[shoestring25]

just finished putting in a wired network in the house and connected it up to my wired DG834v2 netgear router getting 3meg. but used to have one of those speedtouch usb modems was getting 4.5meg out of that.

why the loss in speed? is it because its quite an old router? or because the Ethernet cable is 13m long rather than next to the PC like the modem was?

firmware is updated and nothing else on the network is running at the moment any advice?

[sickofusernames]

I had a similar issue when I bought a newer Dlink 2640 a few months back and ended up taking it back as I lost over half a meg on the sync speed, whereas my old Speedtouch 330 modem syncs faster than any other router i've used and currently got (Netgear DG834).

I heard it's something to do with which chip/bios type the ISP supports, if that is the case then i'd like to know how to find out?

[shoestring25]

i do infact have a speed touch router might hook that up and give that a try tommorrow see if there is any change in the speeds

[sickofusernames]

Sorry, didn't realise which router I had when I wrote my initial reply, I must admit that even on my DG834(V5) my sync speed is slightly lower but then my upload speed has almost doubled.

I didn't realise speeds could change so much as I always thought the sync speeds were down to how good your line was

[shoestring25]

ok no worries im going to try my speed touch one tonight and see if that chages anything if not i will stick with the net gear as its so easy to set up.

will update as to the results

[t72bogie]

you just need to go to the netgear site, download the latest firmware and upgrade the router

adsl motem chipesets and their drivers, along with the DSLAM line card modem drivers (the other end) change on a near monthly basis

manufacturers upgrade their products every few months usually

get a mismatch and performance can suffer

its just pot luck that an older modem works better with a particular combo than a router - upgrade the router, let it re-synch and im sure it will be even better

[shoestring25]

already updated the firmware that improved the performance to the 3 meg I'm getting now.

tried my speed touch router got 4.5 meg straight off speed test confirmed this so 1.5 meg more than the netgear just from using a different router.

cant make up my mind now which one o use as yes the speed touch is faster but the net gear is so much easier to setup and use

[Spligsey]

Does the network card settings/properties look OK on your PC?

[mattclarkie]

In theory the best way to ensure top speed is to use the official router/modem that your ISP provides, in theory.


Personally I have never had issues getting top speed out of my Netgears, sounds like the DG834Gv5 has potential issues.

[t72bogie]

yeah most of the big ISPs will have extensively tested whatever they provide, as believe it or not, they dont want to spend millions of pounds on helpdesk calls each year

BT have their own stuff built, other manufacturers have to pay a few grand to testin BT labs, which a small number still do, just to ensure things actually work ok.

Other ISPs will have a "supported list" of modems/routers i.e. their staff have tested them and said they are "ok"

buying a cheap modem router and wacking it on your ISPs network is just pot luck ...Netgear have a very good rep, the DG834G being (i think) the biggest selling individual modem router in the world (thats not given away) i.e. the one that most people choose to buy - probably over 5 million in use in the UK alone (another reason why you see 'more' people with issues ..because theres not 100K units out there in the UK...theres 5 million)

I havnt played with the v5 of it, im guessing it has the latest Broadcom chipset.

Thats another thing, theres only 3 decent chipset vendors IMO - the big boys are Broadcom,Texas Instruments and Conexant all of which have deployments in the hundreds of millions worldwide at both ends of the copper loop.

All the manufacturers are dependant on these guys testing their new chips/drivers with the others...can you imagine how many DSLAMs, line cards and software versions there are deployed around the world...countless.

So basically you are reliant on how much lab time, at the chipset vendor, manufacturer, public beta, and service provider stages have been undertaken...get some rushed out code to fix "issue a in country b" and it can mess up "country b" performance etc etc and so it goes on

to summarise, when you get some good performing firmware for your product, on your line/ISP ...stick with it, unless you have a problem that specifically is fixed by some new stuff ...if it aint broke dont fix it !

[mattclarkie]

The DG834Gv2 is a fine modem/router/wireless access point and I still believe the best all-in-one product I have used.

I have heard good things about the v3 and v4, so lets hope that the v5 doesn't have a chipset that ruins it's otherwise flawless reputation.

We would hope that Netgear would have tested the DG834G revisions extensively as it is essentially the flagship product in terms of sales and acclaim, and let's hope that the v5 isn't the fault in this situation, or that it is a combination of factors that only very few will encounter.


I love the DG834GvX