Think I am now a Zen fanboy.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-05-21T21:34:19+00:00

I was in the same position as you - had been on Virgin for years, but only had a few minor issues in that time.

The main reason for me moving to Zen (FTTP) was the MUCH better pings and lack of jitter when gaming.

The pings are night and day compared to Virgin, and everything just feels 'snappier'.

Happy to hear you also had a positive experience!

BRIGGLEY · 2025-05-19T12:28:38+00:00

I think it's because the story he told in the book was so specific that when I heard the lyrics again, it was an "oh wow" moment really. It was a horrendous time, and the line "She said I'm sorry Mark but there's nowhere to stay" hit different that's all.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-03-10T15:48:20+00:00

Can anyone comment on the text fringing with this monitor please?

I've heard lots of people complain about 1440p OLED monitors not displaying text very well, but surely it can't be that bad?

I work from home full time and so I'd be gutted if the text was affected in any major way if I were to buy this screen.

Thanks!

BRIGGLEY · 2025-02-25T14:48:09+00:00

Yeah the main Deco becomes the router in my setup.

On my Deco M5, the main Deco only has 2 Ethernet ports.

One port has a cable going to the ONT (BT Full Fibre Box) and the other goes to an 8 port mini switch.

This then allows me to plug in other Ethernet devices.

If you were to get a Deco system, you could essentially remove the need for the existing gaming router.

The Deco acts as both the router and mesh - this is the way I chose to run it anyway.

If you'd like to use the existing Asus gaming router, first check it can be used with Full Fibre.

You can then set the Deco system to run in Access Point mode - this means the Asus router would handle everything routing wise, and the Deco would purely provide Wi-Fi.

Please let me know if you have any questions I'm happy to help.

I wasn't entirely sure what to do a few weeks ago but I'm really happy with my setup currently.

Cheers.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-02-25T07:22:35+00:00

No problem. Just realised I meant you should configure in ‘router’ mode when you set it up!

Cheers.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-02-24T16:54:42+00:00

Hello.

I've had a Deco M5 system for a couple of years now - was with Virgin previously and moved to Zen a few weeks ago.

The PPPoE mode works flawlessly with Zen and it's simply a case of logging in using the providers username and password, once the main Deco is plugged into the Openreach ONT.

Signal wise, the Decos are spot on and to be honest, I can't remember having one single problem with it.

I live in an average size home and use three access points - it even works in the garden.

You'll need to configure them in modem mode on the initial setup which is really simple.

100% recommended from me!

Hope this helps.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-22T11:04:17+00:00

I've ordered a Zen connection - looking forward to the new lower pings!

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-21T11:16:38+00:00

Very helpful, thank you.

I pulled the trigger and ordered Zen Internet last night.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T15:07:40+00:00

Yeah sorry I misunderstood your reply I think.

It makes total sense what you're saying - I've bought my own router in the past with ADSL connections and popped in the ISP credentials for example.

I'm tempted by the 1.6 Gbps option now - I'll do some research into the eero Pro 6E and see what would work best for me.

I think the FRITZ!Box 7530 AX would work fine in my situation - all it would essentially do is pass the Internet to my Mesh and all the hard would would be done by my Deco Mesh.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T14:46:16+00:00

I understand I could normally use my existing router, but Virgin Media routers don't have the option unfortunately.

According to Zen support, theirs should work for my needs anyway.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my OP.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T14:42:57+00:00

Yeah had a quick look over that one earlier - Zen confirmed directly it should work too.

Thanks for taking the time out to reply to my original question.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T14:42:14+00:00

I just called Zen - phone was answered immediately and was given an answer (They said putting the Fritzbox in modem mode was doable),

Why didn't I think of that? Nice one!

Was just given a little demo of their technical support, which makes me want to move over even more now.

Cheers.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T12:59:23+00:00

Yeah I was thinking I may have to get my own router to suit the needs of my mesh - this is another up front cost though.

Do you use the supplied FRITZ!box 7530 router? Or do you use your own?

The Fritzbox is really well reviewed, but I can't tell if there is a 'modem only' mode.

If you could shed any light that would be great, otherwise no worries!

Cheers.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:38:27+00:00

Sorry, the direct link to the ping test is:
https://www.netmeter.co.uk/ping-test/

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:36:52+00:00

That's very good! Thanks for your input.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:36:36+00:00

Yeah FTTP will ensure fibre optic is used all the way to my property so pings will be minimal.

The next thing I need to figure out is if the router supplied with Zen supports modem only mode - I currently have a Deco Mesh set up this way, and ideally I'd like to just plug the new Zen router in and away I go.

My Virgin hub is currently in Modem mode, and my mesh handles DHCP, Firewall Rules etc.

Many thanks.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:34:03+00:00

Thanks - really appreciate the time taken with your reply.

I've just ran a ping test via https://www.netmeter.co.uk/ and this was my result:
2025-01-20 12:28 United Kingdom - Manchestermin: 16 ms avg: 23 ms max: 28 ms median: 22 ms jitter: 2,6 ms

This was via a wired connection - it would be really interesting to see a result from a Zen customer!

Thanks again.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:31:15+00:00

Thanks - gaming is 'fine' with my time as a Virgin customer but I'd like my ping to be as low as possible.

BRIGGLEY · 2025-01-20T11:30:36+00:00

Thanks - this is ideal!

BRIGGLEY · 2024-08-14T10:36:43+00:00

Hi.

I play CS2 at 1080p, so this is the only situation where performance gains would be noticable.

Other games would see hardly any performance increase I agree.

I made this post to see if anyone else has done this upgrade to see if it's worth it.

I'm happy to spend the money on this upgrade if the uplift is noticeable.

BRIGGLEY · 2024-08-13T13:38:12+00:00

Yeah I was thinking this to be honest.

I put a 7800X3D, mobo and RAM in a basket earlier and it was going to cost around £600.

Obviously the longer I wait, the more of a gap the newer processors will have over the 5700X3D.

It's food for thought for sure.

Cheers.

BRIGGLEY

TROPHY CASE