Billion BiPAC 7800n vs. Netgear DG834GT?

Hi guys,

Due to our old DG834GT packing up (The second DG834GT we have had), we have brought a highly recommended router; The Billion BiPAC 7800n which is on its way .

I have been wondering in the meanwhile; How does the 7800n compare to the DG834GT performance wise?

Would it achieve a faster Sync speed?

For our connection, pages used to load slowish on the old DG834GT despite being on Fastpath, so I'm guessing it could have been the hardware.

Is it generally more reliable? (Web interface loads at the same speed even when the connection is maxed out)? The DG834GT used to lag a lot when maxing out the connection.

Thanks for your answers

Edited by chris6273 (Wed 14-Nov-12 18:45:00)

I've had the DG834GT in the past and now have the 7800n

Both are as fast as the other (max adsl sync speed) however the 7800n is so stable that I never have to reboot it. However the DG834GT was falling over on almost a weekly basis. That was a few years ago now though so maybe newer firmware has improved the stability of the DG834GT but for me, the 7800n is a keeper, especially as it has an ewan port and I'll be getting fiber at the end of the month!

I have the Bipac 7800n (replacing a 2Wire2700 and a Speedtouch 585) We have a fairly long, slightly flaky line, but this thing hangs on like a limpet on ADSL2+, Connection stays usable even down to SNR margin of 1. Wireless coverage is superb, I no longer need to relay the signal upstairs. Only caveat is if you have, or plan to have a fibre connection >100Mpbs then remember that the WAN port is only 10/100

As has already been stated the Billion is a very good device. It is working quite happily on my BT Infinity 2 connection (80 down 20 up!).

Wireless N coverage is great - runs at up to 300Mb/s

Only downside I can see is that EWAN is only 100 Mb/s (although the LAN connections are GigaBit) and the wireless could do with being dual band in these days.

Long term - maximum routed throughput is said to be around 80Mb/s so a full speed FTTC connection will stretch it - a router only device (ASUS or Linksys springs to mind) is probably more suitable for FTTC.

7800n works very well with bethere / o2 adsl2+
very very stable router with high sync speeds and decent wireless throughput

suffer with wireless problems - chipset failing

once synced and up running you rarely have to reboot

Thanks for your replies!

Sounds like good news. I'll see how the 7800n compares sync wise to the DG834GT when it arrives . Looking forward to it!

Wow, the BiPAC is definitely a bit better than the DG834GT.

To start off with, the upstream sync is now reliably in the upper 1200's and the SNR is much more stable. Here are the stats:

Parameters
DSP Firmware Version A2pB025f.d22k

DMT Status No Defect

Operational Mode ADSL2+

Upstream 1235

Downstream 23856

SNR Margin(Upstream) 6.1

SNR Margin(Downstream) 0.9

Line Attenuation(Upstream) 9.7

Line Attenuation(Downstream) 16.5


The modem is managing to hold the line with 0.9dB of Downstream SNR with no fluctuation at all so I bet I can push it lower if it was going to help at all. I have had it down to 0.4 before on the DG834GT but that was when the exchange was first switched over to 21CN (Not many customers on the equipment I imagine).

Wireless is definitely better, as is the Interface which is fast and perfect for someone with a bit of techy know how .

The ping is also a few ms lower which is always a plus as well as browsing being much snappier.

Highly Recommend it as an upgrade to the DG834GT .

Edited by chris6273 (Fri 16-Nov-12 23:51:15)

In reply to a post by Gandalf:

However the DG834GT was falling over on almost a weekly basis.

Don't know how anybody copes with this? Don't think I've rebooted for around a few months now with the default SKY router.

Question for the 7800n folk. What's the chipset?

Reads like it's from Broadcom according to Billion's UK website.

Thanks.

Yeah it's a Broadcom BCM6358 Chipset

My DG834GT (running DGTeam firmware) is still giving stirling service after several years and I have not had any cause to think about changing it. If I recall this model does suffer from overheating if not sited somewhere cool with plenty of ventilation.

Yeah mine did too. The first one I had I think overheated (It was a brand new unit!) so I put a small fan in my second (Brought used) at the end of March 2010.

Here are some photos from 30/03/2010 showing what I did:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/3352/dsc01035uw.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/4669/dsc01031gr.jpg

Seemed to work great but I went through about 4 fans from 30/03/2010 till I posted the first post on this thread. Every few months it would start making a funny noise so I eventually added a screw terminal on the end of both cables so I could swap the fans quickly.

The end of the two cables (Red and Black) I soldered directly to the reverse of the DC input to the Unit.

Edited by chris6273 (Sat 17-Nov-12 21:20:18)

You might want to try a 92mm fan if you can fit it. They tend to run slower, quieter and are less prone to failure. They ought to shift the same, if not more air too, depending on the speed compared to an 80mm one.

I'm afraid it's too late now, As I've said it's packed up (All 4 port lights stay on despite the orange tick flashing for a second and going off as normal).

Got the Billion 7800n.

Ahh, sorry. I missed that bit.