ISA or PCI Modem?

[Noreaga]

DSL has not arrived in my city, I'm currently using a 33.6 Dynalink modem and it's alright, but I'm planning on upgrading to a faster v.90 modem. Please can someone tell me what the best modem is, I'm only concerned about speed (speakerphone is not necessary). Is 3com really the best/fastest?

[kwai]

the most important thing to find out is what 56K protocol your ISP used to support 56Kflex or x2. then find a modem that supports that older protocol also. v90 works, but its a compromise, and you can increase the data transfer rate as much as %20 by matching the old "standard". also, i'd advise against a pci modem -- they can complicate troubleshooting sometimes. and if you are going to be doing any online gaming, don't get a winmodem (software modem).

[augidog]

i have never noticed a diff between ISA or PCI modems...using an ISA allows me mucho more control over my mobo resources!

i have a generic ISA modem with the Lucent chipset and no problems.

[800XL]

Just my opinion, but if the ISA bus really disappears, I will go back to external modems. PCI modems are just another device sitting a crowded bus waiting to bump into my video or SCSI card. ISA modems behave themselves as they ride along on the short bus. It also seems that many PCI modems are just winmodems in disguise. Great, lets put a CPU sapper on a bus where it can bus master and take over even more resources! Seriously though, many of the PCI modems I've seen are software modems with no DSP onboard. They are in effect "cheaper" units than ISA cards. Shop carefully, and like someone above said, make sure you match your ISP's capabilities as well. A good PCI modem may work great, but a bad one could be worse than you would ever expect. Also, check your cable company to see if they are expecting to offer service soon.

[ipetroianu]

I would save the money for the moment you can get cable or DSL. Ther is no much of a difference in download and surfing when you go from 33.6 to 56. Most of the time you'll be able to connect at not more than 44k.