4 ms·

Apparently Intel's cable modem SoCs (Puma 6) are garbage as well, demonstrating ridiculous jitter level. https://www.badmodems.com/ https://www.badmodems.com/

by rathel 7y ago

Apparently Intel's cable modem SoCs (Puma 6) are garbage as well, demonstrating ridiculous jitter level. https://www.badmodems.com/ https://www.badmodems.com/ I'm also an unfortunate owner of an Arris box. If only the person who showed me this website could have done it a few years ago...

Causality1 7y ago
Wow that's a huge issue and I'm amazed I was totally ignorant of it until just now. Looks like my last modem upgrade happened just before Arris switched to Puma 6.
- postpawl 7y ago
  My brother recently got a free modem from his ISP with the defective puma chipset and he ended up keeping it because the defect wasn’t that noticeable. This guy said it added about 8ms of latency: https://forums.timewarnercable.com/t5/Connectivity/arris-tm1602a-puma-chipset-needs-fixing/td-p/143859 https://forums.timewarnercable.com/t5/Connectivity/arris-tm1... So maybe not a huge issue, but personally I’d just spent the $40 on a SB6183 that doesn’t have the issue.
  - snuxoll 7y ago
    My former ISP forced one on me and it would constantly DOS itself and drop my connection multiple times a day. (Different model, same chipset)
    - AstralStorm 7y ago
      Bad software is common in these kinds of routers. Even across software updates you can get a dying router, much less a hardware change. That's because the software is essentially lowest bidder and untested. (Note: running in a lab is not the same as adversarial testing.)
syn0byte 7y ago
I honestly thought this article would be about the Puma6 itself. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't.
rootusrootus 7y ago
Some Arris boxes are affected, not all. I have a SB8200 which uses the Broadcom chip. Also the SB6183 is fine. The one you want to avoid is the SB6190.
- tenebrisalietum 7y ago
  The SB6183 is rock solid.
- X-Istence 7y ago
  I've been using the SB6190, and I haven't had any issues with latency or jitters. Even all of the testing didn't show any issues. Mine is a hardware version 3 though.
  - manderley 7y ago
    The issue will absolutely show up. Just download pingplotter and set the interval to 0.3 seconds. The latest firmware simply mitigates the problem a bit, all Puma 6 chips are affected. It's most noticeable in online games, for regular usage, you probably won't see much of a problem.
mixmastamyk 7y ago
Been using an Arris SB6141 for perhaps 5 years and never really had a problem. Looks like its not on the list.
martinald 7y ago
Virgin Media in the UK literally shipped millions of these Puma 6 modems. Never fixed. Believe they are now replacing them slowly.
winter_blue 7y ago
Hmm... this is interesting. When buying a laptop, I've always looked for one with a Intel Wi-Fi chip[1], because the Broadcom and most of the Killer wireless chips have really bad Linux driver support. Maybe for PCs, Intel 's Wi-Fi chips are still the best? [1] My most recent purchase had the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265. This is a list of all of Intel's wireless PC chips: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/59484/intel-wireless-products.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/...
- unicornfinder 7y ago
  The problem is with the modems, not the WiFi.
  - benj111 7y ago
    The parents question is reasonable. If Intel can ship decent WiFi chips it begs the question why not modems.

by rathel 7y ago

Causality1 7y ago

Wow that's a huge issue and I'm amazed I was totally ignorant of it until just now. Looks like my last modem upgrade happened just before Arris switched to Puma 6.

postpawl 7y ago
My brother recently got a free modem from his ISP with the defective puma chipset and he ended up keeping it because the defect wasn’t that noticeable. This guy said it added about 8ms of latency: https://forums.timewarnercable.com/t5/Connectivity/arris-tm1602a-puma-chipset-needs-fixing/td-p/143859 https://forums.timewarnercable.com/t5/Connectivity/arris-tm1... So maybe not a huge issue, but personally I’d just spent the $40 on a SB6183 that doesn’t have the issue.
- snuxoll 7y ago
  My former ISP forced one on me and it would constantly DOS itself and drop my connection multiple times a day. (Different model, same chipset)
  - AstralStorm 7y ago
    Bad software is common in these kinds of routers. Even across software updates you can get a dying router, much less a hardware change. That's because the software is essentially lowest bidder and untested. (Note: running in a lab is not the same as adversarial testing.)

syn0byte 7y ago

I honestly thought this article would be about the Puma6 itself. Imagine my surprise when it wasn't.

rootusrootus 7y ago

Some Arris boxes are affected, not all. I have a SB8200 which uses the Broadcom chip. Also the SB6183 is fine. The one you want to avoid is the SB6190.

tenebrisalietum 7y ago
The SB6183 is rock solid.
X-Istence 7y ago
I've been using the SB6190, and I haven't had any issues with latency or jitters. Even all of the testing didn't show any issues. Mine is a hardware version 3 though.
- manderley 7y ago
  The issue will absolutely show up. Just download pingplotter and set the interval to 0.3 seconds. The latest firmware simply mitigates the problem a bit, all Puma 6 chips are affected. It's most noticeable in online games, for regular usage, you probably won't see much of a problem.

mixmastamyk 7y ago

Been using an Arris SB6141 for perhaps 5 years and never really had a problem. Looks like its not on the list.

martinald 7y ago

Virgin Media in the UK literally shipped millions of these Puma 6 modems. Never fixed. Believe they are now replacing them slowly.

winter_blue 7y ago

Hmm... this is interesting. When buying a laptop, I've always looked for one with a Intel Wi-Fi chip[1], because the Broadcom and most of the Killer wireless chips have really bad Linux driver support. Maybe for PCs, Intel 's Wi-Fi chips are still the best? [1] My most recent purchase had the Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265. This is a list of all of Intel's wireless PC chips: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/59484/intel-wireless-products.html https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/series/...

unicornfinder 7y ago
The problem is with the modems, not the WiFi.
- benj111 7y ago
  The parents question is reasonable. If Intel can ship decent WiFi chips it begs the question why not modems.