This may be an odd question to ask and the wrong place to ask it. But, I have a 10 year old router that I want to replace. I have an Xfinity modem, so its fairly powerful.
Is there a router someone can recommend for gaming and at an affordable price? Also any advice before hooking it up to my modem would be appreciated!
If youâre already renting the Comcast modem, you should just use that. Might as well make sure you have the newest rental model as well(at least a XB6 model). Theyâre fine enough for most people. The current Comcast gateways are probably better than whatever you have been using.
Also, Comcast gateways will interfere with your 2nd router anyway, unless you literally mean you only have a modem(and no gateway), in which case, youâll probably be required to swap it out for a gateway soon(soon as in the next couple years).
If you really want to buy your own router, Iâd suggest buying a modem as well. If you have home phone through Comcast, or if you have wireless X1 TV STBs, or home security(through Comcast), then please mention if so. Also your speed tier.
I donât think itâs a very good time to be buying routers right now, if you plan to use it for many years, as networking products havenât fully made the switch to wireless-ax(Wi-Fi 6) yet. The standard already got moved to Wi-Fi 6E, when ax products JUST started coming to market in more availability. Many Wi-Fi 6 products arenât even fully adding all features of the spec yet, so thereâs a lot of missing pieces at the moment, leading to a number of products not being complete.
Sorry I donât understand, I am fairly tech illiterate.
âIf youâre already renting the Comcast modem, you should just use that. Might as well make sure you have the newest rental model as well(at least a XB6 model). Theyâre fine enough for most people. The current Comcast gateways are probably better than whatever you have been using.â
Ya were renting one, but are you implying I donât need a router? That the comcast gateway modems act as both?!?
Hi, sorry to confuse. Do you know what your current modem looks like? They havenât really been handing out modem only units for a long time now, most include routers/wifi. If you have an old unit without Wi-Fi, you can head down to your local Comcast office if close(or reach out to support if you canât go down or your local office is stubborn), and ask for a XB6 gateway in exchange. Thereâs a newer XB7, but itâs not really readily available.
Can you write back with the model number of the modem device you have? It should be located on the bottom somewhere. Itâs possible you may only have a modem only device, but thatâs pretty rare in Comcast world at this point. If you do, you might as well get the upgrade if youâve been paying the rental fee all this time.
Model number examples -
TM722G, TM822G, TG862G, TC8305C, DPC3939(XB3), DPC3941T(XB3), TG1682G(XB3), CGM4140COM(XB6), TG3482G(XB6)
If you have something that says XB3 or XB6, thatâs not the model number just for reference. Only the first two from that list above are modems only(and fairly old at this point).
Sorry if I wrote a bit too much lol.
No, I appreciate the help. TC8305c
I had this thing for about 9 years, but if what you say is true, I donât understand why comcast came and hooked their modem up to a router.
Yes, that model has a router/Wi-Fi. The network name and password(labeled Network Key) should be located on the bottom of that device.
However, thatâs an older model and such, without dual-band Wi-Fi, etc. You should reach out to support and see if they can send you a XB6 or check your local Comcast stores. Support may send you one of the XB3 models. Note that they may charge you a shipping fee.
You can always try it out and see how it works, if youâre not happy, you can just end up buying your own modem/router.
Usually the default network names on the TC8305C start with HOME-XXXX(x= letters and numbers), unless changed.
They probably hooked it up to your router because they didnât want to mess with your setup, but kind of silly they never mentioned it to you :). I know some of the later models/model revisions before the XB6 version specifically came with a giant sticker that says it has Wi-Fi for a while lol, and with the information for the Wi-Fi on the side, but yours probably isnât one of those considering the age.
Iâm surprised they havenât sent you a letter or email to upgrade yet. They have basically rid most of those units from existence at this point from what I could tell.
It has probably been interfering with your router all these years lol.
My take:
Dont use Comcastâs hardware for anything if you can avoid it.
For Internet, get your own modem, and your own router.
You will get better service and reliability from both in my experience, and they will pay for themselves in less than a year. (because you will not be spending 12-25$ a month renting from Comcast)
Netgear makes a number of Modems you can get for ~100-150$ which are DOCSYS 3.1+ certified and work on Comcastâs network, and then you can get your choice of aftermarket router.
Ive preferred Netgear of late, but there are plenty of other decent routers out there. My personal network is set up on a Nighthawk AX4, and covers my entire house and well out into my yard (on 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz doesnât do great penetrating walls). I can reliably stream 1080p video at my sonâs bus stop ~40ft from my property and probably ~70ft from my actual router.
Ive had SOME issues with the AX4 (its a brand new router series with brand new firmware, so there have been some growing pains) but you can avoid that if you go with the older Nighthawk X6 or X8 routers, which are still perfectly good and have robust and mature firmware.
TP-Link also has some great gaming routers, from what i hear, though i have no personal experience with them.
A D3.1 modem(your suggested CM1000 of $145($190 if OP has home phone) + an equivalent in spec router compared to the XB6(~$150+) will definitely not pay for themselves in less than a year. The rental fee is roughly $14, and in some markets you can get unlimited data for a minimal additional fee if renting. Some people have rented just for the unlimited data option(in those markets). It would definitely pay for itself in a couple years however, but the unlimited data thing is something to keep in mind(if OP is in a data capped market with the upgrade option, only available to rentals at the discount).
It doesnât hurt for the OP to try to get the newer model, heâs not losing much. If it doesnât work out, then I suppose he should look into the purchased modem/router option .
I had the XB6 myself for a short time, and it had pretty great wireless range for its size. 
The AX4 is interesting, but I find AX products to be a bad buy at the moment, because most of the features arenât fully baked yet. There are things not fully implemented on these routers. Iâm trying to remember what it was, but it may have been MU-MIMO. I think some routers only have it being used on the downstream, and not upstream, while some do, and itâs hard to get that information. I think ax router purchasing should be on hold for a few months. The networking market basically ships a bunch of untested products lately(past few years), which doesnât help.
If OP ultimately decides to purchase, I think it may be a good idea to wait a few months.
P.S. Iâm not trying to hate on your D3.1 + AX4 suggestions, because if I had to buy today, they are close to what I would buy, but I think itâs a good idea to wait.
If youâre after Unlimited Data, your far better off simply getting a Business Class account.
They charge 50$ to add Unlimited Data on residential lines everywhere that im aware of.
Weâve all seen your innumerable posts about how great Comcast is, for whatever reason.
Weâre not ever going to agree. Ever. There is a reason they consistently earn awards as the worst company of their type, and often, period, in the entire country. Their service is crap, their hardware is crap, their costs are through the roof, and they often collude with their âcompetitionâ to make sure there are no other options in any given area - if they dont simply bribe the local township for a monopoly (in States where that is Legal).
Go shill somewhere else.
Iâm not sure where I said how great Comcast is. Iâm just advising facts about the pricing and features. I donât understand how every time I try to help someone here with Comcast, you somehow decide that Iâm a shill, just because I know things as well.
I never said Comcast is great or anything, I just said the range is pretty good for a device that size. I was actually pretty surprised how strong the signal is considering itâs actually a super small gateway(itâs a lot smaller in person than it seems in the photos).
While I havenât posted about how great Comcast is, you once again are going on a rant about how bad it is. I donât know what else to say.
The $50 charge is the base charge for markets without the xFi Advantage unlimited data. If youâre renting, and add xFi Advantage, unlimited data only costs something like $11 more. Some people rent the device specifically for this reason.
Simple, you posted something positive about your experience with comcast 
if you disagree with some of the people here, youâre branded as a shill period
if you bundle up for gig internet and the unlimited, the price overall becomes close to $115
Source: myself
my detailed bill is Performance Plus $39.99 (but a $29.96 discount so originally about $70)
then I added Xfi Advantage W/unlimtd (which is what darknesself is talking about, so youâre wrong once more ) for $25
and then because a bundle, $50 is Speed Increase Gigabit Internet (because you know, I have streaming services I use regularly)
overall price: bill says $114.99 plus taxes
so no Kagthul, youâre wrong, theres a better way to pay than buying the $50 unlimited data, you have to ask the right questions
darknesself is right, if you rent their equipment, its cheaper at the end vs your so called way
Purchasing modems was the best idea in the early 2000âs but renting the company owned modems is now a better idea.
Why? Because technology is moving too fast to depend on a modem for more than two years. Comcast keeps their modems up to date under regulations and you can have it swapped anytime whether itâs old or it breaks. Also the new models are pretty damn good now and you donât have to drop hundreds for a competent modem/router
Take my word for it. Iâm a technician for Xfinity. I used to buy my own modems too but not anymore.
But as a technician and a gamer my #1 rule is to always have your computer hardlined if you are a serious gamer. Wifi works wonders but if you truly want to remove most your issues, hard-line is the ultimate answer.
OP I dont think you need to spend $150 on a router for âgamingâ unless in fact you are planning on connecting a ton of devices to it and live in a very large house. I purchased a TP Link router off amazon for about $60 almost a year ago and have yet to have an issue (knock on wood). Never had to restart it etc- works perfectly. I am sure something within the price range will be an upgrade to your 10 year old router.