General : 1Gb Review

[kev445]

Not by myself, however thought some of you would find it of interest...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT9b7VU8nHc

Gigabit broadband is finally available where I live!
So let's take a look at VM's new Gig1 service and see just how fast it is.

[General Maximus]

thanks for that, I have been waiting for a review and to hear back from a real person who has actually got it. She makes some good points which I had already thought would be the case.

[Kushan]

The lack of a multi-gig ethernet port is a real shame on this one. I guess this really is more of a 3.1 trial than a gigabit trial though, so I'm hopeful that by the time 3.1 is available everywhere they'll have a more modern 3.1 Hub with a 2.5G or 5G port.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Kushan

The lack of a multi-gig ethernet port is a real shame on this one. I guess this really is more of a 3.1 trial than a gigabit trial though, so I'm hopeful that by the time 3.1 is available everywhere they'll have a more modern 3.1 Hub with a 2.5G or 5G port.

If you mean a wired connection, then the next step up is a 10Gbps connection

[General Maximus]

Originally Posted by nomadking

If you mean a wired connection, then the next step up is a 10Gbps connection

Make it so

[Rexz]

Some sort of link aggregation would be welcomed before then, however I'm not sure if that's possible with modem mode. I won't hold my breath...

[kev445]

I think asking for Ethernet ports above 1Gb currently is a tall order, they’re both more expensive and more importantly harder to passively cool.

I would love to see them working towards having 100Mb uploads.

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by kev445

I think asking for Ethernet ports above 1Gb currently is a tall order, they’re both more expensive and more importantly harder to passively cool.

I would love to see them working towards having 100Mb uploads.

The hub in the review is actively cooled, problem solved.

[kev445]

Originally Posted by pip08456

The hub in the review is actively cooled, problem solved.

Well I obviously didn't pay much attention to the video!

I still stick to the heat issue though, the more components generating heat, the more cooling needed. Most people will not be impressed if they could hear the fan.

[jb66]

"what a HUGE disappointment not having an ethernet port faster than 1Gbps",

Isnt 950mb enough? Is it really a HUGE disappointment

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by jb66

"what a HUGE disappointment not having an ethernet port faster than 1Gbps",

Isnt 950mb enough? Is it really a HUGE disappointment

Possibly to those that purchase it as the headline speed cannot be delivered due to the ethernet port restriction.

Typically VM over provision (as in this case) so that speed tests return the headline speed. I tend to agree with Kushan in that it is more of a trial of 3.1 rather than the hub which will eventually be used.

[jb66]

Originally Posted by pip08456

Possibly to those that purchase it as the headline speed cannot be delivered due to the ethernet port restriction.

Typically VM over provision (as in this case) so that speed tests return the headline speed. I tend to agree with Kushan in that it is more of a trial of 3.1 rather than the hub which will eventually be used.

That is the finished hub, you could get the speed over multiple devices so theoretically 1gbps is achievable. But can anyone really be "Hugely Disappointed" in getting 95% of speed advertised?

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by jb66

That is the finished hub, you could get the speed over multiple devices so theoretically 1gbps is achievable. But can anyone really be "Hugely Disappointed" in getting 95% of speed advertised?

The old "I'm not getting what I pay for" syndrome.

Personally I'm not bothered 50Mb is more than enough for my needs.

[Kushan]

Originally Posted by nomadking

If you mean a wired connection, then the next step up is a 10Gbps connection

Not necessarily, 2.5G and 5G ethernet are a thing and would make a lot more sense as they're much cheaper than 10G ethernet. Arris actually has a gateway with a 2.5G port on it list on their site, but I can see why Virgin wouldn't adopt it as it has other limitations.

Originally Posted by jb66

That is the finished hub, you could get the speed over multiple devices so theoretically 1gbps is achievable. But can anyone really be "Hugely Disappointed" in getting 95% of speed advertised?

I appreciate that most people are going to be using the hub in hub mode, in which case they'll get the full gigabit over multiple devices. But it's a blow to people that prefer their own router (Not that there's many to choose from with a 2.5G port, mind!) and it also means in future if we want to go beyond gigabit, it's another new hub.

Don't get me wrong, it's all good progress and I completely get the reasons behind sticking with gigabit ethernet for now. I guess I'm actually more annoyed that the industry hasn't moved forward with more multi-gig equipment. I've got a 10Gbit ethernet port on my motherboard and I could upgrade my NAS with a 10Gbit NIC, but 10G (or 2.5/5G) switches aren't that prolific (And tend to be rackmounted/enterprise gear anyway) and Intel has only just recently said they'll start doing 2.5G ports, same for Realtek.

It's still crazy to me that Internet tech has caught up with home networking tech in this way.

[gunner45]

The advertised speed of Gig1 is 1104Mbps but 552Mbps is the minimum guaranteed download speed. Let's not get hung up about a maximum of 950Mbps due to the Ethernet port restriction.