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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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IowaCowboy

Premium Member

[Speed] Is the Zoom 5341J worth the upgrade

After deciding (based on advice on this forum) not to go the gateway route, I am thinking of upgrading my modem to a Zoom 5341J (which they sell at Best Buy) and keeping the Apple Router. My current modem is a Motorola 6120.

The Ubee Gateway/EMTA mentioned in my previous post (at Grandma's house on Time Warner) is capable of 8x4 channel bonding (except that is using 4 ds and 1 us channels).

Comcast had prepped my modem for the new 50/10 speed with two upstream channels but when I reset the modem (to get the speed upgrade), it went back to one.

Zoom5341
@ericy.com

Zoom5341

Anon

Hi,

The Zoom 5341J modem is definitely a good one and also future proof (8x4 channel bonding). I did run into something interesting running different revisions of the 5341 model. The G model (predecessor to the J) runs 33/8 (boosted). On the newer J model, I get 33/5.5. Not sure where the 2.5mb/s difference is coming from, but it hasn't made a difference in gaming, general surfing, streaming etc. Lastly, the J version also runs a good bit cooler than its predecessor.

Hope this helps.

PeteC2
Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT

PeteC2 to IowaCowboy

MVM

to IowaCowboy
I don't remember if you were renting the 6120, or owned it...

If you own the 6120 IMHO although the Zoom is a bit farther along the curve, I don't really think that upgrading to the Zoom is that big a deal. Of course, if you are renting the 6120, then buying your own modem is a pretty good move.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

I was wondering if there are any 8x4 D3 Modems that Comcast rents out that I could rent to see if our system supports 8x4.
Beaverbob140
join:2011-08-26
united state

Beaverbob140

Member

The cisco dpc3008 will do 8x4 if available and is available leased.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

There is a thread on the Comcast Help and Support Forum about an issue that many people had with the Cisco DPC3008 modem experiencing frequent disconnects when it was updated to a January 2012 version of firmware: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Co ··· /1254989

However, according to the latest posts in that thread, a recent update to a May 2012 firmware version appears to have resolved the issue.
sendjunkmail
join:2008-08-01

sendjunkmail to IowaCowboy

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I had the same debate and just pulled the plug on a 5341J and it is sitting on my desk ready to be provisioned. The modem is "not" future proof. Good for three or more years, maybe. Next year there will be 16x4 or 16x8 modems and beyond that 32 etc.

I know there are 8 pipes in my area so it makes sense to make use of them all as more video streaming becomes prolific from TVs, computers, mobile, and other devices. Not only inside my home but the shared bandwidth outside which could slow 4x4 modem.

My 6120 currently is getting 4x3 connections. I am testing the new Blast 50meg service and getting +/- 50/10. So I hope self provisioning will not kill my service.

Just ran this on my 6120:




I will post an update on the 5341J. I would expect it would be similar...I hope.

YukonHawk
join:2001-01-07
Patterson, NY

YukonHawk to IowaCowboy

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to IowaCowboy
The same happened to me with my DP3008...I was getting 2 us channels and when I reset the modem it went back to one. Weird.
sendjunkmail
join:2008-08-01

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5341J
 
Above Comcast Speed Test is the best result so far for the 5341. I do notice an issue where the modem slowly ramping up on bandwidth. It starts at 0 where the SB6120 starts are 40Mbs. Despite the slow bandwidth start, it makes up for it in the end. I do notice the downstream SNR is better on the 5341 than the SB6120.

Not sure if there are issues with the new 5341J firmware since Comcast automatically updated to the latest.

The SB6120 has higher bandwidth spikes but the 5341J is more consistent.

However the 5341 "seems" faster and with the extra bandwidth, it can return higher speed test results as the test ends. For example 52-55 for the 6120 and 53-57 for the 5341. However the data reveals the SB6120 maintaining a route consistency where the extra pipes plugged into the 5341 maybe causes the route consistency to drop but getting more bandwidth.

So.....overall a little shaky but more bandwidth from a 8x4 setup versus 4x4 as expected.


SB6120

EG
The wings of love
Premium Member
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ

EG

Premium Member

said by sendjunkmail:

I do notice the downstream SNR is better on the 5341 than the SB6120.

FWIW, no modem measuring mechanism is ever as accurate or consistent as is a very expensive SLM device that the techs have.