Modem/router combo

Personally I believe it does matter. I have only used separate units and my ISP does not offer a combined unit but I know that some do. Generally my recommendation is always get a standalone modem and a separate router. For one thing the routers included in these combo devices are often of lower quality than the standalone ones and also have less options for advanced wireless features. They also get less frequent firmware upgrades. Also if you want to upgrade one or the other you don't have to buy a whole new unit, you can buy one or the other and if one breaks you also only have to replace one of them.
As I said, I have only used separate units but I know that to use another router with a combo unit requires special set up and not all separate routers are capable of doing that so you have to be sure to purchase one that is capable.

Depends a lot on your ISP---Mind sold me a combo for the price I would pay for a separate router. The convenience is that there are less cables. My ISP is there to install firmware and trouble shoot it no charge, and no fees for maintaining it. They sold me one that is compatible with the equipment on there end.

Separate modems and routers are almost unobtainable here. Certainly no ISP that I know of supplies anything but combos, and very few if any retailers sell them.
On the techy side of my desk I have one of my pair of external speakers, a two HD dock, a modem/router, a telephone extension handset, a printer, my laptop, two mice & pads and a tray full of thumb drives. I really don't need anything else.
I should add my M/R is not ISP supplied. It is a somewhat up-market bought one, which drives my laptop, my wife's laptop in another room and our smart TV in yet another room quite adequately (ie no buffering on the TV)
I won't even begin to talk about the mess of power cables under the desk, except to say everything is surge-protected.

Here in U.S. there are some ISP's that provide nothing else but combined units, many also provide just the single modem and users supply their own routers. This is the case with my ISP. Some ISP's also allow users to provide their own modem, mine does not. Customers must use the modem supplied by them. It is also a rental not to be purchased. But they maintain it and service is excellent. I have had problems twice with the modem and they have given same day service and immediate replacement of modem. No additional charges. I am on my 2nd router in 7 years. I own it, cost me $25.00. When I decided to go to wi-fi I asked the service rep who had come to replace our lines and modem what router he would recommend and I followed his advice. Have never been sorry.

Sirfredrico [Q]now i have at&t and the modem and router is combined, it fiber optic they say. but i only get a speed of 16. i have a friend that has fiber optic and he gets a speed of 100! why the big difference? you loose that much speed living in an appartment?[/Q]

Speed on the fiber optic or any other type of cable is determined generally by what the user is paying their ISP for... In your friends case he is most probably paying for the faster 100 Mbps while you are paying for a lower/mid range download speed.... If you are paying for 100 Mbps download and not getting close to that you need to contact AT&T Uverse folks. As I recall on the WS forum you posted that you are getting what you pay for... Uverse does offer 100 Mbps in their fiber optic markets, but you have to pay for that extra speed....The market is competitive and some ISPs offer higher speeds at a cost similar to what  others are paying their ISPs for lower download speeds....

he pays the standard rate for their internet. there is only one price for his, the company doesnt have  a cheaper priced internet. i guess thats why his is $150 per month, and mine is only $40. in other words if he wanted cheaper internet at a lesser speed, he couldnt get it to have fiber optic, it is the only speed at a fixed rate...i suppose thats because his ISP only wants to collect the most $$$$ they can. its new hope phone and cable, the one i had a few years back, only i didnt have fiber optic as they didnt have it then.

Before he goes to all the trouble and cost of purchasing his own modem he needs to check and see if that is even allowed by at&t u-verse. It is possible that is not allowed. Many ISP's do not allow users to use their own equipment and if he purchases a modem without checking first he could be wasting his money.

My ISP is one that does Not allow users to purchase their own modems, they must use the modems supplied by them. We can and do use our own router.

If at&t u-verse only offers the combo units then it is likely the only choice for him is put his router away or look for another provider.

nightowl what modem you have and the one paulh's brother has can be entirely different even though you are using the same company. Depends on geographical location as to what equipment you are given. I know my local office of the ISP provides one model of modem and the offices in other towns of the same ISP provide different models of the same brand modems.

A quick update. ATT updated his equipment with an AC modem/router combo so he is just going to use that and shelf his ASUS router. Since his service is ATT Uverse, the modem had to be for DSL and not cable.