US Cable Support > Comcast HSI > Zoom 5341J vs Motorola SBG6580

Zoom 5341J vs Motorola SBG6580

I'm sure there will be some anecdotal responses, but for all practical purposes, there is no difference between the two.

reply to whamel
I don't know much about the SB6580, but I had a Zoom 5341J for a short time and now have a Motorola SB 6141. For the short time I had the 5341J I think it was about the same as the 6141, signals, speed wise.
They are both 8 down and 4 up.
The zoom crapped out on me in about a week so got the SB6141 and couldn't be happier with it. Rock solid and not a burp.
I also noticed the Zoom ran hot where the 6141 is just warm to the touch.

reply to whamel
Any other opinions/thoughts?

reply to mb
N.M. Mods please remove.

why remove?

reply to whamel
To me, they are completely different critters for different usage. Use the right tool for the job! The SBG6580 is a wireless gateway. Although I for one have little or no use for a combo unit like that, for those who are not willing to set up a separate modem-attached to stand alone router, ok...but in the Comcast world, keep in mind that Comcast thus decides the router portion's capabilities, as they push the firmware.

Much smarter to run a separate modem and router.

Yes, you can disable the Motorola's radio, but kind of a clunky solution.

The Zoom 5341J is perhaps the most popular cable modem for Comcast that is currently up to date. If you don't need an emta modem, I don't see much need to go any further.
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Deeds, not words

I think he meant remove his post .

reply to PeteC2
I would think that the Motorola modems are up to date too, right ?

reply to mb

reply to whamel

reply to whamel
The main issue is that the Motorola series seem to have issues with the bonded upstream. In 3-up bonding, they often seem to drop or not even initialize properly, with one of the channels going into a 'T4 Timeout' mode for no obvious reason.

I was having a lot of problems with T4 Timeouts on my SB6120. I upgraded to a Zoom 5341J and while I still have timeouts, they are far less frequent. The signal in my area is very marginal, but Comcast doesn't seem to be interested in doing anything to improve the signal. They have provided an amp (free of charge) which helps downstreams, but the upstream is not amplified.

Even if I connect the cablemodem directly to the line from comcast without any splitters/amps, it's still weak, so I have to just make do with what I have, and the 5341J seems to have helped a lot with my weak signals.

reply to whamel
I had provisioned a Motorola SURFboard SB6120 before the UBEE DDM- and I couldn't get the damn Motorola to stay online. Thats where I sold the Motorola on eBay and bout a NEW UBEE-DDM3513 and I picked this modem b/c when I first moved down to Hattiesburg, MS I lived in a fully furnished apartment. Including the internet connection. I got solid signals and in those 3 months not one Sync issue. So I switched.
Reason I asked the question is b/c I am swapping my VoIP gateway and it's internet connection for a modem with 8 bonded downstream and 4 upstream channels. I plan on getting the Extreme 50/15 and using the new modem (the Zoom) and keeping my Performance w/ PowerBoost on the UBEE. TV is digital starter w/ HD DVR.
So there is my explanation...
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Bill - Hattiesburg, MS - »www.billhamel.net