[non-win]Modem/sound combo recomendation?

[Lee Marshall]

I am upgrading to an ASUS Mainboard that does not have any ISA slots. Therefore, I must forgo my ISA AWE32 and (almost new)USR56K. My desire is to go to a USR PCI [Non-win modem, without question] and a Sound Blaster Live! Value. However, that solution is too much $$ right now. SO, can anyone suggest a PCI combo [NON-win] modem and sound card? I haven't even found one listed anywhere, so the answer may be that they don't exist... Thanks! LM

[Ygor]

Before we got cable modems I looked around a lot for hard (non-win) modems. The only ones I found were us robotics/3com & isa.
I never saw a combination hard modem and sound card, but then again, I had one experience with those that was more than enough. That was a win-modem.
I asked the tech who installed our cable modems about software upgrades. Apparently cable modems are hardmodems, cause there aren't any software upgrades, at least for the ones we have. (There are some registry tweaks, but not traditional software upgrades.)
Others have asked about pci hardmodems here in the last year or so. I never saw any responses, so this is my guess as to what's become of hardmodems. I think the only pci versions will be broadband, cable or dsl.

[Lee Marshall]

Ygor,
Thanks for your info. I realize that hard modems are fading. I have found a number of hardmodems (PCI even), but no combos. I know Creative makes good PCI sound cards, and makes modems that people say are ok. I'd think they would save some money and offer a combo (that works...)
LM

[bdunn]

Why not go external on the modem? Just don't go USB thats all.

[Axel]

you might try thumbing through a creative labs catalog - but most of the time - I wouldn't wish a combo card on my worst enemy..... most of them are a driver nightmare and cause other problems in your system..... - also - if one stops working - you lose both.....

I'd say spend another $35 and get a good external 56k v.90 modem and get a good sound card - creative is good for sound cards packages.

external modem - so you can power it down and up again to reset it completely without rebooting your PC which you have to do with internal modems. you can also watch the led lights on an external to see what it's doing....much friendlier.....

[Comtech]

There are only a select few "hard" PCI modems around.
Actiontech
Multitech
GVC
USR "gaming" modem.
Zoom now has one as well.
ALL OTHER PCI modems are winmodems.

Go for an external.
Read a few posts at www.56k.com (http://www.56k.com)

[Ygor]

So there ARE pci hardmodems? Great!

Actually, my original 'puter had a soundcard/modem combo. I managed to keep the sound part but it took 3 days for a shop to get a new modem to work in there. If I'd hung around that shop longer I could swear fluently in Chinese...