[SOLVED] router and modem advice

[joe77blu]

I have decided to try out xfinity's 1000mbps internet plan. Can anyone help me out with some guidance on what hardware to purchase? So we are a family of 5 and we will be streaming on atleast 3-4 tvs throughout the house. Also, we have an xbox and an HTC VIVE. It s a 2 story house and my understanding is that it would be wise to run hard wires to all of the TV's, the xbox, and the VR. Can anyone recommend which router and which modem would be sufficient for this type of set up? I dont want to buy something that is way overrated for what I'll be using it for.

 

[bill001g]

Your first step is to check the list of devices supported by the ISP, they can vary even within the same city.

Best to buy a separate modem and router just because it allows you more choice on the router part.

If you could wire all your devices it likely will not make much difference which router you buy. Even very inexpensive routers have the a feature that allows them to pass close to 1gbit of traffic wan-lan by passing the cpu chip.

You likely will also need a small switch if you have lots of devices since most routers only have 4 lan ports.

The main difference is the wifi in what makes routers more expensive. They all more or less go the same distance it is more how much data they attempt to pack into the signals. Key factor to remember is that your end devices are 1/2 the connection so it does no good to buy fancy features if you can't use them.

Other router features only you can put a price on. Some support things like NAS or firewall etc. Be very careful though some feature like parental control or firewalls require you disable the feature that allows traffic to bypass the CPU. This will cap even very powerful routers to 250-300mbps because the cpu in routers is tiny compared to say a PC.

 

[joe77blu]

Your first step is to check the list of devices supported by the ISP, they can vary even within the same city.

Best to buy a separate modem and router just because it allows you more choice on the router part.

If you could wire all your devices it likely will not make much difference which router you buy. Even very inexpensive routers have the a feature that allows them to pass close to 1gbit of traffic wan-lan by passing the cpu chip.

You likely will also need a small switch if you have lots of devices since most routers only have 4 lan ports.

The main difference is the wifi in what makes routers more expensive. They all more or less go the same distance it is more how much data they attempt to pack into the signals. Key factor to remember is that your end devices are 1/2 the connection so it does no good to buy fancy features if you can't use them.

Other router features only you can put a price on. Some support things like NAS or firewall etc. Be very careful though some feature like parental control or firewalls require you disable the feature that allows traffic to bypass the CPU. This will cap even very powerful routers to 250-300mbps because the cpu in routers is tiny compared to say a PC.

Thanks for the reply Bill. Seperate modem and router are def the way im wanting to go. The modem that seems to be the cheapest for me but also have the necessary specs to make sure i get the most from the 1 gig service is the netgear CM1000. I guess the router is really where im getting hung up at bc obviously everyone in the house have smartphones now so the wifi speed is pretty important (i think). Is there a somewhat cheaper router (around $100 maybe) that would work and then i can add an extender for the upstairs. All the help is much appreciated man, im pretty much in the dark on this and trying not to spend $400 on a router and modem when i couldve spent a little less and still have gotten all the benefits of the 1 gig plan.

 

[bill001g]

You do not want to add a "extender" upstairs you want to add a AP that you plug into one of your ethernet ports.

Now one of those boxes called a "extender" likely can run as a AP but all your really need is any router that has the feature. Even routers that do not have a AP feature can be run as AP.

In general most end device only have 2 antenna so can not use more than 2x2 mimo. This means a router that has a 1200 number will match most end devices. The costs have come down so far that there is not much difference in price between routers with numbers 1200-1750. It just means the router can support things like 3x3 and stuff like mu-mimo even if the end device can not.

A lot of the stuff you see is marketing of feature most people do not really need. When they start to sell routers that they talk about the patterns you can program the RGB leds you start to wonder who is buy this crap.

 

[joe77blu]

Is throughput my main concern when choosing the router then and if so, what number should i be looking for to pair up with the 1 gig service plan?

 

[bill001g]

You could likely buy a $20 router and it could pass data wan/lan at 1gbit...you would just have to be careful it has gigabit wan and lan ports. This high speed NAT function is done by a special hardware feature almost all routers now have.

The throughput of the router has nothing at all to do with the stupid numbers they put on the box. Those are only related to wifi and actually have very limited relationship to how fast even the wifi works.

Maybe start with a router that costs about $75 and if you have issue just use that one as the AP you plan to put upstairs and buy something different for your main router.

 

[SamirD]

I would check out what others have bought for the router. In terms of the modem, the arris 8200 seems to be the goto.

Personally, I would go with an arris modem, used enterprise router like a fortigate, and then ubiquiti access points. This would give you solid and fast coverage with upgrade paths since each component can be upgraded without touching the others.

 

[joe77blu]

I would check out what others have bought for the router. In terms of the modem, the arris 8200 seems to be the goto.

Personally, I would go with an arris modem, used enterprise router like a fortigate, and then ubiquiti access points. This would give you solid and fast coverage with upgrade paths since each component can be upgraded without touching the others.

Hi Samir,

Thats one of the reasons i posted here in the hopes that someone else who maybe was in the same scenario as me could respond. I guess the only reason i was leaning towards the Netgear was bc it kept popping up in the lists of modems that performed well when reviewed, although Arris did as well. Im curious though, in your opinion why Arris over Netgear ?