surfboard 6121 vs 6183

doox00

2[H]4U
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Aug 28, 2005
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Hey all, anyone out there that can tell me if its worth it to switch out my sb6121 with my new sb6183 that I got for free with my new asus rt-ac88u router? I have 60mb down and 4 mb up with charter. I know they have my modem set to 65mb down atm (had some issues and in troubleshooting they upped my down to 65 and left it there (ended up being my end (pfsense server issue), not theirs was the problem at the time). So I imagine when I switch modems I will be knocked back down to 60mb.. so that is a factor as well. I have no issues with my current connection, I get 63-64 down and 4.3 up everytime I do speedtest with 8ms ping.

Is it worth calling and swapping out modems or just keep the 6121? I know it won't be faster internet.. not sure though if it handles traffic better, lower latency or something along those lines.

thanks all!
 
Looks the sb6183 has 16 downstream channels. The 6141 has 8. From a quick search it does looks like charter does use 16 channels. I'm not sure how much that would impact your day to day use. You'd obviously not get faster speeds. Maybe slightly more resilient?
 
I really doubt it will help speed or latency one bit.

Currently I have the SB6120, which is supposed to do max 160Mb/s.

My connection is around 100Mb/s down and 10Mb/s up.

Fastest download speed I have seen through Steam is a little over 13MB/s.

Since what you have is working as expected, I wouldn't mess with it.
 
I really doubt it will help speed or latency one bit.

Currently I have the SB6120, which is supposed to do max 160Mb/s.

My connection is around 100Mb/s down and 10Mb/s up.

Fastest download speed I have seen through Steam is a little over 13MB/s.

Since what you have is working as expected, I wouldn't mess with it.

This is what I was thinking, I figured if it would possibly help with multiples connections (some people streaming, some gaming.. a download all at once and so on) or with overall latency then I would switch em out... but kinda figure it won't change anything noticeable I am guessing. Figured if someone knew a lot about this and they had some input it would be helpful in deciding if I should mess with it or not.
 
I Would suggest upgrading your 6121 for a 6183. You'll ultimately gain more consistent speeds as your bandwidth is spread over more downstream channels.

That or you could wait for a 3.1 modem, but those are probably still a couple months out.
 
I'd switch to the 6183. Having more simultaneous channels accessible to the cable modem means that you are less likely to see slowdowns if one or more channels becomes congested.

Hold on to the 6121 as a backup.
 
I have no issues with my current connection, I get 63-64 down and 4.3 up everytime I do speedtest with 8ms ping.

I'm in the same boat really. I have a 6121 and despite having several chances to get a 6141, and then a 6183 over the years for a nice discount, I passed each time. At any time of day, I can download anything I want and get the full speed of my connection. Doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night, the middle of the workday, evenings, or the weekend. Doesn't matter if it's a web download or a torrent with thousands of simultaneous connections, results are always the same.

I would recommend waiting until there is a significant advancement in the technology. To use phones as an analogy, you wouldn't want to be the guy who bought an expensive 3G phone right before 4G became popular. Just the same, 4G has been around for a while now, but even an older 4G phone is still 4G, so someone who bought a 4G phone when they first came out is really getting their moneys worth in that regard.

The SB6121 is already a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, and it's obvious that you already have as many channels as you need. The SB6183 is only DOCSIS 3.0 also. I would at least wait until DOCSIS 3.1 modems are released. If you were actually limited by your current modem in any way, it would be different of course.
 
The only reasons to switch are:

1. Bridge breaks.
2. New faster plan that requires more channels for example TWC will support a 6121 up to 50Mbps and 6141 up to 100Mbps. Please note Arris claims these bridges will do better but TWC will not give you a config for higher speeds than those listed.
 
The only reasons to switch are:

1. Bridge breaks.
2. New faster plan that requires more channels for example TWC will support a 6121 up to 50Mbps and 6141 up to 100Mbps. Please note Arris claims these bridges will do better but TWC will not give you a config for higher speeds than those listed.

Interesting. I've never had any issues on Comcast Business using my 6121 at 100Mbps. I'm often pegged at max download speed for days at a time depending on what I am downloading. Strange that they would have different policies regarding modems. Perhaps TWC crams more people per node?

100.png
 
Interesting. I've never had any issues on Comcast Business using my 6121 at 100Mbps. I'm often pegged at max download speed for days at a time depending on what I am downloading. Strange that they would have different policies regarding modems. Perhaps TWC crams more people per node?

TWC handles the channels differently and needs more channels to hit certain bandwidth tiers. 4 bonded channels on TWC is 50 max, 8 bonded channels is 100 max, and you need a 16 channel to get their 300 service.

Comcast can do 100 megs with 4 channels.
 
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I'm in the same boat really. I have a 6121 and despite having several chances to get a 6141, and then a 6183 over the years for a nice discount, I passed each time. At any time of day, I can download anything I want and get the full speed of my connection. Doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night, the middle of the workday, evenings, or the weekend. Doesn't matter if it's a web download or a torrent with thousands of simultaneous connections, results are always the same.

I would recommend waiting until there is a significant advancement in the technology. To use phones as an analogy, you wouldn't want to be the guy who bought an expensive 3G phone right before 4G became popular. Just the same, 4G has been around for a while now, but even an older 4G phone is still 4G, so someone who bought a 4G phone when they first came out is really getting their moneys worth in that regard.

The SB6121 is already a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, and it's obvious that you already have as many channels as you need. The SB6183 is only DOCSIS 3.0 also. I would at least wait until DOCSIS 3.1 modems are released. If you were actually limited by your current modem in any way, it would be different of course.


I am not debating on buying one though, I already had it, came free with my new asus router.. but either way I am just going to leave my current modem in place, it works perfect, never any slows downs any time of the day. If my current modem was not set for 65mb I would do it just because why not since I have the new anyway.. only thing keeping me from doing it is I don't want to lose the extra 5mb I have now :) Unless changing would be a reduction in latency in some way.
 
I am not debating on buying one though, I already had it, came free with my new asus router.. but either way I am just going to leave my current modem in place, it works perfect, never any slows downs any time of the day. If my current modem was not set for 65mb I would do it just because why not since I have the new anyway.. only thing keeping me from doing it is I don't want to lose the extra 5mb I have now :) Unless changing would be a reduction in latency in some way.

Your current modem likely isn't set for "65" on the dot, that's just what you see on your end. My internet is 50 and I get just under 8MB/s one Steam downloads when it should be just over 6MB/s, this is on TWC. My close friend 100 Comcast connection gets close to 160mb/sec when doing speed tests. Or maybe Charter is dead on their modem speeds, I don't know anyone on Charter to check.
 
The old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" applies well to cable modems. At your speed packages, you won't see any benefit from upgrading to the SB6183. Keep the SB6183 as a backup, or in reserve if you end up going to a 150+ service.

In the early days of DOCSIS 3.0 service, ISP's had a hard time limiting speed across multiple channels, and people getting DOCSIS 3.0 modem were reporting getting much higher speeds than before and much higher than what they were paying for. ISP's finally figured out how to regulate speeds across multiple channels, and having 16 available vs 4 won't do you any good unless your speed package requires more than 4 channels.
 
Here is speedtest I just did

5028868184.png


Well I just found out today I will have gigabit connection in the spring, They already have most of my neighborhood done and will have my street done in the spring, order is in already for fiber! So I guess I will just keep this modem hooked up. :)
 
If you can get one for a good price. One thing to remember if your node ever gets congested the extra channels will help make sure you see max speeds. On the lower tiers IE TWC 50/5 where MAXX is available I would say you would be fine on the 6120. I am in the same boat as you. TWC will limit you to the 50/5 tier on a 4 bonded modem, 100/10 on the 8 and you need the 16 for anything higher then 100/10
 
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