Customer Reviews

Motorola SB5120 Surfboard Cable Modem Docsis 1.1 and 2.0 Certified USB

5 star:		(186)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

Recently I started looking for a modem to replace my aging Motorola SB4100. Based on the good reviews, I decided to buy the Motorola SB5120. Unfortunately, I found the SB5120 extremely hard to find (Amazon did not have it in stock at the time). The SB5101 however was in stock everywhere for about $50. Out of frustration, I contacted Motorola to ask about availability and the significant differences between the 5120 and the 5101. The Motorola technician that I talked to told me that the reason the 5120 is scarce is that it is no longer manufactured. He also explained that the difference between the two modems is the internal chipset. The 5120 is a TI and the 5101 is a Broadcom. He also said that there is no difference in performance; both are capable of 38 Mbps downstream and 30 Mbps upstream (limited by the cable company's tiers and number of users on the net).

Finally, I asked him which he preferred (since I could still track down a 5120 if I was willing to pay enough...). He stated unequivocally that he preferred the SB5101 and the Broadcom chipset. He also stated that the speed on the modems is artificially capped by the cable companies so that they can sell tiers of service. This modem, he said, has a lot of available overhead so as the broadband companies compete and raise their level of service, this modem can handle it. Finally, he told me that there is a new DOCSIS standard (3.0) recently approved; the 5101 modem is upgradeable to DOCSIS 3.0 should the cable company choose to do so.

That said, I followed his recommendation and bought a 5101.

My old RCA modem for my [...] service turned flakey so I called Comcast to come out and see what was wrong. They replaced the modem with some no-name cheapie and I saw my download rate drop from 4 MBps to 1.2 MBps ! Yikes! I called their techs again and asked what happened. Their response: "The ping looks great, you can't trust those speed test websites (dslreports in this case) and modems don't make any difference in speed". Yeah, right. I immediately bought this Surfboard modem, replaced the no-name one, called Comcast to enable the MAC address and what was 1.2 MPs download immediately prior to the modem switch-out was now happily above 4 MBps and a totally solid connection! The cable modem makes a huge difference and this is a great one!

Used the SB5120 to replace Linksys BEFCMU10 (Version 3.0). The SB5120 performs better and is much more stable.

I had performance and reliability problems using VOIP service over my Linksys cable modem. Under load the Linksys cable modem has high latency and performs poorly. The Linksys cable modem required a reset a few times a week. (Note: no problems with my Linksys VOIP router.)

With the SB5120 my VOIP connection sounds better and is more stable (no cable modem resets required). My overall latency is lower and WEB pages load much faster.

Packet forwarding performance is much better with the SB5120.

I echo the sentiments of several of the reviewers about slow degradation of modems over time resulting in flaky function with intermittent loss of service, and subpar download speeds. I also share the experience with tech support at Comcast that was clueless about this possibility, never suggesting it, doing a lot of meaningless tests with reassurances, making me go through a lot of purposeless handstands as they tried to troubleshoot the difficulty.

Exasperated, to experiment on my own, I replaced my 5 year old RCA modem with this Motorola, basically to save the tech fee for a housecall if it was simply the modem, and it most certainly was that. So the savings in the tech fee paid for the modem!! (...) Although my download speed never exceeded 3.5 Mb/s with the old modem, I was supposed to be getting 5+ Mb/s. With this Motorola modem I am getting about 9.2 Mb/s!! The surfing efficiency is very noticeably improved, and I should have tried this months ago.

The installation is trivial, and once the ISP configures the modem, you're up and running. If you are using a router in a network, you may have to reconfigure your router with the new setup. My Linksys router would not function even though I reset it, until I went through the steps to completely reconfigure it which only took a couple of minutes.

This modem also has a handy standby switch which effectively breaks the connection of the modem to the network computers as an added security feature when you are not using the internet. It does have a very narrow profile with a shallow footed base, so with cords attached, it is a little metastable on a desktop. It is best to place it against a more solid structure on the desk, or if you have it in the kneewell of a desk, as I do, it fits beautifully and securely against the sidewall on top of my multimedia subwoofer.

Highly recommended product.

The SURFboard SB5120 is the only modem that I would want to own. My download speeds are over 20 Mbps, even though the cable provider claims to deliver only 6 Mbps. The features include a standby mode to isolate my LAN from the Internet when we don't need connectivity, and browser access to the modem provides information on everything that you would want to know about the current status, signal levels, configuration, and recent history. My order through Amazon was delivered by the vendor much faster than they had promised, and it's been up and running continuously since the day that I booted it up and got it registered with the ISP.

I'm a Mac user and I got to say this product is sweet. Once I got it, I unpacked it, hooked it all up and I was good to go.

The one thing I have to say is that when you use this in tandem with an Airport Base Station, you have to remember to "Renew DHCP Lease" (Preferences>Network>TCP/IP) when you first hookup the modem and after you use the "Standby" switch on the modem to refresh the network to the correct IP address.

I'm having some router problems which I thought might be related to the cable modem, so I bought this to replace a Toshiba PCX2200 Docsis 1.1 modem on my Adelphia service (which they say is all upgraded to Docsis 2.0)

Both modems work so I can switch back and forth and compare pretty close to real time. So I ran 3 different online bandwidth tests from different sites to see if it's worth the money for the upgrade.

The average download performance upgrade was 3.5x better (up to 5.9Mbit/sec) and the average upload gain was 7x better.

I've got nothing against the Toshiba - it's worked perfectly for a few years and all the online and help desk reviews of it are good. Even though Toshiba is working fine, it's worth the extra money to get a 3x improvement (especially considering the high price I pay to Adelphia every month).

I'm using it on a Mac, I never installed the software, works fine out of the box.

Highly recommended.

(It has a standby switch which disconnects the computers but keeps the cable side live. That would be nice in a small setup but my modem is inconveniently located and I have mutiple computers).

Easy set up with Comcast. Called tech support with serial number and MAC number with fast set up. Speed Boost from 2.4 Mbps to 4.+. Downloads of videos and large files much faster.

I installed this for my mom when her old cable modem died. For us, ease-of-use and simplicity are the most important features.

It was easy to install. We did not bother with the included software; it just worked when we plugged it in. I didn't benchmark speed, as that's not a concern for my mom, but subjectively it seems faster than her old RCA cable modem.

In addition to looking sleek, it is solidly built. The front panel LEDs are bright. The power transformer is in the middle of the cord, so the plug won't block other outlets. And it has only a single button, the power standby button.

The only possible problem is that the power standby button is on the top of the unit and easy to hit accidentally, so I made sure to locate the modem in a place where she won't bump it.

After installing the cable modem, we had to run a special program provided by our cable company to "register" the modem with the cable system. That was the only hassle, but it's the cable company's fault, not Motorola's fault.

Cable modems DO age. I am sure I knew this, but it simply did not occur to me that when my broadband (cable) internet connection began behaving erratically, that a worn, old and obsolete cable modem was at the cause.
I had been using a (very good) Best Data model CMX 110 since connecting via cable a little over 4 years ago. At the time, the provider I used (then, @home) offered a rental for a fee- so I simply bought this Best Data (docsis compliant) one and,until recently, all was well. Then the problems began. Connections dropped. Data light out for periods of time. Calling my current provider (Comcast) didn't help much. They NEVER asked about my modem - simply suggesting that I recycle the power (reboot) it, which I did - and that made things OK - but for just a little while.
I began to suspect something hardware wise. First guess was wrong- I guessed the cable connecting the modem to the computer was faulty (One end had actually separated from the plug a little) - I replaced it - no change. I then suspected that the cable, itself, had been bent or compromised in some way to disturb the signal - I replaced that, too - again, no change.
Then, I ordered a 'refurbished' 3-Com cable modem from an online reseller. It was trash - and, I found out too late, not currently 'supported' by Comcast. Kicking myself for wasting some (thank goodness just a little) cash on this item, I came across an ad for a special (at Circuit City) for the Motorola modem. This time, before buying, I looked more deeply into the Comcast situation and determined that it IS supported by Comcast, and that with the rebates available (totalling $60.), the net cost to me would be $19.99 + tax. I ran over to Circuit City, bought one. Installed it in ten minutes and called Comcast to have it activated. No sweat. And I am please to report that my connection is, again, as I want it. Smooth, reliable and fast.
This modem is docsis compliant to both 1.1 AND 2.0 standards. It is about a third the size of the old Best Data box and has the neat feature of a kind of 'hold' button on top that is used to deactivate the modem when and if you might wish to do so to perform specific tasks on your computer.
I am watching the lights on the modem and smiling as I write this. No blinking - no connection interruption.... and I saved $60. on top of it.
A beautiful piece of necessary equipment at a beautiful price.