Buying new AirPort Extreme. What cable modem to buy?

[Squizzles]

So I plan on picking up the new AirPort Extreme on Wednesday. Any idea what cable modem to buy? Preferably under $75. The ones I found on eBay are mostly limited to 150mbps they say. Is this right? Wireless N goes to 300mbps correct?

http://www.amazon.com/Arris-Motorol...F8&qid=1370912356&sr=8-1&keywords=Cable+modem
Would this bottleneck me?

Thanks!

 

[rgarjr]

U won't get 300Mb/s with your ISP. I like the Motorola Surfboards.

 

[Squizzles]

Good point. I'm pretty sure we have the Comcast 50mbps. Is there a way to test speeds?

 

[rgarjr]

Speedtest.net

 

[SteinMaster]

Any benefit upgrading to new Airport Extreme with mid-2012 MBA

Will I see any benefit with the new Airport Extreme using mid-2012 MacBook Airs? I don't want to waste my money if I am not going to see any significant WiFi speed increases.

Thanks

 

[rfrankl]

U won't get 300Mb/s with your ISP. I like the Motorola Surfboards.

I got the Motorola Surfboard SB6141 from Best Buy recently. Very happy with it. Had DSL the prior 15 years. Oh what a difference.

 

[Dalton63841]

router speed is important for LAN operations(i.e. copying files between two home computers). Even old wireless G routers are more than enough for most households as far as internet speeds go. That having been said, if you just want a new modem, get the Motorola 6141 as suggested before. If you want something slightly cheaper, go for the Motorola 6121. It's still considered a top buy, even though it's last years model and both are future proof for some time to come.

 

[San Lewy]

Any idea what cable modem to buy?

Preferably, one that works with your ISP.

 

[djc6]

I'm also very pleased with the SB6141 like rfrankl. I bought one for myself a couple months ago and replaced my sister's Cisco 2100 with an SB6141 last night.

The only issue is that there are two models, one with a black enclosure, and one with a white enclosure. Motorola will only warranty the white ones; the black ones are intended for ISPs to provide to their customers. They could also be used/refurbished. The white ones also come with a newer firmware - useful if you have a provider like Time Warner that doesn't push out updates normally. AFAIK, all cable modem updates have to come from the ISP, they are not user upgradable.

There are lots of threads on dslreports.com about white vs black enclosure, ISP firmware updates, etc. if you care but +2 on the SB6141 vote!

There are also occasional deals on this modem on slickdeals.net

 

[guitargoddsjm]

Will I see any benefit with the new Airport Extreme using mid-2012 MacBook Airs? I don't want to waste my money if I am not going to see any significant WiFi speed increases.

Thanks

What do you currently have for a router?

I upgraded the router in my house from an old Linksys 802.11g router to the new Airport Extreme. Between the addition of 802.11n and the 5GHz band, every device in the house saw a major speed increase (no device has 802.11ac). It really doesn't make a difference, but I also have a mid-2012 Air.

If you currently own a router that supports 802.11n and simultaneous 5GHz (basically anything made in the last few years), you probably won't see a speed increase.

 

[Lance-AR]

But with beam forming you should see a stronger signal which may give a speed increase.

 

[guitargoddsjm]

But with beam forming you should see a stronger signal which may give a speed increase.

Only 802.11ac devices support beam forming.

 

[crisg]

whatever modem you get will likely be hampered by your ISP's cap, and not your Airport Extreme. Cable modems & Routers of today have capacity far higher than our antequated ISP services, which lack innovation (come onnn Google Fiber!).

In other words, buy anyone that looks fine to you, and your ISP supports.

 

[jlin615]

Been using SB6141 with AEBS for the last 6 month, all great so far.