Is my N150 modem/router giving me the best speed I can get? Or get N300?

• 

  scrimshaw on 31/05/2015 - 08:44

  +2

  That's only assuming that your modem is at fault. How far are you from the DSLAM? The length of your copper cable is usually what determines how fast your ADSL will be. And also several factors like the quality of your house's copper cabling, network congestion, interference and all that jazz.

  if you want faster internet, you'd be looking at either the NBN (every man's dream) or cable (expensive, but fast).

  Modem technology IMO hasn't really moved all that much in the last decade. Going from my old-ish Billion 7300n (2009) to my much newer TP Link D9 Archer (2015) for example, even with the extra bells and whistles and gigabit AC Wifi, I actually saw a decrease in my sync speeds because my older modem had a preference to sync more aggressively (resulting in a higher speed, but it dropped out quite often).

  My new modem is far more stable, but it putts along at a steady 9mbps (line speed) That's slower compared to yours. But with my old Billion, it used to be 11mbps.

• 

  WalterPPK on 31/05/2015 - 09:18

  +1

  Upgrading to N300 would make little difference if it is the connection to the outside world that is the bottleneck - which it is. Going to N300 or higher will really only help if you're transferring data between machines on your network, which you're not doing.

  Try plugging directly into the router using an Ethernet cable whenever it is practical, especially when downloading crap reality shows. It might help.

• 

  Hoju on 31/05/2015 - 09:26

  Thanks guys.

  I am 2.5km from the exchange and using the adsl2exchanges website it puts my estimated max speed at 10666 so maybe I am maxed out regardless of modem.

  Guess I'm doing ok with my $3.50 ebay setup then!

• 

  Hoju on 31/05/2015 - 10:29

  Ooh one more question though. Would I likely get better range from a later model?

  • 

    jzdhgkd on 31/05/2015 - 16:14

    Most likely will get you better range but whether it's noticeable is different story.

    You will notice the biggest difference in speed when transferring files between devices within your own network.

    If you can already attain ~10Mbps throughout your house then it probably won't do much for your speeds when using the net as your old modem is already essentially "maxing out" your adsl line.

    But tech upgrades are always fun ;)

• 

  bambooculm on 31/05/2015 - 17:34

  If your line speed is just about 10666 and your wifi speed is 10.47 mbps, then a new modem/router would not make much difference to your wifi speed as far as internet speed. Depending upon your wifi network adapters, it might make a difference transferring files between laptops on the local network, just as jzdhgkd and WalterPPK stated above. The wireless router or modem/router upgrade in preparation for your eventual connection to the NBN is probably a good idea anyway. I currently have Optus cable with poor peak speeds. My off peak line speed is currently 30 Mbps, and with the previous plan it was 100 Mbps. When we changed from 100 Mbps to 30 Mbps, the wireless internet speed at our house remained at a stable 25 Mbps. The drop in line speed did not make a real difference to the wireless internet speed in our case, probably because of the solid brick walls at our house, and a mixed bag of wireless network adapters. My peak speed varies between 6 Mbps and 10 Mbps due to heavy local traffic on the cable in our street, and I have been complaining a lot and getting refunds. The point I am making is that even when the NBN network arrives in your street, your home wifi network speed may not see a huge leap in speed unless you upgrade the wireless router/modem, and possibly upgrade laptops as well. I do my speed checks with my laptop plugged directly into the router with an ethernet cable connection. My wireless router is capable of 300 mbps, but that will not increase my line speed or internet speed.

• 

  Hoju on 31/05/2015 - 19:54

  Ah man they currently have no nbn plans in our area so I'm
  Guessing it could be a while. I'd love those speeds though.

  Just realised we do a lot of Apple TV AirPlay and this can freeze while buffering sometimes so maybe the 300 would be a good thing? Just missed one on eBay for $12 so doesn't seem like an expensive upgrade option