Soft vs Hard modem

[Brangwen]

Colleagues:

Putting together Iwill mobo with 1.2 GHz Athlon. I have been using 2 Winmodems on my PIII system. Is there an advantage to using hard modems? This may be my last upgrade for a lonnnnnnng while, so if I should get away from winmodems, I'd best do it before my wife snips my last credit card!

Thx!

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[Brangwen]

Thx, Wyvrn. Any specific recommendations? And just to be certain, winmodems ARE soft modems?

I'm running Win98se and require modems (2) for fax/speakerphone/data needs.

Thx.

Brannwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[Richard_Cranium72]

The Diamond Supramax got some good comments previously, pretty inexpensive at <$35
http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10020071&loc=389

Or


ZOOM V92/V44 PCI INTERNAL CONTROLLERLESS FAX MODEM $60.00

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=10259088&hdwt=&loc=14577

[DanU]

I had a bad experience with the Supra 56k. This was about two years ago so maybe they've improved, but I wouldn't bet on it. It's still a winmodem.

I was using it with a Winchip2-240, so that also may have contributed to the problem, but the package lists something like a P133 required so the CPU shouldn't have been an issue. Typical ping times were about 400-500ms. Forget about playing any high-speed on-line games with such high latency. Frames were noticably jerky with the Supra. By way of comparison, my old 33.6kbs modem (hardware of course) would report typical ping times of about 100-200ms and playing Duke Nukem 3d (remember that game?) was MUCH smoother.

I also bought one of those cheap PC-Tel ISA winmodems for my sister's K6-2 450. Since she doesn't do any on-line gaming, bandwidth rather than latency is the greatest concern. Pings were high at about 400ms, but that didn't matter. The bandwith of softmodems is exactly the same as that of hardware modems, so why spend extra? I think I paid something like $19 for it. Many times you can get them for free with rebates.

If you're not doing any on-line gaming, just stick with the winmodems. But if you hate being fragged by your on-line buddies, steer clear of any winmodem and go for a real hardware modem. Or if you can afford it and it's available in your area, get cable or dsl http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Does anyone know of any modem reviews where they take latency into consideration. Many times reviewers just test throughput. I personally don't care if I get 53kbps or 44kbps. If the data lags by half a second, it's unacceptable.

[wyvrn]

A softmodem based on the newer Lucent chipsets is a better bang-for-your-buck modem than a hardware one. The cost about 14 bucks and get great pings, low cpu util.

[Lebo]

I would go a winmodem with that cpu, the main difference is the cpu usage of the winmodem as opposed to h/w modem. As far as I know the only safe way to ensure you are getting a h/w modem is to go isa. A lot of mobos these days don't have isa.

[Comtech]

Huh?
Two winmodems on a windows 98 system?
I'd choose two hard modems any day, and they DO come in PCI, just look around.
Multitech, Actiontech, Zoom, and GVC all make PCI hard modems, based on either the Rockwell/Conexant ASF II chipset or Lucent.
Get one internal (possibly winmodem) and the second external serial (not USB), and you'll have better luck.
Check this out: http://www.pcmech.com/article.htm?great1

[wyvrn]

Softmodem and winmodem are basically interchangeable terms. PC-tel modems are notoriously bad, at least in my experience. SupraMax modems are Rockwell chipset based and work well (my bro's connects 50k every time), but have higher cpu utilization than the recent Lucent Technologies (LT) chipsets. Viking modems utilize LT technology and can be readily found on the internet. Don't be afraid to by generic, either, as long as it is a recent revision LT chipset, that's all that counts.

Zoom and USR hardware modems are great too IMO, but a lot more expensive.

[Lebo]

Fingers

It was a qualified statement, I said "as far as I know". My research in the past has led me to believe that most pci modeems are winmodems, and as a general guide if your modem is isa, it is more likely that you have a hard modem.

I would hazard a gues that in your case you are dealing with an isa winmodem! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[Fingers]

As far as I know the only safe way to ensure you are getting a h/w modem is to go isa.

Does that mean the USR 56K Sportster Winmodem (model #5683) in my ISA slot isn't really a winmodem?

[cedar2]

If you are close to the telco switching office you will probably do just fine with winmodems (software modems), but if not, I'd suggest good quality (ie USRobotics) hardware modems. I'm in the boonies and have tried a good number of modems to improve my connection. Winmodems usually manage 19.6 or so with frequent disconnects. Hardware modems are a little faster and a little more reliable. I finally went to an external USRobotics and can pull down 44 regularly and have far fewer disconnects. I think that it was worth the cost.

[Brangwen]

I'm presently using a SupraExpress ISA and a SupraMax PCI. Both hook up regularly at 45-48 kbs. I think I'll wait to see how they run with the T-Bird.

Thanks for all of your helpful suggestions.

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif




[This message has been edited by Brangwen (edited 03-10-2001).]

[captpete]

If you are going with W2k, check compatibility on new modems. When I went to W2k, I had to replace a brand new USRobotics 56K Internet Call Modem. It was not compatible and USR has no plans for making it so.

[Brangwen]

Thx CaptPete!

Brangwen http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif