Modem recommendation help!

[dawgtuff]

I've tried a few and settled on a Zoom DualMode PCI 56K.Had it for almost a year ...no problems.

[emcron]

I'd go with zoom. I have one ISA and its rock solid, I have callwaiting and it doesnt kick me off when I use my zoom modem.

[dexmax]

If your in a budget, try a Motorola SM56 K56flex V.90. Or the ADI Combo Express V.90. Surely 3Com is superior!

[tuando]

Thanks for your advise and helps.

What 3Com modem models do you recommend?

[codybear]

I have an amquest hyper modem from tiger direct for 33.95...ISA...I connect at 48000 to 54000 and download from 46 to 54...not bad for a cheapie and alot of the big boys wont do that good...again there are alot of variables to look at....dont spend alot of money...it is not needed for great performance.......the name is not all you need to look at....oh ya...it has a rockwell chipset so it does not use the processor to do what it does best

[tuando]

Dear Hardware gurus':

Can anyone please recommend a good/excellent 56K V.90 modem (anything except for WIN MODEM) for NT 4.0 and WIN98? I have heard that there are two kinds of modem, software and hardware control. Which one is better and why? Is one is speedier than the other one? Any help and advise is greatly appreciated.

Tuan

[Roy]

Winmodems are the "software control" family.

You can't go wrong buying a 3Com/U.S. Robotics unit ~ non-winmodem, of course. They're the company that established the standards.

[tuando]

Thanks to all of you for your advice and help.

Here is the summary of recommended modem:

- 3Com/USR: 2976 PCI ($60), 5610 (I can't find the price for this item at www.pricewatch.com) (http://www.pricewatch.com))

- Zoom dualmode 2925 ($50).

I ruled out some USR model such as Courier and 5687/SPORSTER because one is 33.6k and other is ISA bus.

Can anyone help me to finalize the choice, USR 2976 or 5610 or Zoom?

BTW, any link that could help me to find USR 5610 is greatly appreciated.

Tuan

[Red Rage]

Personally I swear by USR/3Com, to me their best products are their external modems, so logically I always suggest them because then your SURE it is a hardware modem. Alot of sales people (present company excluded) do not know the difference between hardware/software modems.

The best i've used is their courier (sp?) v.90/x2 but its expensive.

The next best is their Sportster Ext. it preforms great and the price is not too bad.

I use one of the original Sportster External 56k connect everytime 49,333 or 52,000, and and the usual download through FTP with local server is 5.3/5.4k, The only time it went way lower is when some moron set up a warez site and took all the bandwidth :-( then i got .5 - 1k but the rest of the net was.. eh ok but a bit slower.

Ok i'm doing that ramble'n thing again..

L8r

~Red

[KillerBug]

Go to http://www.pricewatch.com search for this:

dos modem v.90

[tuando]

Thank you very much for all your help.

I have to discard any pricey modem. No matter how good they are, I find that modem over a $100 is overpriced because of the telephone line limitation. Technically, I can't explain why I discarded external modem; however I had a feeling and based on my experience (Parallel HD, I have owned a Multitech External modem in the past) that anything external is usually slower than internal. I think the internal modem card (ISA/PCI) has more circuit path (I don't know how many contact a PCI/ISA have, my guess is probably over hundreds) than the external one thus communication must be faster.

Any way thanks for everybody helps.

Tuan

[tuando]

I just went to a local store to browse for a modem and I saw a DIAMOND SUPRA EXPRESS w/shotgun software. It claims that I can re-use my modem, combine both of them to a speed 112K. What do you guys think? Is this sound too good to be true?

Any input is greatly appreciated.

Tuan

[Mntsnow]

Shotgun Technology is great /forum/smile.gif I use it at home and average around 96 to 104. (and I use SYGATE to share my net connection with the other computers on my lan.
NOTE: to use shotgun tech or anyother "multilink" software technology you MUST have 2 phoneline's and a ISP that will allow 2 CONCURRENT dialups!.

Mntsnow

[dawgtuff]

One of the units I tested was a diamond supra express(non-shotgun).It dropped connections constantly.BTW- If you decide on a ZOOM,get the "DualMode" not the "WinModem".

[Comtech]

Note: If it's PCI, it's a winmodem, except the Actiontech Call waiting modem, and a particular model of GVC. These are the only 2 PCI hard modems around.
DO NOT buy a Motorolla, PCTel, Cirrus Logic, or Texas Instruments, you'll be sorry, and don't even ask for updates/tech help.
Get a USR if you want to spend more money than you really have to.
Get a Rockwell ISA modem if you want a good modem without the inflated price.
Get a Diamond Supra Express External if you want the nice little flashing lights on your desktop, and even more wires to add to the rat's nest behind your computer.

[ANTONIO E GUERRA]

We all hate winmodems but most of the modems now are winmodem or very similar. They only work with windows (forget linux). The best bet get an external modem because you are getting a real chip independent from all the operating system. I like the Creative Labs External (they are not that expensive). If you need an internal, get an isa but even the isa modems nowadays are using winmodem technology. I like the Rockwell Isa, it is very reliable. Usr Robotics are nice but try to avoid the ones that say winmodem or "requires windows 95 or 98"). They all use resources from your cpu.

[scotter]

any of the creative lab mobem blaster's are realy good modems I love mine it gets me conected every time at 49,333 and never drops me good support and updated drivers all the time /forum/smile.gif

[Brian48]

I like the Creative Modem Blaster line myself, but as far as my number one pick would be, it would have to be my Actiontec Call Waiting PCI. Best gaming and all-around modem I've ever had. Here's my user-review on it from the main page if you care to read it:

http://www.sysopt.com/userreviews/modems/reviewhtml/ActionTec_Call_Waiting_PCI_modem.html

And no, it's NOT a winmodem.