| Do I need anything else but a Motorola SB5120 modem? Hello,
I'm considering to switch to Suddenlink as ISP. They offer for my address 15Mb for $50 and 30Mb for $60. Since I have right now only 1.5Mb (with a wirelss ISP and Motorola Canopy) I guess the 15Mb package will be good enough. The reason I might switch is that I started to stream Netflix and Hulu and other things (with a jailbroken Apple TV 2) to my TV, and unfortunately the stream is often stuttering in the evenings. I also would like to drop my landline and get VoIP instead and due to the unavoidable jitter with my wireless internet connection VoIP does not work very well right now.
My question now is: do I need anything better than a Motorola SB5120 cable modem for 15Mb? I have such a modem and it is also in Suddenlink's list of approved modems. Would I practically benefit from a better, faster newer modem and if so in what way?
Also, is it possible to check the modem without having already cable internet service? I got the modem from a PC technician who had it sitting around and I gues it works but I do not know for sure, of course.
Thanks and greetings. - desertman |
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| You technically don't need anything better, but that is an older modem already. If you're going to be getting one, get a newer Docsis3 modem so you CAN upgrade speed in the future and so you can take advantage of channel bonding. It won't make your 15 meg plan any faster, but it could make it more stable. To use the 30 meg package you'll need a Doc3 modem. And for only 10 bux more a month I would recondite it. Also doesn't have anything to do with me paying about $15 more per month than you were quoted >.--
30/2 Suddenlink : Current
5/1 CMA : Old
15/2 TWC : Old |
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| I'm sorry to hear that you have to pay more. The prices I mentioned are the normal prices from the Suddenlink website - and I got them confirmed (with less than $2 taxes on top) in a chat with Suddenlink.
Why do you think I should go for 30Mb, especially since I was so far quite ok with 1.5Mb? Is 15Mb not enough for HD streaming?
If I would buy a modem I certainly would buy a DOCSIS3 machine. However, your posting sounds as if it would be ok to start with the SB5120 - if I order only the 15Mb package.
Thanks for you input anyway.
Greetings - azdesertman |
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| said by azdesertman :I'm sorry to hear that you have to pay more. The prices I mentioned are the normal prices from the Suddenlink website - and I got them confirmed (with less than $2 taxes on top) in a chat with Suddenlink.
Why do you think I should go for 30Mb, especially since I was so far quite ok with 1.5Mb? Is 15Mb not enough for HD streaming?
If I would buy a modem I certainly would buy a DOCSIS3 machine. However, your posting sounds as if it would be ok to start with the SB5120 - if I order only the 15Mb package.
Thanks for you input anyway.
Greetings - azdesertman
15mb is more than enough for HD streaming, that usually will max out at ~4-5mb. But.. the more the merrier. :P And while I'm not the poster you were replying to, I can assure you that modem will be fine with the 15mb package because I had the exact same modem with that package, and I didn't really run into any problems. |
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| Only reason I recommended going with the 30 meg package is that it doubles your bandwidth for only 10 bux more. If you do any large file downloads often, you'll get them twice as fast also.
15 megs is indeed plenty for a single HD stream, possibly 2 depending on the bitrate. |
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Reviews:
 ·Suddenlink
| reply to azdesertman
Since you already have the 5120 you might as well give it a try. See if it works OK for your needs.
You mention VoIP... Are you going to use the Suddenlink phone service or a different VoIP provider? If you use the Suddenlink service, then they will install a modem that includes the phone interface. Here in central Texas they install a DOCSIS 2 Arris modem.
I already had an SB6121 DOCSIS 3 modem that I got online with a few days before the phone service was scheduled to be installed. When the tech came to install the phone service, he said that I should not use the SB6121 because my line stats were marginal. I let him connect my router to the Arris modem. I and my son both noticed that even though the Speedtest.net site still showed that our download speed was still 15 Mbps, many online activities were noticeably slower than when we had the SB6121 connected. From what I've read, this seems to be because with DOCSIS 3 the modem is using multiple channels to connect to the network, instead of the single channel used with DOCSIS 2. I put the SB6121 back in and called Suddenlink to have it activated. It did indeed make a difference (my son really notices it in his online games).
So see how your SB5121 works for you. You may be quite satisfied with it. If it doesn't work out, then I'd suggest getting the newer SB6141. It can bond up to 8 channels and supports speeds up to somewhere around 340 Mbps IIRC.  (The SB6121 can bond 4 channels at up to somewhere around 150 Mbps). Note that 8-channel bonding may not be available yet, but it provides a more future-proof solution for about the same cost. There's a guy on eBay selling the SB6141 for $79. If I were buying now, that's the one I would go with. |
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| said by HarryH3:You mention VoIP... Are you going to use the Suddenlink phone service or a different VoIP provider? Thanks for your input.
I don't think I would use the Suddenlink phone service. My idea is to try VoIPo ($149 for two years). Having a landline is becoming more and more irrelevant for me, but for just $6.21 a month and given the mainly very positive VoIPo reviews I will keep that number - also for sentimental reasons.
Greetings - desertman |
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| Then just have them hook you up using the SB5120 for now, since it's already paid for.  |
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| reply to HarryH3
Any of the SB61xx should be fine for Doc3 on SL for the next couple years in the MAJORITY of markets. Pretty sure there is only one test market currently using 8 channels. Not sure if ANY markets are bonding upstream yet :s Probably wouldn't matter if they were as you don't need to bond to get 2 megs up, LMAO |
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Reviews:
·Suddenlink
| said by moldypickle:Any of the SB61xx should be fine for Doc3 on SL for the next couple years in the MAJORITY of markets. Pretty sure there is only one test market currently using 8 channels. Not sure if ANY markets are bonding upstream yet :s Probably wouldn't matter if they were as you don't need to bond to get 2 megs up, LMAO
But if you're going to buy a modem anyway, then you might as well get one with the most capability. The price difference is about $10. I had my DSL modem for 6 years and it was still working fine when I switched to cable. My router is a WRT54G V2 from around 2003 or so. I like to buy stuff and use it for as long as possible, and for me, the SB6141 has more of a future, even if I can't use all of its abilities today. |
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 gatorkramNeed for SpeedPremium
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC
kudos:2 | reply to azdesertman
If you have the money to spend, and like to buy things, then I say get a new modem.
The more older modems we can pull off the system the better, imo
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What the heck is a GatorKram? »www.gatorkram.com |
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| said by gatorkram:The more older modems we can pull off the system the better Why, if an older modem works?
What _practical_ advantages would a DOCSIS3 modem have for me with a 15mb plan? |
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| Like I said earlier, multiple channels can help overcome some issues that would plague a single channel device. Same reason more or less that a 4 lane highway runs smoother than a single lane, all at the same speed. |
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gatorkramNeed for SpeedPremium
join:2002-07-22
Winterville, NC
kudos:2 | reply to desertman
said by desertman:said by gatorkram:The more older modems we can pull off the system the better Why, if an older modem works? What _practical_ advantages would a DOCSIS3 modem have for me with a 15mb plan? It's just my personal view, not really backed up by any real technical knowledge, except what I think about how it all works.
The more people we can get off the old modems, that don't take advantage of channel bonding, the better experience everyone will have.
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What the heck is a GatorKram? »www.gatorkram.com |
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