New cable modem - is Netgear any good?

[maflynn]

My old zoom cable modem finally died. I saw this coming down the road but I procrastinated (not wanting to spend the $$). Well it failed last night so I was in a bind to getting back online and so I headed to my local Staples store and picked up a Netgear CM500-100NAS DOCSIS 3.0 High Speed Cable Modem


Now that I have 2 weeks to try this out and/or return it, I'd like to do my due diligence. Its been like 5+ years since I last bought a cable modem. I understand Docsis 3.5 may be coming out at some point but obviously, I'm in a bind in not being able to wait for that.

In any case, is there a better model that I can pick up at Amazon? How is Netgear as cable modems go?

I was surprised to see, that I was actually getting about 165mb/s download speed when my old zoom (docsis 3) was slower.

 

[Donfor39]

My old zoom cable modem finally died. I saw this coming down the road but I procrastinated (not wanting to spend the $$). Well it failed last night so I was in a bind to getting back online and so I headed to my local Staples store and picked up a Netgear CM500-100NAS DOCSIS 3.0 High Speed Cable Modem
View attachment 631682

Now that I have 2 weeks to try this out and/or return it, I'd like to do my due diligence. Its been like 5+ years since I last bought a cable modem. I understand Docsis 3.5 may be coming out at some point but obviously, I'm in a bind in not being able to wait for that.

In any case, is there a better model that I can pick up at Amazon? How is Netgear as cable modems go?

I was surprised to see, that I was actually getting about 165mb/s download speed when my old zoom (docsis 3) was slower.

used netgear hub with previous cable t.v. and fibre broadband provider in u.k. for a few yrs.

Wasn't bad at all, rare power cycle though was very reliable.

 

[campyguy]

I have this device in my home and 3 offices, all on Comcast (residential and BCI accounts) - it's been flawless since Day 1. I bought all 4 from Best Buy on a Target sale price match. I considered the Arris SB6183 but preferred the CM500 since I didn't need sunglasses to look at the Netgear unit - both with the same Broadcom chipset, too. And, the CM500 offers more throughput than my older Arris and BCI-installed units. A recommended buy from me, x4...

Also, I've written in MR's Forums to make sure you change your wifi router's DHCP Range to one of the ranges that are not 192.168.xxx.x - I changed my wireless routers (including my personal AE) to the 10.0.1.xxx ranges, and a similar range in my offices, and the change to an alternate range eliminated timeouts and drops when the modem gets data pushed or its own lease gets renewed.

 

[maflynn]

Thanks for the input and confirmation that its a good cable modem.

I already have my IP ranges in the 10.0.1.xxx range, so I don't think I have anything to worry about with 192.168.xxx.xxx

 

[Weaselboy]

I see quite a few people on Broadband Reports forums using that model and no complaints. It is capable of bonding 16 channels down and 4 up, so that should cover you for any speed upgrades in the foreseeable future. I think you did well.

 

[maflynn]

I see quite a few people on Broadband Reports forums using that model and no complaints. It is capable of bonding 16 channels down and 4 up, so that should cover you for any speed upgrades in the foreseeable future. I think you did well.

Thanks, I procrastinated when I shouldn't have and running out and spending a 100 bucks on something with no research made me uneasy. Staples really had almost not selection, just a couple from Netgear and one model from some no name brand.

As they say "its better to be lucky than good"

 

[rugmankc]

+1 on the Netgear, never had any problems

 

[oneMadRssn]

I have that exact same modem, the CM500. It works very well. When I researched it, it was very well reviewed and significantly cheaper than the Arris/Motorola 16x4 channel bonding offerings.

 

[McRumour]

I have this device in my home and 3 offices, all on Comcast (residential and BCI accounts) - it's been flawless since Day 1.
I considered the Arris SB6183 but preferred the CM500 since I didn't need sunglasses to look at the Netgear unit - both with the same Broadcom chipset, too.

I've just ordered the Arris SB6183 as replacement for my Motorola/Arris SB6580 - but am thinking maybe I'll opt for the Netgear CM600 instead - if the 6183 doesn't live up to its promise
( Would need the 600 as I'm on a 200/20Mbps speed tier with Time Warner Cable.)

I wonder why Arris modems seem to be so much more popular than the Netgears?
The Arris (formerly Moto) modems have sky-high levels of both "Correctables" and "Uncorrectables" on their downstream channels.
And tons of people complain about a constant need to re-boot.
Plus - Time Warner withdrew IPv6 provisioning on the 6183 (and on the modem I have now), reverting back to IPv4, after a bug was discovered last October and even tho Arris have since provided a firmware update fix - TWC can't seem to get their act together to make it available. (Claim they're still testing it)
I seem to be talking myself into exchanging the 6183 as I type. And I don't even have it yet.

Read great feedback on Amazon re the Netgears.
And it doesn't have any of the issues I mentioned above.
So - was interested to read your post.

 

[campyguy]

I've just ordered the Arris SB6183 as replacement for my Motorola/Arris SB6580 - but am thinking maybe I'll opt for the Netgear CM600 instead - if the 6183 doesn't live up to its promise
( Would need the 600 as I'm on a 200/20Mbps speed tier with Time Warner Cable.)

I wonder why Arris modems seem to be so much more popular than the Netgears?
The Arris (formerly Moto) modems have sky-high levels of both "Correctables" and "Uncorrectables" on their downstream channels.
And tons of people complain about a constant need to re-boot.
Plus - Time Warner withdrew IPv6 provisioning on the 6183 (and on the modem I have now), reverting back to IPv4, after a bug was discovered last October and even tho Arris have since provided a firmware update fix - TWC can't seem to get their act together to make it available. (Claim they're still testing it)
I seem to be talking myself into exchanging the 6183 as I type. And I don't even have it yet.

Read great feedback on Amazon re the Netgears.
And it doesn't have any of the issues I mentioned above.
So - was interested to read your post.

As to the Arris preference I can only speak to seeing it at Frys/Best Buy/Target/Staples/Justabouteverywhere - marketing is my guess, but it's just my guess. At Best Buy, I saw dozens of SB6183 boxes and a few CM500 boxes - maybe everyone was blinded by the bright Arris modem lights?

As to the rebooting issue, I can also guess that users of the Arris modems were experiencing "double NAT" issues between the cable modem and their stand-alone modem when the cable modem's DHCP lease was renewed (as I alluded to earlier) - some cable modem/router combos seem to more "sensitive" to the short period of time that the cable modem's DHCP server is activated (the Extreme and Express are on this list). One of my (now-former) IT guys "forgot" to move the router to another DHCP range after an install and wacky timeouts/service interruptions ensued - I moved the routers to another DHCP range and the timeout issues went away (as did the IT guy when I gave him a pink slip the next day...).

I'm surmising that "the cable guy" couldn't give a rat's rear-end about ensuring the network on the interior side of a utility penetration is working properly - it's generally not their job anyway, unless you pony up some additional coin - and they allow the internet to propagate with whining, getting jollies along the way? Just guessing here (not really...)?

FWIW, I'm happy with the CM500 - it's zippy and our units have been rock solid. Cheers!