Should I Buy a Gigabit Modem to Enhance My AC Router

LCandyMan on 19/04/2015 - 20:28
Last edited 19/04/2015 - 20:45

Hi OZ Bargainers
I need your help to resolve my problem.
I recently bought an AirPort Extreme modem with AC wifi speed as the family's wifi usage has increased. I connected it to my Belkin 54G modem router. I get speeds up to 800 Mbps to a MacBook Air. The best speed I got was 1200 Mbps measured using airport utility app. The only problem is that the wifi is sometimes sluggish but that can be an ISP connection problem.

My question is: would it be worthwhile investing in a gigabit modem? Would a gigabit modem improve my wifi speed ( current range 200-800 Mbps).

If yes: which gigabit modem would you recommend? I have been searching for a while and can't find any under the $80 mark. It seems like a stand alone gigabit modem does not exist.

All your suggestions would be appreciated.

(Before you ask: I connected an AC router to an old modem as I bought the router for a very good price with the MacBook.)
Cheers

Poll Options

  • 13
    A gigabit modem would not make a difference. Stick to your settings and save your bucks.
  • 1
    Your current setting is ridiculous! Get a decent gigabit modem right away.
  • 0
    Buying a modem will cost you more than its worth. Sell your router and buy an all in one AC gigabit
Computing

Comments

  • ozhunter on 19/04/2015 - 20:54
    +1

    The only problem is that the wifi is sometimes sluggish

    Are you talking about wifi transfer speeds or internet speed?

    • CandyMan on 19/04/2015 - 20:55

      Wifi transfer speeds :)

      • CandyMan on 19/04/2015 - 20:58

        I'm assuming if the internet is slow than I'll get less throughput to the router
        I don't understand networking very well

      • ozhunter on 20/04/2015 - 04:22

        Airport extreme has a theoretical speed of up to 1300Mbps, seems like your getting pretty good speeds.

  • marquise on 19/04/2015 - 22:08
    +1

    If you're concerned about wifi transfer speeds (eg. between PC and laptop), you could use the Airport Extreme as a router. Set the Belkin modem to passthrough the WAN connection to the Airport Extreme (if the Belkin supports this). Plug any Gigabit ethernet devices into the Airport, then the only thing coming through the Belkin is your Internet connection.

    This might also improve your Internet experience, as the Airport is likely to have a bigger NAT table. So more simultaneous connections are supported.

    • fruit on 19/04/2015 - 22:14

      Airport is likely to have a bigger NAT table

      Based on what?

    • CandyMan on 20/04/2015 - 06:33

      It's an old Belkin modem router so only has LAN

  • Woodyg22 on 19/04/2015 - 23:18
    +2

    Wait, 800Mbps over WiFi is an issue??

    • CandyMan on 20/04/2015 - 06:30

      Am I getting false results?
      The AirPort Extreme is connected by Ethernet Lan 100mbps and the router is achieving 200-800mbps

      800mbps is not a problem at all

  • itbargainhunter on 20/04/2015 - 14:33

    On paper, the 10/100 LAN connection between your AirPort and old Modem doesn't create any bandwith bottleneck.

    However, if you modem is too old (5 yr+), chances are the processing power of the old modem may be holding back performane of routing , DNS resolving and packet switching. Some older modem even doesn't have all the protocol to connect to current ISP and tends to drop packet and connection.

    The problem is, none of the low cost standalone adsl modem offer top performance. Manufacture generally use better CPU and more memory for mid to high end All in one (ADSL+WIFI) models.

    If you have no connection issue, stay with your current modem. If you some how need to reset your modem once a week, my suggestion is to buy a $100-160 all in one model and disable the wifi if you are using AirPort.

    You can't go wrong with Billion. Even mid range TP-Link is not bad.

    • CandyMan on 20/04/2015 - 16:43

      My problem might be with the old modem (it's actually wireless g) or maybe the distance from the exchange

      Thanks for your valuable input :)

    • CandyMan on 13/05/2015 - 06:52
      +1

      Thanks for the advice Itbargainhunter
      Looks like the old modem was the problem
      I bought a belkin n600 modem router from a deal on OZB
      Connection is more reliable and consistent
      Only problem is random internet dropouts every 2-3 days but overall it's been a major improvement

      • itbargainhunter on 13/05/2015 - 15:51

        Good to know.

        I had similar problem of slow internet and dropout. Took me long enough to isolate the problem to the 7 yrs old modem. Took me another 3 months to learn a cheap modem is not good either.

        People tends to overlook the importance of the modem. Most people have their router(s) seprated from the modem (including myself). We upgraded the router over the years for higher wireless speed and forget that although there is no major tech upgrade (we still have ADSL2 on copper, NBN is a dream for most of us), the modem actually need a boost due to the load we put on it is much heavier than year back.

        Glad my 2c help.

  • geoffellis on 14/05/2015 - 11:12

    gigabit modem?? Thats 1000mbps of bandwidth.

    You're in Australia. Your ISP is unlikely providing you with more than 35mbps of bandwidth to the internet and thats at the high end. Hell a 100mbps connection between your AC and your modem is triple the maximum throughput that your modem is capable of and you've already got that.

    Why is your wifi sluggish sometimes? Could be someone using a microwave, or a baby monitor, or cordless phone that operates on the 2.4 or 5ghz radio spectrum. But first you really should determine if the wifi is sluggish, or if its the internet connection. If your internet connection is sluggish, then of course your wireless connection will seem so to. But the issues affecting either are completely different. your wireless router could be sluggish due to any number of reasons that has nothing to do with the modem or the connection. Or it could be a matter of reconfiguring your modem/router. The AC is likely a better router so configure that one to do the networking and the modem to just do the modem stuff. id bet though that if you just plugged one into the other without much configuration, you've got 2 routers doing shit which could be affecting your connection.

    • CandyMan on 14/05/2015 - 17:43

      Thanks for contributing to the post
      As I mentioned above the wifi and internet connection is more reliable and consistent since replacing the old router.
      I looked into the possibility of interference, when wifi is affected it affects both bands. Source of possible interference could be an old cordless phone but that will only effect one band , we hardly use the microwave and both routers are functioning simultaneously this is because I don't have a computer to troubleshoot the router if there's problems.
      I set up the AirPort Extreme with assistance from apple support.
      I think it maybe router interference but leaning towards connection problems as a result of distance from the exchange and ageing copper lines..

      At the end I can't be sure as I'm not a networking expert

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