Ok I hook up my laptop to my modem with an Ethernet cable and then when I USE wifi I use an Ethernet cable between the modem and the router correct ?

So whats wrong with that setup; what else could I use then Ethernet and why and would it be better and would I notice it being better ?    A friend mentioned something called " Network " then he dropped it when
it couldn t explain it so am I missing something ?

ALSO when I use the modem my ISP speed is 58 gigs; just love that but then when I want to move about with the lap top I use a netgear  N600 and I get a huge over the top drop in speed down to 26 gigs !

Is that NORMAL; do I need a better router to get better in sync with my ARRIS Modem or what ?      Can I speed up my router and if so how ? !      Just got a router this past week and was shocked at the huge speed drop off; using a router for the 1st time now to get mobile now and then .

Thanks for the help  .  .  .You generally shouldn't be connecting directly into the modem and only using the router for wireless - You should leave the modem connected to the WAN/Internet port on your router and then if you want to connect with a cable, connect it into one of the LAN ports on the router.  I would never recommend connecting a COMPUTER directly into a modem - There is no benefit in doing it and you don't get the additional security benefits of having the router acting as a firewall between the internet and your PC.

There is nothing wrong with that, that is the regular way of doing it, that sounds like your friend is just talking nonsense, Ethernet is the standard way of wiring up a network, there are no practical alternatives for the average user.

Try it with your computer plugged directly into the router and then with the router connected into the modem - See what speed you get then.  This will tell you if the router itself is dropping off the speed or the speed decrease is due to the fact you are using wireless (which is often slower by nature).

What model of laptop do you have?  It's possible the wireless card in it isn't capable of getting the full speed out of your router.Have a dell laptop using win 8.1 64 bit model Inspiron 15 3000 series hope that helps .