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30mb Broadband

mobilymobily Posts: 261
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in Virgin Media Broadband #1
Hi all

I'm getting 30mb broadband which is an increase from the 20mb I currently have. This will mean I will get the superhub. I an aiming to keep my router and use the superhub as just the modem.

My router is 54mbps, is this sufficient to support a 30mb connection?

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    fenlanderfenlander Posts: 2,199
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    #2
    Not quite. If it's working optimally, you should get up to 24-25mbps wirelessly.
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #3
    Ah, I thought 54mbps would give me 6.75MBytes per sec with a 30mb connection giving me a max of 3.75MBytes per second meaning it would be sufficient!
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    BenMcr77BenMcr77 Posts: 6,573
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    #4
    mobily wrote: »
    Ah, I thought 54mbps would give me 6.75MBytes per sec with a 30mb connection giving me a max of 3.75MBytes per second meaning it would be sufficient!
    Except it's rare you'll ever actually get 54Mbps via Wireless-G, as signal degradation means the throughput is less
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    GibmanGibman Posts: 621
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    #5
    I have no problem getting full speed from my 30MB...it was when I briefly tried 60MB that my router struggled with it - think i got around 45MB (wirelessly anyway - as expected there was no problem via ethernet)
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    steven123steven123 Posts: 3,245
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    #6
    BenMcr77 wrote: »
    Except it's rare you'll ever actually get 54Mbps via Wireless-G, as signal degradation means the throughput is less

    Agreed, the best I have had on a Wireless G USB stick or PCI card is 20mbps. Except for tablets and phones, I use Ethernet wherever possible i.e. in the same room as router and powerline adapters in other rooms as I could never get consistently good results with WiFi.
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #7
    I take it you guys would recommend using the superhub to get the best speed? What would be the best speed I could get wirelessly do you think? At the moment I can get about 2.1mbytes per second download on my 20mb connection.
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    fenlanderfenlander Posts: 2,199
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    #8
    At 30mbps you should get about 3.7MB/sec. You should also be aware that the superhub is not a great bit of kit and many users prefer to use it in 'modem mode', i.e. in conjunction with their own separate router. A new version of the superhub is currently in user-testing and has received excellent reports from testers. You might do well to wait until this new hub is available as once you have the old version, it may not be easy to get it changed for a new one.
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #9
    I would use the hub as just the modem but my router at 54mbps might not cope with the increased speed.
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    fenlanderfenlander Posts: 2,199
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    #10
    Your router will work with the hub but will not deliver the full speed of which the hub is capable.

    Because of its weaknesses, VM currently advise using the SH at 145mbps, rather than the 300mbps of which it is theoretically capable. You may also find that modern routers working in the 2.4GHz band automatically limit their speed to 145mbps in congested areas. This is to reduce interference with other people's systems, given that at 300mpbs a router uses 2 channels instead of 1.
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #11
    When the chap from VM comes does he install the hub and put it in 145mbps mode? Also do they bring a CD to set it all up or do they just give you the password and away you go?
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #12
    Been doing some reading on the topic this morning and I may just get the installer to setup the hub in modem mode and then maybe put it into wireless in the future if I ever upgrade my internet to 60mb. Reason being I am getting 18-19mb on wirless with my current 20mb connection and I have heard using the hub from wifi can cause allsorts of issues!

    Is it easy to transfer the hub from modem mode to wifi mode if I ever needed to?
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    fenlanderfenlander Posts: 2,199
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    #13
    mobily wrote: »
    Is it easy to transfer the hub from modem mode to wifi mode if I ever needed to?

    Yes, it's just an option in the setup page. See here.
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    big brother 9big brother 9 Posts: 18,153
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    #14
    do you need a pc to set up broadband
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    bobcarbobcar Posts: 19,424
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    #15
    big brother 9 wrote: »
    do you need a pc to set up broadband

    It depends what you want to do with it but if you have a simple system that just uses DHCP then usually not.
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #16
    I'm getting a little confused. My laptop only has a G wireless card built in therefore I can't take advantage of higher than 54mbps speeds and I understand that the superhub will revert to the lowest connection i.e. if the laptop is connected it will only transmit at 54mps maximum.
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    BenMcr77BenMcr77 Posts: 6,573
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    #17
    mobily wrote: »
    I'm getting a little confused. My laptop only has a G wireless card built in therefore I can't take advantage of higher than 54mbps speeds and I understand that the superhub will revert to the lowest connection i.e. if the laptop is connected it will only transmit at 54mps maximum.
    Not sure what you mean by 'revert' - if the connected device is Wireless G then that is what you'll get, because that is what the device supports

    However, a Wireless N device would connect at faster speeds
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #18
    I didn't explain myself very well!

    If I have the superhub acting as modem and router and my laptop which has a G wireless card, will the laptop receive 30mb broadband or will the wireless card be restricted to 24/25mb in optimal conditions? At the same time if I have a laptop with an N wireless card will that receive 30mb?

    Thanks!
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    BenMcr77BenMcr77 Posts: 6,573
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    #19
    mobily wrote: »
    or will the wireless card be restricted to 24/25mb in optimal conditions?
    It's most likely this one
    At the same time if I have a laptop with an N wireless card will that receive 30mb?
    Yes
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    mobilymobily Posts: 261
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    #20
    Thanks

    I had read somewhere that your connection will only work as fast as your slowest connection i.e. 54mbps laptop. Sounds like that isn't the case.
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    rhodrhod Posts: 3,995
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    #21
    I was recently upgraded from 20Mb to 60Mb.

    Still using my old router and new superhub in modem mode, as the superhub would not play ball with my network storage.

    I've found that the wired connection to my media pc is maxing out at around 60Mb, but the wireless laptop can only get about 25Mb. I believe it contains some sort of N(lite) adaptor.

    I could take the laptop apart and fit an upgraded wireless card, but I'll be doing most of my heavy downloading to the media pc, so it's not really worth it.

    Overall, very happy with the upgrade (especially as my monthly fee dropped from £40 to £17.50 when I threatened to go ADSL) :)
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