Arris Vs Motorola – Which brand offer higher service speeds?
Looking for cable modem? Well, look no further as we compare two of the best modem brands in the market today. The following article highlights their major differences and reviews some of their best cable modem in the market.
For many homes, a cable modem is a must have device for connecting to the internet. Cable modems act as the gateway between the internet service provider’s signal and your devices. It is connected to the router which then converts the signal into a standard IP that devices can connect wirelessly. As the name suggests, the modem only supports a wired connection through an Ethernet cable. Arris and Motorolla have the best cable modems from low budget ones to high bandwidth modems. Furthermore, the offer both types of modems including DSL and cable modems. However, there is an issue that confuses many people regarding these two brands. Since Motorola has since been sold to Arris, recently released devices are under Arris and named similarly. The following table highlights some of their differences and features
Table of Contents
What are the differences between Arris and Netgear?
Brands |
Arris |
Motorola |
Specialty |
Modems, gateways |
Routers, modems |
Operating system |
Ubiquiti OS |
DD-WRT |
Cable providers supported |
Comcast, Spectrum, Cox |
Comcast, Spectrum, Cox |
Warranty |
2 years |
2 years |
Color |
White or Black |
Black |
Default username |
admin |
admin |
Examples of products |
Arris Surfboard SB8200 |
Motorola MB8600 |
Product |
Arrisvs. Motorola – How do these modem brands compare?
Performance
It is difficult to compare brands in terms of performance. We’ll therefore consider two similar products from each company: Arris Surfboard SB8200 and Motorola MB8600. Here, the Arris wins since they offer a higher speed. The modem was tested and found to provide speeds of around 350 Mbps.
The Motorola product on the other hand is also a high speed modem with slightly less fast speeds. It provided a throughput speed of 300 Mbps against a theoretical speed of 4 Gbps. In addition, the Arris modem has been said to be much more stable and consistent in performance with minimal latency.If speed is what you need, go for the Arris cable modem.
Design
Another fundamental factor to look at is the exterior design of the product. We all want something attractive and unique. Again, Arris wins as it features a much better and more practical design. While they are a bit similar, Motorola MB8600 is larger (taller) and slimmer. This has two downsides. First, the huge size may provide a problem when fitting it into small places and second, the slimness reduces stability making it susceptible to falling. Furthermore, the Arris offers a sturdy and compact design for ultimate durability. Overall, Arris offers much better and practical designs for home owners and businesses.
Setup and configuration
The setup and configuration refers to the first time installation. Both Arris and Motorola devices are plug and play devices meaning all you need to do it connect the cable and turn it on and you’re ready to go. However, Arris is much better when configuring and managing the modem after installation. This is because of a feature known as Spectrum Analyzer. The feature allows for easy monitoring of the connected line. Arris is the better option yet again.
Pricing and overall management costs
Modems are usually not very expensive, but even with this, the budget is always a top consideration. Here, Motorola products take the win as they are more affordable compared to Arris modems. Although the Arris may offer better performance, there is no reason to pay the extra bucks when you can get a similarly performing Motorola modem. So save your coins today and go for a Motorola modem if you’re on a tight budget.
Arris vs Motorola – A comparison review
Arris overview
The Arris Company has been around for many years providing us with some of the best cable modems in use today. Today, Arris Company owns the branch of Motorola that manufactures cable modems and because of this, you may find a Motorola logo on an Arris modem. However, even before they merged, Arris was delivering some solid cable modems such as the Surfboard SB6141 and SB8200. In fact, the brand is mainly focused on high performance modems. In addition, the modems support all major cable internet providers such as Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox and others. Providers such as DSL and fiber are not supported since cable modems support only coaxial cables. Low and midlevel Arris modems provide speeds of about 200 Mbps while high end such as the SB8200 reach up to 400 Mbps.
Arris Surfboard SB8200
- A Trusted Name in Home Connectivity: Better connectivity, better speed. The ARRIS SURFboard SB8200 DOCSIS...
- Save Money: Own your modem and save. Reduce your cable bill up to $168 dollars per year in cable modem...
Regarded as the best Arris cable modem, the SB8200 is an excellent choice for anyone looking for high speed above everything else. To achieve this great fete, the modem supports DOCSIS 3.1 standard for high bandwidth and data traffic prioritization. Also, the modem features 32 downstream channels and 8 upstream channels. These work to ensure that data flow is smooth and there are minimal latency. The general rule of thumb is, the higher the channels, the lower the latency. The SB8200 is also fitted with the infamous Intel Puma 6 processor chip which is known for high speeds and low latency.
When it comes to design, it’s hard to go wrong with the SB8200. The unit is small and compact to fit into small spaces and not interfere with the interior décor.
Arris Surfboard SB6141
No products found.
This Arris modem caters for mid-level budgets and features very decent performance for the price tag. It comes in with speeds of around 200 Mbps against a theoretical speed of 1 Gbps. with this, you can stream your favorite shows in high resolution and live game comfortable. The SB6141 is also quite similar to the SB8200 when it comes to design. It is a small white rectangular box with little LED lights at the front and one gigabit Ethernet port at the back.
Motorola
Motorola might be the oldest telecoms company today and has provided some of the best cable modems we have. But the branch of the company that makes modems was purchased by Arris. This is the reason many of their modems today are labelled as ‘Arris Motorola’ such as the Arris Motorola SB6183. The following are some of their best products.
Arris Motorola SB6183
No products found.
The SB6183 is the successor of the popular SB6141 and serves some great boosts in performance and reliability. With internet connectivity almost mandatory today, there is need for a cable modem with high throughput speeds yet affordable for majority of customers. The SB6183 checks all these boxes. First, the unit features one gigabit Ethernet ports meaning you get throughput speeds of 250 Mbps against the theoretical 1 Gbps. lastly, the modem is small, compact and great for homes and small businesses.
Motorola MB8600
- Top Internet Speeds for all Multi-gigabit Speed Tiers - Wirecutter recommends this model as the best...
- Save Money - Eliminate up to 168 dollars per year in cable modem rental fees (Savings are shown for...
This is a high end performance modem that supports DOCSIS 3.1. What this means is that you get very high speeds of around 450 Mbps. Furthermore, the modem is compatible with all major cable internet providers such as Cox. It features two Ethernet ports which increases its versatility and is fairly priced.
Model |
Arris Surfboard SB6141 |
Motorola MB8600 |
Cables supported |
Comcast, Spectrum and Cox |
Comcast, Spectrum and Cox |
Channels |
8 down
4 up |
32 down
8 up |
Speed |
Download – 343 Mbps
Upload – 141 Mbps |
Download – 960 Mbps
Upload – 240 Mbps |
Size |
5.2 x 5.2 x 1.7 inches |
8.7 x 5.3 x 2.4 inches |
Color |
White or Black |
Black |
Availability |
Conclusion
Picking the best modem depends on what you need most. For gamers and heavy internet users, the Motorola MB8600 and Arris SB8200 would be great choices. But if you’re looking for something simple for everyday use, the Arris Motorola SB6183 does it best.