@orion_jb2001 wrote:
Yes one would expect an"8500" would be better than a "7800" but whilst not going right into it, I suspect the 7800 has more features.
You talk about the "7800" and "8500". For clarification, I assume that, in line with your subjects, you mean D7800 and D8500, the modem routers.
Like their R (router ) equivalents then the main difference is in the wifi. Whether you will notice much difference between "X4S AC2600" and "X8 AC5300" only you can tell. But people who buy by specifications rather than actual performance would say the D8500 is better than the D7800.
If you want to get more "features", whatever that means, an update from one modem/router to another isn't likely to achieve much.
In general, combination boxes can't match what you can get if you use a standalone modem in front of a full feature router.
Going for a separate modem and router has numerous advantages. For a start, a much better choice of routers with a bewildering array of features. Standalone routers also get more frequent firmware updates than modem/routers.
"D" models often also lack things like "Circle Smart Parental Controls", if that is your thing.
Standalone is also good because if they suddenly change your Internet service, which can happen, or you move house you just have to replace the modem but.
@orion_jb2001 wrote:
there is a connection for the wireless phone base to connect to the FTTN
Your references to FTTN suggest to me that you are referring to NBN in Oz. (Few people elsewhere use that tag.) So your choice of modem would depend on how they have implemented DSL (I assume) in your area. NBN just means "Australian Internet" and that comes on several flavours, as we have discovered here by watching people trying to deal with those differences.
Unfortunately, Netgear, like other brands, seems to have taken against standalone DSL modems. (Maybe things are different where you are.) They are now hard to come by. If you are prepared to buy second hand, a DM200 would be a good modem-only front end for whatever you opt for after working out which "features" you want.
One option is to use whatever you have now and to see if it is possible to put it into modem only mode in front of a "grown up" router. But not all D models make this easy.
The drawback there is that, in my experience, a modem/router can take so long to reboot after a power cut that it the router behind it gets fed up of waiting for an Internet connection and times out. You then have a dead network. No problem, if you are there to fix it, but a pain if you are away.
