Optimum Online is offering faster speed to compete with FIOS. They were offering up to 15MB download and 2MB upload. For the last few years I have been a stable 10MB download and 1MB upload. I wanted more speed, lets face it who doesn’t? Below are the results I got and you can see that upgrading all your hardware is not necessary to achieve optimal speeds.
Equipment
Original with 10MB WAN Ports
- Motorla SB4100 Modem (with firmware update for more bandwidth)
- Linksys WRT54G
- Motorla SBv5120
- Linksys WRT54GX SRX
Speed Tests
Speed tests were performed 3 times at each interval http://www.speakeasy.net/ using the NY server for all images, but tested to DC and GA just for comparison.
Results
After calling Cablevision and having a tech give me a slight run around I get home and run a speed test. All of a sudden my bandwidth which has been exactly the same for over 3 years is a little faster.
03/10/06 8:00pm Motorola SB4100 and Linksys WRT54G
03/11/06 11:08am Motorola SB4100 and Linksys WRT54G
Keeping the Motorla SB4100 I switched over to the Linksys WRT54GX “SRX” wireless router with a 10/100 WAN port. This gave me some increased speed, but the results are odd (when compaired to my final results). So don’t run out and buy one just yet…
03/11/06 11:31am Motorola SB4100 and Linksys WRT54GX “SRX”
03/11/06 11:40am Motorola SB4100 and Linksys WRT54GX “SRX”
So at this point I hopped in my car and went to my local Cablevision walk up center, which can be found on their website. I walked in with my old SB4100 I purchased on eBay and a cable bill. I was allowed to keep my SB4100 modem after telling them I purchased from an online vendor and returned my craptacular “sharkfin” modem. After 5 minutes I was on my way home with my new Motorla SBv5120. Then next results will be with the New SBv5120 and the New WRT54GX “SRX”. Both devices now have a 10/100 WAN port.
Note:
You will see a 3MB jump in the download speed, but not much improvement on the Upload. Something you cannot see from the images that I feel is important to mention. The time it takes the needle to jump from 0 – max took about 2 seconds with the Motorola SB4100 and about 3 seconds to reach 10MB, with the new modem it instantly maxed out and took less than 1 second to reach 13MB.
03/11/06 12:48pm Motorola SBv5120 and Linksys WRT54GX “SRX”
Now this is where you would think I stopped… But I had one last thing to check, why should I go out and buy a new wireless router when I have one that’s implemented and working great. One reason is that the WAN port is 10MB and would probably bee a bottleneck, but after you see the next image you will see that it’s not… WTF?
03/11/06 12:48pm New Motorola SBv5120 and Old Linksys WRT54G
Conclusion
First thing I have to say is your speeds may vary due to:
- How many people are on your node
- The quality of your service
- Type of coax cable and connectors you are using
- How many splitters are inline before the modem
As well as a few other variables… As you can see after a simple FREE upgrade I am getting almost exactly what they are promising me (15MB download and 2MB upload) I am keeping my old WRT54G router for now because I saw no increased performance in bandwidth or with my wireless signal. I understand I need to have the wireless cards for my PCs to enjoy the full potential of the SRX, but at this time it’s not worth the cash.
