Which ADSL modem?

robertgilbert86 · 20 Nov 2006 at 16:17

Hi guys, my house has recently joined Virgin Internet and we had to buy an ADSL wired modem. We bought a "well known e-tailer" extra value modem and it's utterly crap. Torrents are slow, downloads never go over 400kb/s, and online games are virtually unplayable unless you want to play at 8.00am. In Steam evening pings are 200-300.

We have always had the fastest option for Virgin Internet (8MB) and our line has been tested and they say it should run that fast. But when testing our speed we get 400KB/s download and 30KB/s upload

Our set-up is; phone-outlet> micro filter> modem> 24 port switch> 6 computers and an Xbox.
The other ports just goto spare outlets in the rooms.

After having done some research on our modem we have found it has a bad reputation for torrenting and intensive tasks as it only has 8MB RAM (not the usual 16MB).

So what I'm asking for is a good quality wired ADSL (ADSL2 maybe too) which can handle 6 computers each with browsing/torrents/downloads/online gaming going on.
I had a quick look on OcUK for modems but choice is a bit limited , so please post a manufacturer and a model.

Any advice or suggestions will be greatly received, thanks!

robertgilbert86 · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:40

Or, does anyone like their ADSL modem?

oddjob62 · 20 Nov 2006 at 20:59

robertgilbert86 said:
Our set-up is; phone-outlet> micro filter> modem> 24 port switch> 6 computers and an Xbox.

I had a quick look on OcUK for modems but choice is a bit limited

Reason why you're having problems finding something suitable is that you want an ADSL ROUTER not a modem. Routers share internet connection between multiple computers.

robertgilbert86 · 21 Nov 2006 at 09:41

oddjob62 said:
Reason why you're having problems finding something suitable is that you want an ADSL ROUTER not a modem. Routers share internet connection between multiple computers.

Well we need a modem with at least one network cable going out

errata · 21 Nov 2006 at 17:50

Your router does not need a filter only your phone.

Try direct connection of modem only to the socket behind the BT master socket lower faceplate which is normally the cleanest most direct connection to the outside world.

You cant know until you try another adsl modem and or ISP if you really have a hardware issue, are just unlucky or suffering from ISP related traffic issues.
400k downlaod aint that bad.

Many routers have even less than 8mb of ram, its not the most important factor. Theres a lot of spec me a router threads, normally come back with netgear 824 series and a few others such as speedtouch, have a look.

You do need a router not a modem.

oddjob62 · 21 Nov 2006 at 19:50

robertgilbert86 said:
Well we need a modem with at least one network cable going out

That will only allow you to connect one device. I assume then that you have an ethernet router or are planning on using ICS or something similar