![]() ![]() Other cable modems have an integrated router. The cable modem conversion occurs via a coax cable and an Ethernet cord directly connecting to a network router or computer devices. Cable modems can offer television, internet, and multi-channel only under one service contract. These are different from other modem types since they use coax cables to connect. Released into the market in 1995, cable modems are a common type of hardware that allows you to connect computer devices directly with your ISP. However, there are reasons to avoid a new cable modem which we are going to uncover.įrom low speed to being pricey, we will uncover some shocking truths about the new cable modem and why you must avoid it. While some opt for other internet options like routers and satellites, others stick with the new cable modems. New cable modems have received their fair share of hype from many people. With many different options in the market today, making the wrong choice is possible. In this era where network speed is king, upgrading to the latest networking option is tempting. Either way, with so many devices these days needing wireless connections, picking up a dedicated wireless router is never a bad idea.© Teerasan Phutthigorn / Fortunately, the TP-Link Modem has two more wired ports so you can have more devices hard-wired in, and you won’t have to rely so much on wireless. It will set you back $97 if you’re buying it full price. In terms of competition, we looked at the TP-LINK TC-W7960S, which is almost identical spec-for-spec but more a bit more expensive. Unless you’re dead-set on buying an all-in-one device, buying a separate modem and router is going to be the more economical option. At the time of this writing, we were able to find refurbished models for around $49, which puts it in the same ballpark as a comparable standalone modem. ![]() If you can find it refurbished-and you’re comfortable buying a refurbished modem-that might bring it down to a better price point. Considering that you can get a 8x4 DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem for around $50 and an N300 wireless router for less than $20, it’s not exactly the best deal out there. The Netgear C3000 cable modem will set you back a whopping $94.99 at retail. This is what we’d recommend most people use to manage their network. The app gives you the same controls as the management portal, but with a much more user-friendly interface. There’s also a Netgear Genie mobile app on both Google Play and the App Store. There’s also an advanced tab that power users can use, though we don’t think many people will ever need to dig through those settings. You can click any of these tiles to change their accompanying settings. Connected devices, online status, even your network SSID are all displayed prominently. It’s a simple backend that’s easy to understand, laid out as a series of six tiles that will show you the status of your network at a glance. The Netgear C3000 uses the same Genie backend that many of its networking products use. ![]() Software: Pretty standard and easy to use But Netgear delivered where it truly counts: modem performance. That’s surprising given that a 8x4 DOCSIS 3.0 modem is capable of just 343 Mbps download speeds. We spent some time playing The Division 2 while hardwired into the Netgear C3000 and didn’t run into any lag. When connected this way, we consistently got our rated 250 Mbps speeds with little to no drops. There is a silver lining: the wired performance is reliable. This doesn’t really matter if you live in a studio apartment, but for everyone else, we’d recommend combining this modem with a separate wireless router. Just 300 feet away, behind a wall and a staircase, our wireless speeds dipped all the way down to 15 Mbps. The range was also an issue-in short, this will not suffice if you live in a mid-sized home or bigger. We pay for a 250 Mbps plan, so we were getting about 20% of our rated speed. In testing the wireless performance of the Netgear C3000, our wireless speed topped out at 54 Mbps just three feet from the modem. But your actual network speed won’t reach that. This device has an N300 network rating, which means your speeds should top out at 300Mbps on a single band. Lifewire / Bill Thomas Network Performance: Keep your expectations low ![]()
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