30Mb and Superhub Advice please

[nick_f]

Hi all im after some advice im currently on:

XL TV XL BB(20) and L Phone + CD = £57.79


My contract has expired so due to high call costs i was recommended XL Phone so:

XL TV XL BB and XL phone + CD @ £57.29 which i agreed to.

However on inquiring about XL BB (30) with superhub it would be £60 a month + £30 set up fee.

So now im confused what to do?
Is the superhub worth it?
Am i loosing out by staying on old equipment?

Please help as im now in 7 Day cancel window!

Nick

[qasdfdsaq]

Well you get 50% more broadband speed for £3 extra a month, your choice really.

[nick_f]

Yeah true but is the superhub worth the £30?

[qasdfdsaq]

I would say no, as I wouldn't pay a penny for the Superhub - yet.

But then again you're not paying £30 for the Superhub. You're paying £30 for installation and activation of your 30mb broadband service. The superhub remains the property of Virgin Media and is at no point yours, its only there to provide you with the service you want.

The questions you should be asking are do you want 30mb broadband, and is that worth £30 + £3 a month to you.

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by nick_f

Yeah true but is the superhub worth the £30?

Well it has got gigabit ports.

Switch off the sp1firewall.
Switch off IP flood detection.
Switch 802.11 mode to up to 145 mbps.

I'm finding it's OK for running a small network, 2 computors and a NAS.
It's been up for a few days now without any problems.

It's not great but it's not all bad either.

[savvychels]

Originally Posted by Mick Fisher

Well it has got gigabit ports.

Switch off the sp1firewall.
Switch off IP flood detection.
Switch 802.11 mode to up to 145 mbps.

I'm finding it's OK for running a small network, 2 computors and a NAS.
It's been up for a few days now without any problems.

It's not great but it's not all bad either.

What does switching the 802.11 mode to 145mbps do?

[qasdfdsaq]

Makes N run slower. And anecdotally more stable for some people with non N devices.

[savvychels]

Ahh - thank you. I've not had issues with my wired desktop or hubby's laptop, but my netbook (which is G) can get 20 or can get 11 in the same 5 minute period so I'll give that a go - thanks

---------- Post added at 21:39 ---------- Previous post was at 20:35 ----------

Yikes - dropped my 15-20 meg wireless connection to a solid 8-10 so put back up to 300 and am getting 20 now. So while a good idea for some, not the best for mine.

[qasdfdsaq]

I though the idea was fundamentally flawed to begin with anyway (and would only make a difference on already buggy equipment) but hey, I don't have a Superhub.

[Mick Fisher]

Originally Posted by savvychels

What does switching the 802.11 mode to 145mbps do?

My hub was continually dropping and reconnecting the wireless when under heavy loading.

Switching to 145 from 300 stabilised it. I have not had a wireless drop out at all no matter how high the load since switching.

Incidentally the wireless adapter in my laptop is Intel 5100 AGN.

I have not noticed any reduction in speeds since switching.

Here is my speedtest using wireless on said laptop.

[savvychels]

Might have been a fluke. I've actually not had any real dropping out, was just hoping it might stabilise. I'm getting 20meg at max (usually closer to 15) on a 50meg connection because the netbook wireless is G rather than N.

Hubby hasn't tested his connection too much on his laptop, but he is mostly getting up to 50meg and hasn't appeared to have any connectivity issues.

Sorry to have hijacked the topic - was just interested as it was a setting I hadn't changed and wanted to see if it made a difference.

[Mick Fisher]

If your wireless is stable then there is no need to worry. Note that I tested by running 3 fast and well seeded torrents.

Dropping to 145 might well have repercussions regarding connection speed @ 50mbps that I don't see at 30mbps.

I used to get 20mbps on an ordinary hub which is only a 150 device. I also got 20mbps using my lynksis wrt54gs which, obviously is a G device so would think you should get at least 20mbps on your netbook.

[nick_f]

hmmm so is the hub worth it?

Will my existing router support the 3mb up when my area is upgraded?

[zekeisaszekedoes]

I figured that if you want increased upload speeds and/or download speeds, VM are fast painting the Super Hub as the only solution even when other devices like the standalone modem rolled out with 50Mbps packages are capable of it just not in the way VM wants.

[nick_f]

Does someone from VM think that the price difference seems correct?

Anyone happy with there hub?