Need advice on new router or new router/modem for upgrade. Hopefully to be used for future drops through house.

JuicyMullet · August 18, 2022

Hey everyone,

I'm paying for a 300 Mbps service through Spectrum, but my router/modem is only capable of outputting 200 Mbps. In the future, I would like to get ethernet port drops though my house, so I want to make sure I buy the right equipment so (somewhat) futureproof it (I know futureproofing isn't a thing in tech, I just want what I buy to be able to last for a long time).

We have a standard Netgear C3700 router/modem that I purchased like 7 years ago, and it's been fantastic, but we use a Google Wi-Fi mesh router system attached to it for our main connection that's also been fantastic. It's not capable of Wi-Fi 6, but I've heard the newer model will be.

So my question is, if I want to potentially get ethernet ports installed though the house in the future, but need to upgrade now to get the speed that I'm paying for, what would everyone recommend? Do I just get a modem and plug the Google router into it, leaving no ports available, or do I buy a router/modem combo that leaves ports open for a tech to install multiple patch cables? Would the tech use a switch to connect the modem and router to?

Sorry. I only have a rough understanding of how home networking is set up besides what I have.

Donut417 · August 18, 2022

6 hours ago, JuicyMullet said:

Do I just get a modem and plug the Google router into it, leaving no ports available,

You can easily add ports via a network switch. The Google router should have two Ethernet ports, one for WAN (Internet) and the other for LAN which would connect to the switch. Im not sure how fast of internet the Google routers support. Generally most routers are going to be restrained by the SOC they use, for example my Synology RT2600 AC is rated for like 850 ish Mbps internet. Some router manufactures post these numbers and some dont.

6 hours ago, JuicyMullet said:

what would everyone recommend?

If you want to be future proof then you need to look in to a Docsis 3.1 modem. If you want to be extra Future proof, you look in to one with a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port so you can do faster than Gigabit, if they offer that. The industry is moving to Docsis 4.0, but who knows when that will be out.

I cant give direct recommendations because from what I heard Charter is not good at supporting customer owned modems, so you would need to do digging to figure what what ones work best on their network.

JuicyMullet · August 19, 2022

17 hours ago, Donut417 said:

You can easily add ports via a network switch. The Google router should have two Ethernet ports, one for WAN (Internet) and the other for LAN which would connect to the switch. Im not sure how fast of internet the Google routers support. Generally most routers are going to be restrained by the SOC they use, for example my Synology RT2600 AC is rated for like 850 ish Mbps internet. Some router manufactures post these numbers and some dont.

If you want to be future proof then you need to look in to a Docsis 3.1 modem. If you want to be extra Future proof, you look in to one with a 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port so you can do faster than Gigabit, if they offer that. The industry is moving to Docsis 4.0, but who knows when that will be out.

I cant give direct recommendations because from what I heard Charter is not good at supporting customer owned modems, so you would need to do digging to figure what what ones work best on their network.

This is EXACTLY the type of response I was looking for.

Thank you so much.