Hi there! I'm in the market for a new ADSL1/2+ modem, and as there are so many on the market I was hoping to get some help from some people who seem to know what they're talking about.

I'll just quickly explain the network, its a simple household network, 3 laptops which connect either through ethernet or wireless through an airport base station depending on where they are in the house, there is a main 16 port switch, and two servers. One server is a web and file server, where the other one is a torrent (100% legal of course) and file server.

I have an 8mbps ADSL connection and when there is a load of simultaneous connections (torrents as an example) the modem starts to act up, and after a while crashing and not accepting external remote connections even though the ports are forwarded properly. Some of you may tell me the downloading and uploading is using up too high of a ratio of my bandwidth. Not so. On an 8mbps connection I am usually downloading at 50kb/s and uploading at 15kb/s normally, i don't know if this is because of the modem, but I am assuming its both the modem and the swarm speed.

Also, outgoing packets start to go missing and CRC errors appear. This then leads to problems such as temporary disconnection from IM clients which then need to reconnect back, and the need to sometimes click on a link twice before the server responds with the data.

Therefore I need a modem that will be able to cope with a high level of traffic as well as a large number of simultaneous connections. I have an Airport Base Station, so all it has to be is an Ethernet ADSL modem/router.

I have heard good stuff about Cisco modems, but at several hundreds of dollars I cannot justify the spending. Ideally I am looking at spending under $70, but depending on the features I might stretch that.

Anyways, what would you recommend for me and why? And lastly, as always, thanks in advance for the help!

I'll wait for the recommendations to start pouring in, but the Netgear DG834(G) has been rock solid for me.

The DG834 doesn't have wireless, the DG834G does.

if you're after quality, why not try a Linksys? They are, after all, a division of Cisco. No idea which model to recommend from them, though, as the very-hackable WRT-54GL isn't a modem.

i have this one (AM 300) and its quite solid. Biggest gripe is that they ditched the stacking case concept (ala WRT-54GL) so if you dont have a lot of desk space, and like me you have several devices, you cant stack them.

other than that, its a solid device. Just be mindful that linksys gear have bulky transformers that dont always slot into power boards nicely.

W2ttsy

My advice, steer clear of cheapish or DLink..

UNLESS its openWRT compatible.

Everything else should work as expected.

Yeah, i dont mind with the desk space, nor the transformers, I have a dedicated space for server and networking gear so it will definately be able to slot in somewhere

I was actually just looking at some LInksys ones since they're made by Cisco. I'll wait for some other comments to come through.

Thanks for the info, and other people, what are your opinions of this modem or other Linksys ones?

**Edit** Adding the following:

I've been having a look at the Linksys page, and the AG300, which is very similar, seems like a better option for me. I don't need the USB port on the AM300 one you mentioned, and the AG300 seems to have some extra firewall and advanced options, etc. From what I have read on the website and the documents on the Linksys page the AG300 seems the better option for a network of multiple computers. Could someone correct me if I'm wrong...

I think I will go ahead and purchase the Linksys AG400 unless anyone has any other suggestions for me?

only reason i went for the AM300 was due to the fact it was being connected to a multiport/wireless router and i needed just a modem. There was no need for heaps of config options or for extra ports.

W2ttsy

Billion have some great gear - I run a 7404 which supports DSL2+ has two SIP ports for voip and also has a wireless AP built in. I think it's great - certainly suits all my needs.

Avoid anything DLink make. Utterly useless rubbish that neeeds to be powercycled incessantly if you actually make it work hard.

If you're more than 3km from the exchange or have a less than average copper pair, avoid Billions as they have real problem holding a connection unless the line quality is virtually perfect. I second the vote on the Netgear DG834 series for reliability and excellent connection uptimes, the only thing you need to watch out for is overloading it with concurrent connections.

Your problem with onnection stability (usually caused by BitTorrent opening too many connections) will crop up with virtually any modem-router combo you can buy, even expensive ones running the aftermarket Tomato firmware -- their internal CPUs and RAM often start to flake out once you go over 128 or 256 concurrent connections. The easiest fix for this is to go into your BT client and set the total maximum number of connections to 160, and if you still experience problems, drop it to 80. And no, you won't notice any real increase in the time it takes for you to torrent something, but your modem's stability will increase dramatically.

Do the more recent models of Billions have this issue? I'm running a 7402NX and it's been solid, though I am pretty close to the exchange. As for concurrent connections, the 7402/4 was supposed to support 1500 concurrent connections, the 7402NX 3000. (I'm not sure of the legitimacy of these numbers, but they're from the Billion rep on Whirlpool. I also have no problems running hundred of torrents)

The 73xx and 74xx Billions still have issues with line quality, but they now sport one of the most powerful CPUs (and the most RAM) of any consumer-grade modem/router.

It's not the number of torrents that is the issue, it is the cumulative effect of the number of connections each torrent makes -- the higher the number of seeds/leechers, the more connections held open or half-open, each one requiring an entry in the NAT table of your router.

Well, I live 1.6KM from the exchange, and I will be sure to look into the concurrent connection problem [I just have and its set at 250... Quite a bit I'm guessing - the thing is the modem still needs restarting otherwise i can't remote access the internals after a few days]

I'll buy the Linksys AG300 and see how it goes. I know it has a very large Cache and RAM size in comparison to other modems (did my research after the non-router model was recommended) and so I think that should help with these problems I'm guessing.

I thought I'd come back and report on my results.

Just got the modem now and my constant refreshes and IM disconnections have disappeared! AWESOME!

Now I just have to wait and see how it performs in this networks on-peak period with the torrents. Kind of ironic seeing as its the ISP's off-peak period

Thanks to all who contributed!