Any reason to upgrade to H/W modem from a Winmodem if its on a server?

[shurato]

I have a cheap HCF winmodem on my win2k server which also acts as an internet sharing gateway to my win xp machine and my win98 machine. I get connects of 46.6 to 48k usually. Is there any reason to upgrade it to a hardware controller based modem? I play games mainly on my XP computer so a winmodem taking up my processing resources shouldnt be a factor. 46.6 to 48k seems to be a decent connect also.

I wanted to upgrade to a modem that does v.92 so I could utilize the call on hold feature...but was thinking of getting a hardware based one instead of a cheap winmodem if there was any reasons to in my situation. I know im stuck in the stone ages of dialup but I cant get broadband in my area and I need to squeeze everything I can out of this damn dialup.

 

[RC7]

Damn. I can't get dialup either. Fastest connect we can get here is 28.8. Consider yourself lucky.

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: shurato
I have a cheap HCF winmodem on my win2k server which also acts as an internet sharing gateway to my win xp machine and my win98 machine. I get connects of 46.6 to 48k usually. Is there any reason to upgrade it to a hardware controller based modem? I play games mainly on my XP computer so a winmodem taking up my processing resources shouldnt be a factor. 46.6 to 48k seems to be a decent connect also.

I wanted to upgrade to a modem that does v.92 so I could utilize the call on hold feature...but was thinking of getting a hardware based one instead of a cheap winmodem if there was any reasons to in my situation. I know im stuck in the stone ages of dialup but I cant get broadband in my area and I need to squeeze everything I can out of this damn dialup.

Since your server really isn't doing anything intensive, using a Win modem won't hurt anything.

 

[shurato]

Yeah figured it wouldnt be that bad, but would i see an improvement in speed or latency? Yeah we're nitpicking over a few extra k here but that anything actually helps when your stuck with a dialup modem.

 

[apriest]

The best modem I have ever encountered (for an internal) is the U.S. Robotics 56K V.92 Performance Pro Modem (USR5610B). $68 on NewEgg. All of my customers that have had trouble with line noise and bad connections have done far better with this modem. Downloads are somewhat quicker too. Perhaps it is because it is controller based and has better compression or something, I'm just not sure. It has a gaming mode to optimize latency problems. It's all I ever use in servers (for an internal anyway) because I rarely have trouble with this model "locking up" like winmodems occasionally do, requiring a reboot of the machine to reset it. Best modem you can buy in my opinion.

 

[shurato]

How about the USR "external" v.92 controller based hardware modem? I was thinking of either getting that or the Zoom 3049 v.92 hardware modem. With v.92 are you able to place calls while online also? I know u can recieve calls. I noticed the USR models did not support v.44. But I do like the fact you can upgrade them with flash upgrades.

I bought a creative labs modem blaster external "supposed" hardware modem and it was a POS...my win2k wouldnt even boot up with it connected. That modem supposedly let you place calls while online also. I would avoid that modem like the plague.

 

[RemyCanad]

I would get a external modem if at all possible. You can usually get better speeds with a good one. I get 51 (under win98, in winXP it detects the send an recive and says I get 115! ) with my win modem. I tried out a Diamond Supra Max and I connected at 54, and downloaded at 7-7.5k. The man reason it even helped is because I worked for the ISP and knew what chipset your Ascend Max has so I just talked to lucent and asked what chipset works the best for it.

 

[apriest]

The USR 56K V.92 External Faxmodem (USR5686D) and the 56K V.92 Performance Pro Modem (USR5610B) are pretty much identical. The only difference is that the external has the guts enclosed in a box with a serial port and has its own power supply. The board inside is essentially the same as the PCI card. You will get the same speeds and features with either model. The internal is cheaper of course, and the external offers the ability to view the modem lights and reset the power without a reboot (fairly essential for a lot of servers). I went with the internal for most of my customers so they would have a better looking computer with less to hook up. Makes things less complicated for them. ;-) I have not had good luck with Zooms lately (on the tech support side, too many of them going bad). I?ve switched to USR completely. I sell a USR5699B (controllerless winmodem) for $35 or so for people that don?t want to spend $68 on the better USR5610B. I don?t even bother doing anything cheaper anymore. I end up with RMA?s!

 

[toadstool]

This might help. A few months ago, I bought the US Robotics 5610B "Performance Pro" modem. 3 days ago, a lightning storm KO'd it. I went out and bought the Zoom 3049 (the one you mentioned). I figured, i might as well buy that because it had "lightning" protection (or so the box says anyhow).

I used it for a day or two, but I'm taking it back tommorrow. I was not happy with it's performance, compared to my "dead" USR model. I coneected at 46-48......and my USR always connected at 49-52. It didn't seem as fast on the browsing , and it would "lock up"......just stop connecting. I would have the "internet explorer" tell me I can not connect with the web page. This got frustrating after a while, so earlier tonight I went to Wal-Mart and picked up the "external" 5686D. I'm using that now , and already it connects better than the Zoom ( 49-50 so far), and the browsing is much quicker.

Out of those 3 , the 2 USR models stand out. So, since you mentioned the Zoom model, I figured my experience with it might help. I wasn't impressed with it.

One other thing you might want to know, if you get a V92 modem, you won't be able to use the features unless your ISP supports it, and most do not. If the main reason for getting a V92 is the "on hold" feature, you may end up buying a modem only to learn later that you can't use it's features.

 

[apriest]

toadstool, very good advice. Sounds similar to the trouble I've had with Zooms lately. Not really this topic, but on a side note, nearly all of the computers I've sold have an APC UPS or at the least an APC surge protector. I don?t dare run a computer without a battery backup anymore, and I don?t dare use any company but APC. In fact, all of my phone equipment and cable equipment in my house is protected by surge protectors or UPS?s with phone line or coax surge protection. There are just way too many power problems up here in Maine and I?ve lost too much valuable equipment to lightning. I?ve almost gotten to the point where I won?t warrantee my systems if they weren?t purchased with a good UPS. Nearly 72% of the systems I?ve sold without UPS?s have had blown parts within a year, and 0% of the systems I?ve sold with UPS?s have had bad hardware, other than an occasional fan somewhere. Those are some hard statistics!