Today's question...Which cable modem is best?

[Jim O'Dell]

I've been having trouble with the rented (3.00/month) cable modem we have. Seems to lock up and the only way to get it to work again is to completely unhook it and the router, and let it cool down for about 15 to 20 minutes. I built a box with 2 computer cooling fans in the top to help keep them both cool, and that has helped, but still every 1 to 3 days, it goes down, sometimes multiple times in a day. So I'm starting to investigate replacement modems, and save the rental fee. I've read good things about the Linksys CM100. Some people claim they even get faster up and down load speeds. The Motorolla Surfboards have been decent units, but reviews go both ways a little more often than on the Linksys unit. There are others out there. For those of you that have used multiple cable modems over the years, which one do you like and why? Thanks! Jim.

[Tim Morton]

I have been using a little RCA broadband that came with my comcast service for about 3 months now with no problems...DCM 425.

[Jim Becker]

Be very sure that whatever unit you consider buying is compatible with your provider's system, both now and in the recent future. Many cable providers are changing to DOCSIS 3.0 right now and that may mean a change of equipment in your home, too, to benefit from the speed increases, etc.

I gave up on cable years ago once it caught on in the neighborhood and got glacially slow, so I can't help you with current gear suggestions.

[Jim O'Dell]

Yes, I've read about the new 3.0 coming, at least by the end of the year. I should call Charter and see when/if that will affect me. I don't subscribe to the fastest service they offer, but they did upgrade me one level for free after some problems last Fall.
Ok, thanks for the responses so far. Jim.

[Greg Peterson]

Recently switched to cable. Rather than rent their cable modem I bought a Motorola SB6120. This is a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, which for my current service level is overkill (only getting up to 15 Mbps - maybe on a Sunday morning around 5:oo AM). However, if I ever decide to upgrade my service level this modem will support higher bit rates. The DOCSIS 2.0 will support up to 15 Mbps and are considerably less money than the DOCSIS 3.0 units.

Your provider should be able to provide a list of compatible modems.

ROI for this modem is 36 months. 35 to go.

So far this modem has been solid with no complaints.

Now then, as for my Netgear wireless NIC, that's a whole other story. Works fine with the wifes XP Wintel box. But my frankenstien AMD box running Win2K was intermittently useful. Turns out that the particular Netgear wireless NIC I have doesn't play well with AMD microprocessors.

So now I have a nice Viao laptop that lets me sit out in the back yard on a pleasant summer eve! Yeah, high speed internet, wireless laptop. This is the life.

[David G Baker]

Jim O,
I went online to the Charter site and did a search and found out which cable modems were compatible with their service, did a quality search for the recommended compatible modem and purchased a Motorola Surfboard SB5101. I have been very happy with it.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am currently running a Motorola and it's been great.

[Dick Strauss]

Jim,
Mot SB5100 modem here too!

You may want to check to see that your ISP isn't causing it to reset. I've had that happen because of signal level fluxuations on the cable node. I've also run into the issue where the ISP resets and reassigns the IP address every so often. One ISP reset my IP address every night at midnight EST which was the absolute worst time for me given I had overseas business relationships that I used to manage late at night.

[Chris Kennedy]

I have been running surfboards for the past 5 years with no problems.

Cheers,

Chris

[Jim O'Dell]

Recently switched to cable. Rather than rent their cable modem I bought a Motorola SB6120. This is a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, which for my current service level is overkill (only getting up to 15 Mbps - maybe on a Sunday morning around 5:oo AM). snip

Greg, I'm guessing the units with DOCSIS 3.0 are backwards compatible with the 2.0 service? I need to go to the Motorola site and see. Amazon's write up doesn't say either way. Heard of any rebates??:D Amazon's price is $94.70 on the SB6120, $61.14 for the Linksys CM100. Thanks for all the thoughts everyone! Jim.

Nevermind, I verified on the Motorola site that it is backwards compatible. Doesn't look like anyone else has a 3.0 unit on the market.

[Greg Peterson]

Jim, after spending many years trying to maintain an increasingly antiquated home network, I wanted to prevent having to manage that headache for at least a few years.

The DOCSIS 3.0 modem suits my needs for the time being and ensures that for the forseeable future I will not need to worry about my WAN connection. The only other thing I may need to address in the next few years will be going to an N router. Currently the G radio fits our needs.

Even though the US invented the Internet, we lag sorely behind most developed nations in terms of broadband access and performance. Given that commerce is ever more dependent on this infrastructure I hope that this discrepancy is resolved one day soon.