The Motorola surfboards are fantastic. I used to work at Comcast and the Moto's were pretty solid compared to the other offerings. I'd stay away from the Ambit or Dlink modems if you have the choice.
I'd recommend the SB6120 which supports DOCSIS 3, so if you upgrade speeds in the future you'll already have a modem capable of handling them. If the SB6120 is too much I'd honestly stick with another SB5101 or an SB5120.
In regards to the internet connection issues, what router do you currently use?
I made a mistake in my post - the Ambit (or technically Ubee now?) DOCSIS 2.0 modems have generally been crap. There is a
DOCSIS 3 Ambit modem the U10C035 that I tested out 100mbps down by 20mbps up for a few months that was *FANTASTIC* and never had any problems.
I completely forgot about that modem. If you have the option, get the
Ambit/Ubee U10C035 or the
Motorola SB6120.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm probably either gonna get the SB6120 or the SB5101. I'm currently using a linksys wrt54g. I'm experience the connectivity issues when using a wired connection (I haven't tested out the issue with wireless). Basically what happens is when I have a significant number of connections while maxing out my internet connection (torrents), my internet just cuts out for several seconds then it reconnects. I've only experienced this with torrents. Direct downloads do not cause any issues. I'm not sure if it is my router bugging out, or if its my isp, or if its my modem. If you need any more information please let me know and I'll be sure to post it.
Ben, are you running the stock Linksys firmware on that WRT54G? If you are I would look into another firmware option, I personally favor DDWRT which is what I ran on my old WRT54GL for years ...which now serves as an access point.
Sorry for the delay in response by the way. I kind of lurk these forums and forget when I make a post sometimes >.<.
Ahhh an inside man! It's always good to have the opinion of a guy who has the skinny on which modems consistently fail for an ISP's customer base. Thanks for posting, Mooyo! I also have to agree with Mooyo as a modem just needs to be able to support future connection technologies. I would consider DOCSIS 3.0 a must for anyone shopping for a new modem.
Brian
Not a problem at all, any help I can provide I'm more than happy to offer.
In regards to the D3 devices - at this point more time and effort are put into these models. It's kind of hard to mess up a D2.0 device at this point (Toshiba, Motorola, Cisco, etc all have/had great offerings) and there's no "new territory" so to speak with D2.0.
I am honestly starting to wonder if Dlink puts out anything good. Yes, they are cheaper almost always, but I am constantly hearing about people having to replace their Dlink stuff more often.
Most lower end Dlink models (modems and routers specifically) have been terrible in my experience. Some of the higher end Dlink stuff isn't bad but I'll pick Linksys/Netgear for anything low-end any day of the week.
I have some really sketchy internet problems(my internet just dies every 45 minutes for a few seconds)
I upgraded my 5101N to a 5101U and it didn't help. Do you guys think going to the Docsis 3 modem would actually fix my issues?
I've already had Cox out here twice and they kinda just said "it's probably the modem at this point."
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I don't think a DOCSIS 3 modem, for the fact of just being a DOCSIS 3 modem, will necessarily help your case.
When your internet drops out are you able to grab any light status' from the front of the device? Typically you'll see the send, receive, or ready light freak out on Motorola modems if they're dropping.
Alternatively, see if you can load
http://192.168.100.1 in your browser and reach the modem's web interface or not.
Also, what kind of router do you have?
I'll try and keep an eye on this thread. If anyone has side questions or is getting antsy I do respond to PMs pretty normally.
EDIT - added a few links
