CM500V vs CM1150V for 300Mbps or 600Mbps service?

The CM500 can't do the 600 Mbps speed;

https://www.xfinity.com/support/devices#details

Yes I have interne&tvoice (because my wife insists on having a landline) but no TV.

Maybe with speed continually creeping up, the CM1150V would be a better choice. However, models keep improving and getting cheaper so if I only pay $100 for the CM500V today, there might be an even better DOCSIS 3.1 32x8 out in a year or two.

However, if I could put my finger on some nifty features on the CM1150V I could justify getrting it now! Diagnostics, event logging, error reporting, ...? 

Comcast dictates the top speed capability. It doesn't matter what the manufacturer claims.

"Comcast dictates the top speed capability. It doesn't matter what the manufacturer claims."

Ah, that helps. 

Yeah, that's what Xfinity says (373Mbps max), but Netgear says 680, so which one is correct? 

What does this mean (for the CM1150V):

"Backward compatible 32x8 channel bonding in DOCSIS® 3.0 mode"

And, for this:

"32 downstream and 8 upstream channels with 2x2 OFDM"

When you're running 300Mbps service, does having 32x8 rather than 16x4 matter? 

What is 2x2 OFDM?

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@garya505 wrote:

 

What does this mean (for the CM1150V):

"Backward compatible 32x8 channel bonding in DOCSIS® 3.0 mode"

 

It means that the modem supports both the DOCSIS 3.0 and the DOCSIS 3.1 services.

 

And, for this:

"32 downstream and 8 upstream channels with 2x2 OFDM"

When you're running 300Mbps service, does having 32x8 rather than16x4 matter? 

 

Although it is not necessary for 300 Mbps speed, more channels will always provide greater reliability. Think of it as having a 6 lane highway rather than a 2 lane highway at rush hour.

 

What is 2x2 OFDM?

 

That would be the DOCSIS 3.1 downstream channel with which Comcast provides the gigabit speed tier.

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If you're not in a rush, the 1150V is periodically offered by Amazon at $199.  From a future-proofing perspective, I think it's worth the premium.

DOCSIS 3.1 is only used on the gigabit plans, right?  The 300Mbps and 600Mbps use DOCSIS 3.0?

Correct.

So, I plan to upgrade to the 300Mbps service (with voice). Here are the choices:

Arris SBV2402 ($100)

Netgear CM500V ($100)

For some degree of "future proofing" I could get:

Arris T25 ($200)

Netgear CM1150V ($250)

I guess I could wait until the CM1150V goes on sale but I'd like to upgrade ASAP. I suspect that putting a DOCSIS 3.1 on a 300Mbps service is a waste of money. Bu the time I need to upgrade to gigbit service the CM1150V price will be lower, and there will likely be more D3.1 products available as well.  I'd like to ditch the Xfinity voice to give me an easier modem choice but they don't have any decent internet-only prices at the moment. We don't want Xfinity TV so their Triple Play deals are not of interest to us either.   

Yes I know DOCSIS 3.1 is for gigabit speeds, but what I'm asking is, if you have a DOCSIS 3.1 modem and Xfinity 600Mbps, will it be using DOCSIS 3.1 or 3.0 ?

The 3.0 / QAM256 multiple bonded downstream channels.

OK, so I got the CM500V.  The outages continue. The last two days I had my son log the outages to compare with the modem event log. They are the same, everytime there is an outage, the modem has logged an error. This happens aout 15 times per day, but only between about 9AM and 5PM, Monday through Friday.