2 in 1 Modem/Router vs Modem and Router

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › 2 in 1 Modem/Router vs Modem and Router

Finch

2847 posts

Uber Geek

#116873 12-May-2013 19:55

Hi here.

I keep having disconnecting problems with my wireless connection so I am looking to upgrade my 9ish year old modem and 3ish year old router.

Do I go down the "2 in 1" route or buy a modem + router separately? What generally seems to work better?

Thanks

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#816469 13-May-2013 00:37

I prefer two in one, but two devices has its perks. Loan routers can often be flashed with third party firmware for advanced reporting and control. Gigabit routers are also cheaper than gigabit modem/routers. Good if you need to transfer files internally.

They are pretty much the same when it comes to the average user who just wants the internet.

Quic Broadband

Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

noc

107 posts

Master Geek

#816512 13-May-2013 09:32

Pretty much what DravidDavid said. The main main reason I like a modem/router as opposed to the two separate units - Looks tidier, and less cables!

Finch

2847 posts

Uber Geek

#817268 14-May-2013 10:58

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/TP-Link-150Mbps-Wireless-N-ADSL2-Modem-Router/21011108/

http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/TP-Link-300Mbps-Wireless-N-ADSL2-Modem-Router-with-Detachable-Antennas/21016596/

Either of these two would be fine wouldn't they, or is it not what I need? Is TP-Link generally a good brand or something I should stay away from?

Cheers

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#817562 14-May-2013 17:38

TP-Link is pretty rock solid. Just stay away from stuff like Thomson, Tenda, some D-Links and Speedtouch.

VikingToaster

1 post

Wannabe Geek

#817587 14-May-2013 18:28

Hey guys.

Don't mean to hijack, but I'm in a similar situation.

I have been using the free, telecom provided thomson TG585 v8 for a few years now. Not overly impressed and decided to upgrade. Bought a TPlink TL-WDR3600 on special late last night, not realising it was solely a router, not router/modem. Now I have to use the thomson as the modem for the TPlink.

How important is the quality of the modem to internet/network quality? With luck I could trade the TPlink in for an ASUS dsl-n12u b1 modem/router. Is it worth the trouble?

Cheers.

ajobbins

5052 posts

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#817602 14-May-2013 18:44

I have a TP-Link router and it's the best router I have ever had. By far.

Not to mention the cheapest. I run DD-WRT on it and have a separate Modem (A Draytek Vigor 120) in bridge mode so the router does the PPP and gets the public IP address etc.

If you go with 2 devices you want to make sure you're not double NATing. My setup is rock solid and having DD-WRT gives me so much flexibility.

You basically won't find any Modem/Router combo units where you can run 3rd party firmware like DD-WRT as the hardware combinations are just too hard to deal with.

Twitter: ajobbins

DravidDavid

1907 posts

Uber Geek

#817761 14-May-2013 22:15

Also,

If you were wanting to go combo I would probably go for a Netgear DG834G with DGTeam firmware and a TP-Link router that supports DDWRT firmware. You can tweak the SNR on the Netgear to squeeze a little more sync out of the phone line and the DDWRT for all the extra control over the network.

It depends on where you live and how fast you sync. I turned my 14Mb/s connection in the city in to a 17Mb/s connection. I live rural now, where I only get 0.5Mb/s on a standard router. I manage to get 1.8Mb/s out of my Netgear with the SNR percentage all the way down.

:)

EDIT: Netgear DG834G going for 30 bucks on TradeMe

eXDee

4032 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#817794 14-May-2013 23:29

A separate router is usually higher end/cheaper than a combination modem/router one. Faster chipsets, higher wireless speeds for cheaper, and gigabit ports. This was already mentioned briefly. Custom firmware is great too.

Plus if you have a separate router it doesn't matter what your internet access is. ADSL, VDSL, UFB, Wireless, Cable, G. If you can feed it into the ethernet port of the router then thats all that matters. Having two devices can be annoying for configuration though if you don't know what you're doing, you can get port forwarding/NAT issues for hosting services. Ideally you want to bridge it to get around this, which is annoying on telecom as you can't use PPPoE, but on other ISPs you can use full bridge with PPPoE assuming the router supports vlanning (high end ones). Or certain modems such as the well known draytek vigor 120 can bridge PPPoA to PPPoE which gets around this.

richms

27955 posts

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#817803 15-May-2013 00:17

Biggest IMO is that you can relocate your router with the wifi to where the signal is useful, whereas the all in one box will be forever tied to your ADSL socket which may not be near the middle of the house.

Richard rich.ms

Finch

2847 posts

Uber Geek

#819919 15-May-2013 11:32

Thanks for the replies guys, out of the two I posted above from Mighty Ape I am looking at http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/TP-Link-300Mbps-Wireless-N-ADSL2-Modem-Router-with-Detachable-Antennas/21016596/ rather than The other one. It has a higher antenna gain 2x3 dBi vs 1x5dBi on the other one (Although I don't understand this, does that mean the signal can stretch further?) Its also 300Mbps rather than 150Mbps.

I only want something that I can just plug in, set up and away I go, not bothered about putting in firmware or tinkering with it.

Hope I used these BBcodes correctly..

Edit: ok I didn't, this is the other one, as posted above http://www.mightyape.co.nz/product/TP-Link-150Mbps-Wireless-N-ADSL2-Modem-Router/21011108/

richms

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#819964 15-May-2013 12:13

2 antennas is for the 2 streams to get 300 megs. Real world not a lot comes from this over a 150 meg one thruput wise but consistancy of signal seems vastly better on the 300 meg gear.

Richard rich.ms

Finch

2847 posts

Uber Geek

#819971 15-May-2013 12:19

richms: 2 antennas is for the 2 streams to get 300 megs. Real world not a lot comes from this over a 150 meg one thruput wise but consistancy of signal seems vastly better on the 300 meg gear.

Cheers mate :)

lokhor

2858 posts

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#820448 16-May-2013 08:49

I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a TPLink WD8960N (one of the older, uglier ones) and find that the Wifi signal doesn't quite reach my lounge down the other end of the house, is it possible to replace the antennas with stronger ones?

All comments are my own opinion, and not that of my employer unless explicitly stated.

chevrolux

4962 posts

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Inactive user

#820457 16-May-2013 09:17

lokhor: I don't want to hijack the thread but I have a TPLink WD8960N (one of the older, uglier ones) and find that the Wifi signal doesn't quite reach my lounge down the other end of the house, is it possible to replace the antennas with stronger ones?

What is between the lounge and other end of the house? You could put higher and higher gain antenna forever in a day. But it might not make a scrap of difference. Better to look at a cheap AP.