- Joined
- Dec 5, 2008
- Messages
- 713
- Reaction score
- 43
- Points
- 28
- Location
- Detroit
- Your Mac's Specs
- 2007 Mac Book Pro 2.2 Ghz 4 GB RAM SSD OSX 10.11 & 2006 MBP Stuck At 10.6.8
Hi All!
We've decided to ditch the rental modem/router from the cable company (Wide Open West) and buy a separate modem and router. I've studied all I can find, but am still wondering if it is worth the extra expense to us to get a 16 x 4 modem versus an 8 x 4 channel. There are many of both on the ISP approved modem list.
Our current internet speed is 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbs upstream. The ISP said that they are phasing out the 30/5 in favor of 100 Mbs down and I think they said 5 up. We don't imagine we'd ever got to the next tier which is 1 Gbps downstream.
In use, the modem may have to handle one person streaming on a 720p television while the other is on the internet doing intensity-of-low use things (like reading Mac-Forums!). Or, we may both be streaming, if we ever get another television. Upstream, the most intensive item is my off-site backup service, and it's pretty quick about doing its job and stopping.
I've read so many articles saying that having a 16 x 4 is beneficial, even if you have slower internet like ours. Other articles say it is not beneficial. I apologize, but the articles that mac-Forums' search showed came back as invalid links when I clicked them, so I couldn't read those.
Is there any benefit if I buy a 16 x4 modem or would a 8 x 4 be sufficient, even if we move to 100 Mbps?
Also, is there a particular brand that works well with Mac, or are they all equal?
While I'm thinking of it, do you have any WiFi router brand & feature tips to share? (I haven't gotten too deep into router studying yet. Still stalled on modem choice.)
Thanks For Your Advice! I appreciate it greatly!
Paul
We've decided to ditch the rental modem/router from the cable company (Wide Open West) and buy a separate modem and router. I've studied all I can find, but am still wondering if it is worth the extra expense to us to get a 16 x 4 modem versus an 8 x 4 channel. There are many of both on the ISP approved modem list.
Our current internet speed is 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbs upstream. The ISP said that they are phasing out the 30/5 in favor of 100 Mbs down and I think they said 5 up. We don't imagine we'd ever got to the next tier which is 1 Gbps downstream.
In use, the modem may have to handle one person streaming on a 720p television while the other is on the internet doing intensity-of-low use things (like reading Mac-Forums!). Or, we may both be streaming, if we ever get another television. Upstream, the most intensive item is my off-site backup service, and it's pretty quick about doing its job and stopping.
I've read so many articles saying that having a 16 x 4 is beneficial, even if you have slower internet like ours. Other articles say it is not beneficial. I apologize, but the articles that mac-Forums' search showed came back as invalid links when I clicked them, so I couldn't read those.
Is there any benefit if I buy a 16 x4 modem or would a 8 x 4 be sufficient, even if we move to 100 Mbps?
Also, is there a particular brand that works well with Mac, or are they all equal?
While I'm thinking of it, do you have any WiFi router brand & feature tips to share? (I haven't gotten too deep into router studying yet. Still stalled on modem choice.)
Thanks For Your Advice! I appreciate it greatly!
Paul