Forum Discussion

DLabit29's avatar
DLabit29
Contributor
5 years ago

Modem+router vs Modem router combo

Without the thought of QoS.... you always get a better connection in game if you're hard wired straight to the modem, rather than wired into the router, then the modem.

My question is if I bought a modem router combo, and I was hardwired into that, would I get the same result as being hardwired straight to a stand alone modem?

I mean I know I would be assigned local ip, but would it be optimal in the same aspect?

The router combo..not speaking in regards to isp provided combo.

I'm talking 3rd party like netgear nighthawk modem router combo 

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    5 years ago
    My question is if I bought a modem router combo, and I was hardwired into that, would I get the same result as being hardwired straight to a stand alone modem?

    I'd say no but you probably couldn't discern the difference.

    A standalone modem has a WAN port.

     A modem/router has LAN ports.

    A cluster of 4 LAN ports on a router...either standalone or combo...is a network switch to route data either internally onto your network or externally to a modem. There is also a demarcation point within a modem/router to separate the modem from the router.  That way, your router isn't exposed to the public.

    This demarcation point is probably also a layer-2 switch or some type of layer-2 network connection.

    Either directly wired to a combo or a standalone and then a modem would still involve 2 network switches.  Directly wired to a modem is just one network switch and faster because it's just layer-2.  Layer-2 is a lot faster than layer-3 (network).

      • Bruce's avatar
        Bruce
        Honored Contributor III
        5 years ago

        I guess I could have just wrote:  a modem connection at layer-2 is faster than a router connection at layer-3; however, there's still TCP validity so you probably couldn't tell.