initial post on this thread makes me so freaking happy that we switched to gigapower last month.
 
DCDeac said:
Definitely. We pay for 75Mpbs down and 10Mbps up. At those speeds you should see zero difference between ethernet/wireless tech, so it has to be something in your setup. I'm on a 2011 Macbook and my download is 75Mbps upload is 12Mbps average using Speedtest.net. We have an Arris Surfboard 6141 with DOCSIS 3.0 support. Just replacing their basic modem with that made a huge difference.

For the router we use an Apple Time Machine because their automatic backups are worth it, and it's a pretty good router. But anything well-reviewed by CNET that has modern radio support should be fine. If you have a large house I'd go with a few Google WiFis.

If you modem is fine and your router is dated, you could always go the cheap route and try to flash it with DD-WRT. A lot of older routers actually have really solid hardware but absolutely garbage firmware and they stop getting any updates beyond bug fixes after a couple years. Putting DD-WRT can give you a huge performance boost, and is a particularly good option if you have older wireless tech in a Windows laptop.
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So I have the comcast guy coming to setup our cable boxes tomorrow. My concern is two-fold. How do I know it is not modem/router problem (mine is my own purchased combined in one device)? If it is, what would be a good setup purchase for around $100 (should I buy separate modem and router or is a combo okay?)? If the 3 year old router/modem combo is not the problem, what should I say to the Comcast tech to ensure I am getting the speeds for which I am paying?
 
Earlier you stated you have a discrepancy between wired/wifi - that difference is a problem on your side (router/modem).

Ethernet direct into your cable modem would at least eliminate the router if you want to question the guy on what speed you're getting from Comcast, but if you have an older router that could be the issue.

The Surfboard I mentioned is around $70. What do you have currently?
 
bym051d said:
For Triad peeps, if you can get Northstate fiber, DO IT. I have an ethernet jack on my wall. I plug in the wireless router of my choice and go. It's fantastic.

Also, I'm paying something absurd like $35 for 80/30.

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This. We switched to Northstate in the fall. Pay about $20 less than TWC, no drops and:

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