Comcast Extreme 105 + Wireless Router

[roosevelt]

Hi,

 

I am using Comcast XTreme 105, and the speed is awesome. However, the only way I can get over 105 mb/s is by using a direct ethernet to my modem. However, I want to reach that much speed using a wireless router.

 

My current router is an oldie and the maximum speed I get with the router is around 50 mb/s.

 

What router or what kind of configuration you recommend so I can get that much speed using a wireless router?

[Roger H.]

Any of the newer ones with 5Ghz 300Mbps and up should work just fine. This is 5Ghz N or AC devices.

Asus RT56-66U

Netgear WNDR4300+

Linksys EA6xxx series

Just remember your wireless client (laptop/desktop wireless card) need to be in that range too. 5Ghz is pretty much set but in some cases you might get those speeds in 2.4Ghz as well (boonies, not many neighbors :p).

[Jeston]

Your wireless router and devices will need to be at least Wireless N capable. How you set it up depends on what kind of modem you have from Comcast and whether or not it has any kind of router functionality built in that may need to be disabled.

[roosevelt]

Any of the newer ones with 5Ghz 300Mbps and up should work just fine. This is 5Ghz N or AC devices.

Asus RT56-66U

Netgear WNDR4300+

Linksys EA6xxx series

Just remember your wireless client (laptop/desktop wireless card) need to be in that range too. 5Ghz is pretty much set but in some cases you might get those speeds in 2.4Ghz as well (boonies, not many neighbors :p).

 

Ohh I see. About my laptop though, I am using a Macbook Pro, any ideas... where I might have that information?

 

I am snooping around Apple -> About This Mac -> More Info... -> Network -> Wi-Fi and found this magic number "Supported PHY Modes:    802.11 a/b/g/n"... Still cannot find any information whether my Macbook supports 5 ghz.

[Roger H.]

802.11A is ONLY on 5Ghz so you have that. 802.11B and G are 2.4Ghz only. N can be both but since you have A you are golden.

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr)]

In practice, you stand no chance of getting 105Mbps over 2.4Ghz link:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/111-2_4-ghz-dn-c

 

In practice, you stand a chance only for a 5Ghz link if you have an 802.11ac router*, **:

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/113-5-ghz-dn-c

 

* I want to be perfectly clear, An 802.11n router won't do despite the theoretical maximums. The only N router that is capable of averaging that rate is the RT-N66u/w (it's a great router btw).

** You'll need an AC compatible NIC to get the sustained rates.

[Roger H.]

snipped

* I want to be perfectly clear, An 802.11n router won't do despite the theoretical maximums.

I generally agree with everything SmallNetBuilder says but for some reason their speed tests always seem "off" to me.

I had a Linksys E4200 with my Thinkpad T410s and Intel 6300AGN 3x3 card and I got 220Mbps speeds over 5Ghz (WLAN to LAN as my ISP wasn't that fast then), not burst speeds. I'm talking 27MB/s (that's MEGABYTES) when copying 10GB files.

I now have a Netgear WNDR4300 and that's also a 3x3 5Ghz client and I get about the same speeds, sometimes 30MB/s (WLAN to LAN). My ISP is now 101Mbps (technically over provisioned to 120Mbps) and I get those speeds on 5Ghz no problemo.

So while AC routers will give you those speeds at further ranges, you can absolutely do that on a 2x2 or 3x3 5Ghz connection. Distance becomes a factor after say 20ft and maybe 1-2 (dry)walls between.

[PGHammer]

Your wireless router and devices will need to be at least Wireless N capable. How you set it up depends on what kind of modem you have from Comcast and whether or not it has any kind of router functionality built in that may need to be disabled.

Jeston - if you have wireless dual-band N or better AND gigabit wired (all ports) on your router, you're ready for even ridiculous-end bandwidth - from Comcast or anyone else.  Where AC comes into play (same applies to 5 GHz N) is when you have a LOT of wireless devices (not just smartphones and tablets, but things like streaming devices (transmitters and receivers, such as smart TVs, Chromecast, Rivo's new Roamio or wireless-equipped older Tivos, wireless access points, etc.).

 

Since I replaced my single-N Netgear WNR3500v1 with the Netgear WNDR3700v4, I've dedicated the 5 GHz N band to video streaming (two Samsung smart TVs) - the 2.4 GHz N band is for visiting hardware (currently, we have only a legacy laptop and Mom's Galaxy Tab as regular users of this band).  My desktop, and Mom's desktop both use wired connections.

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr)]

I generally agree with everything SmallNetBuilder says but for some reason their speed tests always seem "off" to me.

I had a Linksys E4200 with my Thinkpad T410s and Intel 6300AGN 3x3 card and I got 220Mbps speeds over 5Ghz (WLAN to LAN as my ISP wasn't that fast then), not burst speeds. I'm talking 27MB/s (that's MEGABYTES) when copying 10GB files.

I now have a Netgear WNDR4300 and that's also a 3x3 5Ghz client and I get about the same speeds, sometimes 30MB/s (WLAN to LAN). My ISP is now 101Mbps (technically over provisioned to 120Mbps) and I get those speeds on 5Ghz no problemo.

So while AC routers will give you those speeds at further ranges, you can absolutely do that on a 2x2 or 3x3 5Ghz connection. Distance becomes a factor after say 20ft and maybe 1-2 (dry)walls between.

 

You are just talking about speeds in an ideal situation: fairly close to the AP with most probably an empty spectrum. The distance you are talking about is essentially out of room and down a connected hall with a low attenuation material in between (drywall). So sure, you'll see great speeds in that situation. It's an apples to orange comparison with what Smallnetbuilder is doing: http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-howto/30488-how-we-test-wireless-products-six-location-open-air-method. You aren't going to see those speeds in multiple story home or with a congested spectrum unless you are next to the router. At which point, it defeats much of the purpose of being hooked up to wireless. The entire point of AC routers is that you actually get fast speeds at distances and with high attenuation. So you don't have to be near the router or be using an uncongested spectrum and that's what is reflected in smallnetbuilder's testing.

[roosevelt]

Thanks for your useful feedback guys. Here are my stats.

 

Motorola SB6121 Modem + Belkin N300 Wireless N Router

 

 

And

 

Motorola SB6121 Modem + Linksys AC1200 N300+AC867 (EA6300)

 

 

The improvements are well worth the price :D

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr)]

(Y) , I think you'll be glad you went with an AC router. Interestingly, it looks like you'll see better throughput even on the 2.4ghz band than what you were seeing on your old router straight up (~60Mbps)