Best option for the time being...

Author's Rating:

Pros: DOCSIS 2.0 compatible. As reliable as cable modems can be.

Cons: Two year warranty (when purchased retail). Issues with USB on older computers.

The Bottom Line: 
A very good, reliable, proven, inexpensive, DOCSIS 2.0 compatible modem.

Author's Review
Motorola is one of the industry leaders for makers of cable modems. One of their newest, the SB5120 is no exception. Building upon their work in the successful surfboard series, the 5120 adds DOCSIS 2.0 compatibility in a smaller package. This is the only real difference between this and previous surfboards, is the ability to upload at higher speeds if and when your ISP increases their speeds across their network.

The advertised download and upload speeds are fantastic of course. (Up to 38 Mbit download / 30 Mbit upload) But these are theoretical limits that the modem has the capability to perform at. The speed of the cable modem is going to be limited more by the limits of your cable provider's network, typically anywhere between 1-10 Mbit.

It's about as reliable as any cable modem could get. There aren't any huge known issues, bugs, or problems. Motorola had years to perfect this product, and it shows in this modem. As far as vanilla cable modems go, this is one of the best you could get. But your speed and reliability of your internet is going to depend much more heavily on the reliability of your cable company's service.

The only real shortcoming of this modem is its 2-year warranty. While this may be twice as long as the majority of parts in a typical PC, cable modems are more likely to get shorted during electrical storms and excess voltage/amperage on the cable line. Going through a surge protector will help prevent this of course. But most surge protectors aren't properly designed to deliver the signals to the modem without adding some noise/leakage/interference causing loss of signal and/or slow speeds.

The USB drivers have issues also, but that is really not Motorola's fault. The majority of issues with people not being able to properly install USB drivers are because of inherent compatibility issues with older harder and Windows operating systems (98/ME). USB was really not meant for this type of task, so if USB does not work with this modem, get a network card. Installing dedicated hardware to handle internet communications is really the best option.

If you have an old modem that needs replacing, this modem, as well as the SB5100 are fine selections. Just check with your cable provider to make sure these are able to be used on their network before purchasing. Giving them the modem model number should be enough information. Motorola is making tons of these, so you should be able to find these really cheap, maybe as cheap as $40-50 in the retail market.