Get a cable modem or rent?

I'm a little unhappy about this extra $5/mo cable rental fee and am considering buying my own modem. I was considering the Motorola Surfboards (not sure which model yet).

According to this post: http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035197399&postcount=2 I should buy the same modem that my ISP (Comcast) gave me. According to the config page, the modem is DOCSIS 1.0, 1.1 and 2.0 compliant.

I buy them, and keep at least a spare. Search on ebay, you can usually find them for under 60 bucks...brand new and shrink wrapped in the box.

When it comes time to set it up, jot down its MAC address, plug it in..call you ISP..say you need to have it provisioned....they ask you to read them the MAC address, they'll remote into it and upload the config file, reboot the modem, reboot the router, release/renew or bounce your PC..and BAM, you're online, usually in about 10-15 minutes total time.

Linksys CM100 Refurb - $20 Shipped @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...lickDeals-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16825120003

I bought two of these refurbs before when they were $20 shipped on the previous deal. Both worked great for Comcast, and speeds doubled at GF's house. Went from 6Mbit to 15Mbit. :c)

Just make sure you connect it for 10 minutes first, then call comcast to get it provisioned. For one of the modems, it still would not work... but after coming back after an hour it was working perfectly.

I used to have a Motorola SB5120. It was rock solid up until a few weeks ago. It gave me 4 years of service, so I didn't worry about it. After lots of hunting, I picked up the new Motorola SB6120. My best speeds with the 5120 were 20down/2.5up. My 6120 gives me 22down/5.2up (no docsis 3.0 yet, but I'm ready)
I don't upload alot, but it gave me a sweet boost.
The Linksys will be a solid replacement as well. You can can get free shipping from the Cisco Store and 10% off with coupon code "HSRM10" to get a refurb CM100 for $26.99 shipped.
http://homestore.cisco.com/en-us/ou...VproductId54377589VVcatId543906VVviewprod.htm

Edit: I just read the thread you linked to... the CM100 does not support docsis 3.0 so it will not offer the performance advantages of the SB6120 or the Cisco DPC3000.

Go buy it. Upfront cost, but you will probably make it up in 8 months or so.

For that modem I linked for $20, it'll be made up in 4 months.

Although it's not DOCSIS 3.0, even when Comcast is DOCSIS 3.0 in all of it's areas, which will be at least another year we will have to wait for them to offer faster speed packages. I know the high end they will always have fastest plan but the normal mainstream ones who knows. You can still get at least 35Mbit down with the CM100, and at a 250GB cap total of download and upload... who cares if its any faster because you'll barley get to use it before cap is full.

For the time being I'd get the CM100 for $20. It's a great price for the modem, I had to get one last week because I just got Comcast again and my Toshiba PCX2200's NIC could not support the lowest current Comcast speed tier.

DOCSIS 3.0 is supposedly going to be rolled out to all customers this year, but unless you get the premium speed tiers, it's pointless, though DOCSIS 3.0 should improve the quality of the connection. My connection is fine enough, so I'll go with my much cheaper modem for the time being.

One thing I'm curious about - do you use Digital Voice? I don't think you can avoid using their modem if you do.

Thanks for the recommendations, I went with the CM100. Does Comcast still do caps?

I'm surprised some still lent you rent.

Cox where I live will rip you off at any opportunity. But even they only allow you to buy the modem, and I think they're also only $45. ($15/m for three months, so you don't even need all $45 upfront.)

MediacoN now includes the modem for free.

I used to tell the wife, lets just buy one. She kept saying no. I bet I paid for at least 4 modems!

The thing with having your own modem is you are on your own for any troubleshooting. With the ISP modem, they make sure the internet works on the other side of the modem. With your own modem, support may be difficult. I find my ISP looks for any excuse to get me off the phone when I call.

Food for thought.