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JAEBR29

New Around Here
I am currently renting a modem/router from Comcast (arrisTG862) for $7/month. we get the 50mb service. We have a 2 story home with a basement and the router is on the main level. Our laptop is basically a fixture in our living room on the main floor. We have a smart tv on the main floor and I'll eventually finish a secondary living room/entertainment room downstairs. We don't do much technology wise. Just wifi right now....not even Netflix or a printer, but that could change in the future. I hope that's enough background info.
I"m basically just trying to avoid renting for $7/month. So the cost of the device(s) is important. I have had ZERO issues with this router/modem combo, other than potentially signal strength issues across floors. To some extent I know that's the nature of the beast, but I have no idea how much of that could be improved by a router and how much money I would have to fork out. I don't need top of the line features because I wouldn't have a clue what to do with them. At the same time, I want something that will work well (reliable and fast enough to handle ever changing requirements for quite a few years) Basically, I want the most inexpensive (not cheap!) router and/or modems that will be solid for years to come and handle the speed and range needs.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for what routers would work well for my situation? Even if that's stay the course with renting? I have tried researching this and am LOST! Any ideas on a modem either? Thanks for any help you can give me.
 
Also, I don't have phone service nor do we intend to have phone service. In doing more research I found that my rented modem/router has phone capability. So whatever router I would use does not need that functionality.
Thanks again and sorry for my lack of understanding of this world.
 
Yes, when the modem rental went up to $7/month, I went out and bought the only cable modem (with EMTA for VoIP phone) that Comcast was recommending at the time that could be purchased retail. That's the Arris TM722g, which has been a really good modem for me, and also carries our phone line. I remember a few years ago, when we started with Comcast, modem rental was $3/month, and that was fine. But then it quickly went up to $5 and then $7/month, simply because they could.

My take on this is that you want to have a modem that you own (make sure that it's DOCSIS 3 and supports IPv6). Here's Comcasts list of modems:

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

and you want to have a router in addition to that. I'm not fond of the "gateway" devices, which are a cable modem combined with a mediocre routing/wireless capability. I like having a separate router that I can replace or upgrade when I'm ready without having to get another modem as well. If I had a "gateway"-style device from my cable company, I'd be inclined to put it into transparent bridge mode, so that it wasn't doing any routing or wireless.

As far as wireless routers go, what do you need? Personally, I like the wireless-1900AC routers at the moment. Like the Asus RT-AC68P or Netgear R7000. Either of those have very capable routing and wireless, and give you enough bandwidth capability that you can add and upgrade clients as you like, and your router will still keep up.

You could also go with something a little less expensive, there are some tools here on this site that can be really helpful in the process of looking at what's available. There are router charts, and there's a ranker that ranks each router in it's class. As well as reviews that are also linked from the router charts and router ranker results.

I'd suggest that you take a look at what's available, and look at the user reviews on sites like Newegg and Amazon as well.
 
Thanks for the advice in buying rather than renting. In the real world, what advantages will an AC1900 (R7000 nighthawk for $200) get me vs an AC1750 (Archer c7 for $90) vs an AC1200 (Trendnet for $54) or even a solidly built N style router?

When I read reviews, I'm sorry but everything is way over my head...or people are complaining about constant reboots...A GIANT fear of mine. A few years ago we had DSL and our router constantly needed rebooted.
 
Thanks for the advice in buying rather than renting. In the real world, what advantages will an AC1900 (R7000 nighthawk for $200) get me vs an AC1750 (Archer c7 for $90) vs an AC1200 (Trendnet for $54) or even a solidly built N style router?

When I read reviews, I'm sorry but everything is way over my head...or people are complaining about constant reboots...A GIANT fear of mine. A few years ago we had DSL and our router constantly needed rebooted.

I'm not going to compare features of the various routers; that's really what the reviews are for. If your head is spinning at those reviews, your head is telling you something: Those routers are likely just overkill for your current and foreseeable future needs. To just browse the internet and watch some YouTube videos, you don't need a $200 AC1900 or 1750 class router.

First, you need to amortize the cost of buying vs. renting and then think to yourself, "how long will it take me to recoup the cost of my purchase, compared to what I'd spend over the same period of time renting? Or, stated differently, how long will I have to rent to have spent the same thing I'd have to spend to buy?

With a 50Mbps ISP tier, you'll need to have at least a Docsis 3.0 cable modem, with at least 4x2 channel bonding. You do not need anything with more channel bonding capability, because your speed tier doesn't require it. So you don't need an 8x4 channel bonding modem, and you really don't need a 16x4 channel bonding modem. Those are overkill for what you're getting from Comcast currently.

Probably the cheapest modem you'll be able to get away with that's also rock-solid reliable, is the Arris SB6121 which retails for about $69-$79 depending on where you get it (for example, it's $69 from Amazon, $79 from Walmart and other big box chains). It's a fine modem for anywhere between 50-100 Mbps cable internet tiers. So let's just say you'll have to spend about $80-85, with sales tax and shipping to buy your own cable modem with the minimum specs to service your current speed level.

As far as a router, given what you're doing now you could get by with almost any decent and extremely cheap 802.11n wireless router. You could spend as little as $20 for a TP-LINK TL-WR841N Wireless N300 from Amazon (which I wouldn't really recommend), all the way up to a good AC1900 or 1750 class router for 10 times that amount (which would be overkill for what you're going to do with it, which is just internet browsing and the occasional Youtube or equivalent). You say you want a really solid router, one that's going to be reliable (i.e., it will stay connected and won't reboot or otherwise exhibit strange behaviors). I'd suggest going with the Asus RT-N66U, which you can get for around $115.00 on Amazon. Not the cheapest, and certainly not the newest and fastest, but it's a stable and proven design, and you can also load Merlin firmware to gain additional features if you want to start playing around to see what you really can do, and there is tremendous support for it here in the forums. For you needs it will absolutely serve you well for many years into the future. It's not the "best" router out there, but for your current and foreseeable near-term future use, I think it would be an ideal choice. And if you want to go to 802.11ac speeds, for about $100 you can pick up an Asus RT-AC56U, or a Netgear AC1200 R6200, or something similar.

But conservatively, you're looking at spending a minimum of $200 out of pocket to replace the combo modem-wifi router you're currently leasing for $7 per month. At $7 per month, it will take you about 29 months to recoup the investment you'll be making to buy your own equipment. And during that 29 months, if you plan to go up to a higher speed tier, say 150 Mbps or higher, you're going to have to get a new router anyway (unless you want to jack up your total out of pocket by another $20-30 for an 8x4 modem like the SB6141, or by another $50 for a 16x4 like the SB6183). And even if you don't make the decision yourself to go to a higher tier, sometimes your ISP just does that for you, increasing the speed of your service on their own. And don't laugh about your ISP upgrading your service for you, because TWC for example did just that for it's customers, raising my speed from 50 to 100 for free, and then charging only a modest add-on to go to 300. Similarly the FCC has just announced it's changed the definition of "broadband" so that ISP's can only claim to provide "broadband" if they are giving customers minimum speeds of 25Mbps download. So like death and taxes, the one thing you can say is that we've not reached the limits of possible high-end speeds on the internet, and it's a certainty that at some point in the future ISP speeds provided to customers will be increasing. The only real question is "when" that's going to happen for you.

And there are other things to think about when considering buying vs. leasing: For instance, what if something goes wrong with your equipment and it fails? Don't look to Comcast to fix it. You'll have to RMA it, assuming it fails during its warranty period, or worse, if your warranty is up, you'll need to buy something new. And even if it's just an issue with slow download speeds, or connectivity, Comcast is likely to say to you "well, it's your equipment, we can't really do anything other than on our side of the box". And then you're stuck trying to resolve issues that may be well over your head, that you've got to resolve yourself. (Another tip: Remember this URL: http://www.dslreports.com; you will need it when something with your connection goes amiss. Find the Comcast forum there and read about issues that others are having with Comcast when using their own equipment and ways they've found to fix problems).

What I'm getting at is that the decision to lease equipment from your ISP vs. buying your own equipment really isn't as clear-cut as it may seem, and it's not all only about saving the $7 per month. Because at some point, you're going to spend that $7 many times over, and even more, just to likely get what you already have, whether you lease or buy.

Many prefer to buy, saying this gives them some "control" over their internet experience. Fair enough. I'm with that side all the way. But others prefer just the ease of use and flexibility that leasing affords them. And for what you say you are doing with your internet connection at the moment, paying $7 per month may actually be a pretty cheap way to go, and you won't be locked into certain equipment when and if things change during the next two+ years as they most likely will. Right now, you can always exchange your current leased device for something else that Comcast will be responsible to maintain and help you set up properly. Don't like the TG862 you've got now? Call Comcast and get a different device, perhaps one that is more user-configurable, one that has dual wifi channels (and even 802.11ac), and one that will actually let you configure the interface to customize settings more easily than you can with the TG862. Just look at the list RogerSC posted and read the product pages to learn about which modems and/or gateway combo devices Comcast is currently leasing to see what they have available.

I've gone both ways on this subject, and after buying my own Arris SB6183 for about $130 retail at Best Buy (actually closer to $145 with sales tax and the California State electronic recycling fee that gets charged up front), if I had it to do over again, I'd probably just have stuck with the device that TWC was leasing to me for about $8 per month (the Arris DG1670A, which was a combo modem/router/wireless unit). With the DG1670A, I could turn off wifi, turn off NAT, turn off the firewall and put it into "bridge" so that it was just acting as simple cable modem (a really good simple cable modem too), and thus my own Asus RT-AC66U router was still functioning as it is now, i.e., handling routing, firewall and DHCP, using the SB6183. In fact, the performance of both cable modems is pretty much indistinguishable. While I'm very happy with the SB6183, I'm also pretty sure I would have been just as happy had I stuck with the DG1670 for a couple of years until the next cable modem upgrade was required based on increasing speeds from my ISP.

Look, I'm just pointing out that there some other considerations that need to be taken into account when you decide to buy vs. leasing from your ISP besides just the monthly lease charge for the modem. And not all of those reasons and factors lean in favor of buying for someone like you given your needs and usage. You probably won't use even a fraction of the features that come with a $200 AC1900 or a $170 AC1750 class wireless router, so there's literally no reason to spend that money unless you just want to have something that is newer and "better" than what you have. But the reality is that it wouldn't be "better" for you because you just don't need that level of technical complexity in your modem and router.

And one other thing to consider: You'll never really be able to future-proof your equipment, so you shouldn't try to do that. There will always be a new wireless protocol or speed innovation under development, something better and faster and shinier will always be coming along, and newer equipment is always just on the verge of being released that promises to bring you features that you can't even yet imagine.

So in some cases, paying a nominal $7 per month is just a much less expensive way to go, and best of all, you can upgrade any time you want to a different device without paying anything extra other than the same $7 you're paying already.

Just some things to consider and think about.
 
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For the OP, if you're smart about what you buy in the first place, should you decide to buy instead of renting, you won't have to re-buy anything if you go up to a 150Mbps performance tier. However, if you only buy what you need now, then yes, if your download speed increases you'll be buying again. Or, like most people your "needs" change as your LAN is working better and you notice that you can do more and decide to do that, again yes, you'll be buying again.

And you can't really know if buying is smarter than renting until you have an idea of what you'd buy to fulfill your needs plus some room for growth. And whether what you can rent can serve your needs as well, as well as what the flexibility of being able to have an easier road of adapting to change on your own terms is worth to you.

I'm not talking about "future proofing", that's false economy in my opinion. What I'm talking about is just what you mentioned, that you're going to be using your new smart TV (I'm guessing that since you've mentioned Netflix that you're thinking about that *smile*), and adding capacity for an entertainment room, as well as wanting to be sure that you have adequate wireless coverage. If you read a little, you'll find that an added feature of the newer wireless-AC routers is that they do provide more throughput and better wireless coverage (although a wireless Access Point is another approach for that) than the older wireless-N routers. I found that moving from an Asus RT-N66U to a wireless-AC router boosted my wireless coverage and throughput more than I thought it would, which is a nice bonus.

These are just my opinions based on my experiences. My original posting was directed towards the fact that I see your needs growing as you lean more about how you can use your bandwidth in more interesting ways than you are doing at the moment. You've already got some good ideas, and you'll have more as you get up the learning curve using your network.
 
As noted in a couple of other threads on the subject of streaming and SmartTV's, even if the OP were to subscribe to Netflix (or Hulu, Amazon Prime, or use any of the pre-installed streaming apps that typically come pre-installed on many Smart TV's today), you don't really need much more than 10-25Mbps to get good quality HD streaming from Netflix, which uses compression and buffering to very good effect. I have a friend who is on a very crappy U-Verse plan, with something like 10Mpbs download, and he has no trouble at all streaming Netflix.

More interestingly, there's only one Smart TV on the market today that even has 802.11ac wireless, and unless the OP stumbled into buying the Vizio P702UI-B3 - 70-Inch 4K Ultra HD, it's a good bet that his SmartTV only has 802.11n, and only about 50-50 that it's even got 5ghz (almost all SmartTV's are still only single-band 2.4ghz).

And I don't think there's a wireless printer on the market that even has an 802.11ac adapter. Believe me, I've looked, and I can't find one (and besides, who needs that kind of bandwidth or throughput just for printing....heck, if 802.11g didn't suck, slowing every other connected device down to .11g speeds, it would be good enough and fast enough for almost any home or small office printer.

I happen to agree with RogerSC that all of the reviews of the 1750ac and 1900ac routers show marked improvement even for 802.11n speed and throughput over what you'd get with an 802.11n router (and Tim Higgins has remarked about this many times, i.e., that it doesn't make sense that it's the case, but it is), but again, we're talking about a 50Mbps download connection that'll be used for internet browsing, light file transfers (maybe), a wireless printer or two, one laptop and a smart TV and maybe some phones. Throw in another couple of laptops or phones, or even a Roku, Apple TV or Chromebox, and you'll still have just about the same performance from a good .11n router as you'd get with .11ac, but at half the price. Six of one, half dozen of the other. Personally, I think either Roger's or my perspective are equally valid ways of looking at things, and I confess that from a personal perspective, my own approach is much closer Roger's. I was just trying to give the OP a different point of view.

Sure, if the OP wants a full-featured router to set up a DLNA server, a mini-NAS USB network drive, VPN, FTP, or some other feature, then it might make sense to go with something a bit more forward thinking.

But we're talking about an OP who at the moment is just doing some surfing and light video stuff, and who think's *Netflix* (gulp) is a large step forward from a usage perspective (and I certainly intend no offense to the OP, just reading what you wrote).

I actually think the methodology I suggested is sound and makes sense, but I certainly respect RogerSC's point of view and perspective, and there's probably as many opinions on this as there are people who can imagine how they'd use a router now and in the future.

But you've got to start somewhere, and that does come with the recognition that no matter which way you go, you're going to be spending money, and it's all probably going to even out. The cable company is just counting on the fact that buying vs. renting is going to be too complicated and will require you to invest in equipment that will eventually become outdated and obsolete, so you'll wind up paying again for something else in two, three or four years again, whereas if you rent, they can just count on a steady stream of income to recoup the costs of their investment in the equipment and once that's recaptured, to actually turn a profit.

Either you look at it from a monetary point of view, or you just say "screw the money, I need my toys." And I'd bet heavily that most of the regulars here just buy what they want from a feature point of view and don't really think about the cost very much, because one way or another, you're going to spend it here, or there, so you might as well get what you want. I know that's how I approach almost every tech purchase these days. If I want it because it's got features, unless it's truly overpriced, I'll probably buy it, if only to test and play with it.
 
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for consumer brands you can get an AP only if you want improved signal. WIreless APs or routers with external antennas. You can also use directional antennas too.

If you only need basic features tp-link does well. If you want performance consider netgear or asus. If you want features consider flashing one with 3rd party firmware.

It doesnt matter what you get since electronics do last and as long as you keep the wireless chips cool the access point will last. If you are a skilled user and want something more reliable but of industrial grade than mikrotik has inexpensive wireless AC Access points but they are only dual stream costing between $70-$100 (RB911xxxx). Some of them has miniPCIe so you can add miniPCIe wireless AC cards and make it 4 stream. The integrated wireless AC RBs have both 2.4 and 5Ghz (the chips they use) but their miniPCIe wireless AC is only a 5Ghz card.
 
for consumer brands you can get an AP only if you want improved signal. WIreless APs or routers with external antennas. You can also use directional antennas too.

If you only need basic features tp-link does well. If you want performance consider netgear or asus. If you want features consider flashing one with 3rd party firmware.

It doesnt matter what you get since electronics do last and as long as you keep the wireless chips cool the access point will last. If you are a skilled user and want something more reliable but of industrial grade than mikrotik has inexpensive wireless AC Access points but they are only dual stream costing between $70-$100 (RB911xxxx). Some of them has miniPCIe so you can add miniPCIe wireless AC cards and make it 4 stream. The integrated wireless AC RBs have both 2.4 and 5Ghz (the chips they use) but their miniPCIe wireless AC is only a 5Ghz card.

LOL....SEM, again with Mikrotik? Really? In the context of this thread, you're seriously suggesting to a person who ways he was "overwhelmed" by the various reviews of consumer routers that he consider getting a Mikrotik product? Yeah, that's the ticket.....suggesting a brand that is almost unknown in the U.S except among professional installers and WISP providers, and which at best, is fairly complicated and requires a pretty solid knowledge of networking. While Mikrotik might make some great products for those who know what they are doing, it's pretty much inappropriate for this particular OP, isn't it?

And other than a few models of Mikrotik products that can be had online from Amazon, you do realize that in the U.S., you can only get their stuff through a very limited network of distributors who cater to the professional installer and ISP market. You can't just walk into a Best Buy or Fry's, or some other big-box store and pick one off the shelf.
 
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But we're talking about an OP who at the moment is just doing some surfing and light video stuff, and who think's *Netflix* (gulp) is a large step forward from a usage perspective (and I certainly intend no offense to the OP, just reading what you wrote).

I actually think the methodology I suggested is sound and makes sense, but I certainly respect RogerSC's point of view and perspective, and there's probably as many opinions on this as there are people who can imagine how they'd use a router now and in the future. .

haha...Yes! For the life of me I can't figure out what all you experts are doing connectivity-wise. What else is there beyond Netflix, internet and maybe a printer!? :)

After reading more reviews of the tp-link archer c7 (AC1750) I think I'll take a pass on that due to some poor reviews. I had been strongly considering that due to its nice price point of $90 for an AC router, but I guess that's one of those you get what you pay for routers??? It sounds like I would likely be better off with a more robust N router like the ASUS RT-N66U Dual-Band Wireless-N900 coupled with a SB6141 modem...that may be overkill for me for years.

I found out I'm actually paying $10/month for the lease so in my main goal of reducing the outflow of money (long term) that helps. I appreciate all of your guys help. As of right now, I think I might wait and see if the ASUS goes on sale. Maybe in the meantime I'll learn some things while looking into this stuff. I doubt it though because you guys seem to speak a different language :) If anyone has any specific router options that I may be overlooking or if I'm getting scared off of the Archer c7 prematurely, let me know. Thanks again. I appreciate your help.
 
I am currently renting a modem/router from Comcast (arrisTG862) for $7/month. we get the 50mb service. We have a 2 story home with a basement and the router is on the main level. Our laptop is basically a fixture in our living room on the main floor. We have a smart tv on the main floor and I'll eventually finish a secondary living room/entertainment room downstairs. We don't do much technology wise. Just wifi right now....not even Netflix or a printer, but that could change in the future. I hope that's enough background info.
I"m basically just trying to avoid renting for $7/month. So the cost of the device(s) is important. I have had ZERO issues with this router/modem combo, other than potentially signal strength issues across floors. To some extent I know that's the nature of the beast, but I have no idea how much of that could be improved by a router and how much money I would have to fork out. I don't need top of the line features because I wouldn't have a clue what to do with them. At the same time, I want something that will work well (reliable and fast enough to handle ever changing requirements for quite a few years) Basically, I want the most inexpensive (not cheap!) router and/or modems that will be solid for years to come and handle the speed and range needs.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for what routers would work well for my situation? Even if that's stay the course with renting? I have tried researching this and am LOST! Any ideas on a modem either? Thanks for any help you can give me.

FWIW - perhaps the best advice is to do nothing - you say you have Zero issues with your current modem/AP - it's not a bad device, although many would prefer (myself included) to have the modem and AP/Router as distinct components...

The retail equivalent of the Comcast provided GW is the Moto SurfBoard SBG6580 - on Amazon they're about 130 bucks shipped...

With the rental, remember that Comcast supports it, so if there are issues, they will be more than capable of supporting it online, and also if a truck-roll is needed - once you go to a Retail modem, they're kind of off the hook, and it opens them up to suggest that it's not their problem...

So perhaps, pay the $7/month and keep what you have, or spend $130 to reduce your cable bill by 7 bucks - the upside to the rental is that you can get them to upgrade the modem/wifi as better equipment is released...

sfx
 
Seems things have gotten unnecessarily long-winded here, so I'll keep my addition simple and brief.

First off, if things are going fine with that you've got, continue to lease the ISP-supplied all-in-one. No harm there, even at $10/month, it would probably save you time and stress. I do feel your frustration, though, on the nickel-and-dime pricing that these companies go out of their way to make known to the customer... (idiotically dumb -- but I'm sure there's a concrete business case for it, though...)

Otherwise, for someone with at least basic networking knowledge or intent to learn, I'd recommend your own router. A higher-clock MIPS model with N or AC wifi should be cover your device needs, plus an ISP speed upgrade or two. One example would be an Asus RT-N66U for $120. Put Merlin on it and I don't see you needing an upgrade for at least a couple years or more.

For lease versus buy, if you choose the modem/router combo, stick with the ISP-supplied model and lease. Less headache all the way around if/when it comes time to replace. If you go with your own router and only need a modem, then here's the choice: if you see yourself in the same residence using the same ISP for at least a 2-3 years, go ahead and buy your own, provided you confirm it's ISP-compatible and can handle the fastest tier in your area, regardless of if you're on that tier or not. That affords you practical upgrade room without pointlessly "future-proofing" yourself for speeds that may require different hardware altogether. Otherwise, lease the modem.

Simple deal if you break it down into orderly chunks. Cheers and best of luck. :)
 
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LOL....SEM, again with Mikrotik? Really? In the context of this thread, you're seriously suggesting to a person who ways he was "overwhelmed" by the various reviews of consumer routers that he consider getting a Mikrotik product? Yeah, that's the ticket.....suggesting a brand that is almost unknown in the U.S except among professional installers and WISP providers, and which at best, is fairly complicated and requires a pretty solid knowledge of networking. While Mikrotik might make some great products for those who know what they are doing, it's pretty much inappropriate for this particular OP, isn't it?

And other than a few models of Mikrotik products that can be had online from Amazon, you do realize that in the U.S., you can only get their stuff through a very limited network of distributors who cater to the professional installer and ISP market. You can't just walk into a Best Buy or Fry's, or some other big-box store and pick one off the shelf.

You seem to miss a lot more threads were i dont even mention mikrotik. I only mentioned them because they have RB access points costing less than $100 for wireless AC and SFP so they can act like a modem. Buying online is an option too.

Where i recommend mikrotik is where i know that it can solve the problem.
 
You seem to miss a lot more threads were i dont even mention mikrotik. I only mentioned them because they have RB access points costing less than $100 for wireless AC and SFP so they can act like a modem. Buying online is an option too.

Where i recommend mikrotik is where i know that it can solve the problem.

RouterBoards can be pretty awesome, but in many ways they're beyond the ken of most mortals to set up and maintain - but for an advanced user and perhaps developer, they're handy..
 
RouterBoards can be pretty awesome, but in many ways they're beyond the ken of most mortals to set up and maintain - but for an advanced user and perhaps developer, they're handy..
+1.
 
Many of my friends are also in the same predicament as you JAEBR29:). I was trying to help them and found resources on Hubpages by James Causian which were really useful especially to those who wants to buy the "right" product and then moved on. He has many articles and reviews that focuses on modems and routers (and also all-in-ones) and he tries to avoid jargon where possible in this technical subject and writes them in very plain and simple English that many easily understands.

Here is a link to the Zoom 5363 (which is an all in one cable/modem) which is reasonably price and good - good range, fast and easy to install. http://jamescausian.hubpages.com/hub/Zoom-5363

I highly recommend that you also can check out his other hubs from that link if you find the 5363 not suitable for you. I hope this helps! All the best.
 
Just following up with you guys...I was waiting for the Asus n66u to go on sale, but instead found a couple factory refurb deals and was able to get a SB6141 modem and a Asus rt-AC66u for $145 total. I hooked both up today. With the old setup, I was getting about 25-35 mbs on speakeasy speed tests where my laptop resides, but now got around 6o. I wanted to thank your guys for your help.
 
Just following up with you guys...I was waiting for the Asus n66u to go on sale, but instead found a couple factory refurb deals and was able to get a SB6141 modem and a Asus rt-AC66u for $145 total. I hooked both up today. With the old setup, I was getting about 25-35 mbs on speakeasy speed tests where my laptop resides, but now got around 6o. I wanted to thank your guys for your help.

Sounds like you landed in a good place - the Moto/Arris SB6141 is a good cable modem, and the Asus AC66u is a mature and solid device.
 
I am currently renting a modem/router from Comcast (arrisTG862) for $7/month. we get the 50mb service. We have a 2 story home with a basement and the router is on the main level. Our laptop is basically a fixture in our living room on the main floor. We have a smart tv on the main floor and I'll eventually finish a secondary living room/entertainment room downstairs. We don't do much technology wise. Just wifi right now....not even Netflix or a printer, but that could change in the future. I hope that's enough background info.
I"m basically just trying to avoid renting for $7/month. So the cost of the device(s) is important. I have had ZERO issues with this router/modem combo, other than potentially signal strength issues across floors. To some extent I know that's the nature of the beast, but I have no idea how much of that could be improved by a router and how much money I would have to fork out. I don't need top of the line features because I wouldn't have a clue what to do with them. At the same time, I want something that will work well (reliable and fast enough to handle ever changing requirements for quite a few years) Basically, I want the most inexpensive (not cheap!) router and/or modems that will be solid for years to come and handle the speed and range needs.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for what routers would work well for my situation? Even if that's stay the course with renting? I have tried researching this and am LOST! Any ideas on a modem either? Thanks for any help you can give me.
RouterBoards can be pretty awesome, but in many ways they're beyond the ken of most mortals to set up and maintain
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