Will a cheap router and cable modem make my internet slow?

Question

The internet has been so slow, it times out when I try to load pages sometimes and I have cable internet(3MB service). The modem is the one from the cable company and the router is a cheap one from 2005. All of my cables are high quality as is the signal from the cable company. Both my laptop and desktop are blazing fast, so its not spyware and the sort. I do have 4 torrents downloading (legal stuff of course!). I know the torrents slow it down, but seriously, total bandwith being used might be 150 kB/s. Come on, that should not be an issue when its 100MB/s LAN and 10MB/s for WAN. Is it worth it to get a really nice router(gaming one) and cable modem?

Just a note, I want to put in fiber optics in the next couple years in the house and get fiber to the home if I can :) Does fiber inside make much of a difference, it's not like I am running lines terribly far though.

Answer 1

Fiber? In your house? WOW, you must be flushed!! Fiber optic cable is no where near cost effective for a home.

Your modem should be at least a docsis 2.0 or better. And your router is definately out of date.

I run a cable gateway, a Netgear modem and router combined, about $119.95, my internet speed is 9-12MB, and I constantly get at least 12.