Dial up modem suggestions?

[Slickone]

My moms modem ( USR Sportster 56K internal) quit working (guess lightning got it) - won't connect and even the phone won't work when running through it, so I'm looking for a replacement that isn't too expensive.

I'm staying away from USB modems.

Someone on here once said SupraExpress (hardware) modems are reallly good. A review on cnet said the external SE was faster than the internal. Eb*y has several internals, no externals (that I found). All non USB ones were v.90.

I also once read Lucent (which is now Agere) DSP software modems are the best of the software modems (better than USR's, like the 5610). Eb*y has quite a few pretty cheap, even v.92.
I guess the SupraMax (software w/ Conexant/Rockwell chip) and Intel modems are not as good either?

Someone on here said USR OEM 2977 modems are cheap/decent. PCI but still a hardware modem. Didn't see any on Eb*y.

Should I get v.92 or not? She uses Earthlink and they still don't know if/when they will support it. A hardware v.92 modem (which seems to be mainly USR), may be more expensive, especially external, than hardware v.90 modems or software v.92's. Are USR Performance Pro (int) v.92 modems any good? Are they hardware?
Are Hayes Accura v.92 (ext) any good? Or Zoom?

Also I'm concerned after reading this thread saying maybe getting an internal v.92 v.44 is better than an external.

Also this says Lucent/ Agere winmodems are the best 56K available.

Thanks!

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

I doubt she'll notice a large difference in speed if you were to put in a standard cheap-ass Winmodem. Based on my personal experience, switching from a cheap free-after-rebate CompUSA winmodem to a Diamon hardware modem was the best thing I did for my dial-up connectiong. My pings when gaming were a lot lower after switching away from the winmodem. I highly recommend going with a hardware modem.

Good luck!

 

[Slickone]

Which v.92 56K would be better: a Lucent/Agere LT Winmodem (1648C chipset), or a more expensive (and is it worth the extra $?) USR Performance Pro (PCI, but has on board controller), or USR Sportster external?

 

[MWink]

IMO, USR PCI modems are not worth $5. They perform worse than any other modems I have tried (especially on noisy lines). Most any modem should work well (Lucent, Conexant, the chipset is not important IMO). I like the old Creative/DSI 56k V.90 modems. They work great even on noisy lines. As for V.92, I do NOT recommend it. Of the 3 V.92 modems I have worked with, 2 were complete junk. The other 1 does work quite well but most ISP's don't support V.92 yet (if ever).

 

[bjc112]

I second that,

Go with a U.S Robotics Hardware modem, its the ONLY alternative to broadband!

Good Luck

 

[Mem]

I`ve heard good reports on the USR Performance Pro 56K V92 modem ,going with V92 modem is only worth it if your ISP supports V92 and a lot still don`t.

I actually own both a hardware (Diamond SupraExpress 56i V Pro modem) & Winmodem (Elsa 56k HCF Microlink PCI) which I use for gaming, pings & downloads etc are the same,so don`t overlook a good Winmodem.

 

[Slickone]

MWink and bjc112, the USR Performance Pro (PCI) I asked about is a hardware modem...

Mem, the Performance Pro seems to be about the same price on eb*y as a good USR v.92 hardware modem. Is that because of the gamers willing to pay more for it's gaming mode, or is it a better modem overall? It will be going on a 900mhz Celeron, which a new Lucent/Agere winmodem might work just as well on, huh?

 

[Mem]

With a 900mhz celeron you should have no problems with a Winmodem,online gaming performance depends on many things like phone line quality, server & ISP you use etc.
Btw the USR Performance Pro V92 is a hardware modem.

As a gamer I always go for a good server online that has a good ping,you can have the best modem in the world but if your ping on the server is crap then you will have bad lag etc.


Choosing between hardware and Winmodem is down to money really,to tell you the truth I`m happy with both my hardware and my Winmodem(which has a DSP) that I`ve in both my PCs.

You more or less have 3 types of modems,hardware,Winmodem with DSP(like HCF modems),and softmodems(like HSF type).
My advice would be to go with a hardware or Winmodem (that has a DSP), with softmodems everthing is done by the CPU,so for gaming a good hardware or Winmodem that has a DSP to take the load of the CPU during gaming would be the wise choice.

 

[Slickone]

Btw the USR Performance Pro V92 is a hardware modem.

Yep, that's what I said.

I didn't know there were 2 types of winmodems. The Lucent/Agere based ones I was looking at have DSP's. Do a search on eb*ay for 'lucent v.92' and it's the multiple ones by same seller for$9.99.

 

[MWink]

MWink and bjc112, the USR Performance Pro (PCI) I asked about is a hardware modem...

The USR modems I was referring to ARE hardware modems. (I think...)

 

[Slickone]

The USR modems I was referring to ARE hardware modems. (I think...)

So you dont think USR hardware modems are good? I've never had any bad experiences w/ them. Not saying there might not be something better.

 

[thorin]

"Dial up modem suggestions?"

Is there some type of modem that you don't dialup with?

I'd suggest a USR Hardware PCI modem (OEM parts 2977 or 2976). Both myself and a number of friends have this modem and have been using them flawlessly for years.

If you do get a WinModem definately go Lucent or Conexant

"IMO, USR PCI modems are not worth $5. They perform worse than any other modems I have tried (especially on noisy lines). "

If you have noisy lines get a hardware modem and you'll never have problems. Any winmodem will have problems on a noisy line.

Thorin

 

[Slickone]

Is there some type of modem that you don't dialup with?

Cable modem. DSL modem. T1 modem. T3/E3 modem.

If you have noisy lines get a hardware modem and you'll never have problems

As MWink said, he was talking about hardware (PCI) USR modems.

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: Slickone

Is there some type of modem that you don't dialup with?

Cable modem. DSL modem. T1 modem. T3/E3 modem.

Heh....good try. Now go look up the definition of Modem and tell us if any of those devices are actually modems? (Hint: Modem stands for MOdulate DEModulate ... if a signal is purely digital then no conversion takes place).

If you have noisy lines get a hardware modem and you'll never have problems

As MWink said, he was talking about hardware (PCI) USR modems.

Perhaps he was. However alot of experience (both mine and other's) is that HW modems consistantly get higher rates and better connections on noisy lines when compared to WinModems. Do a search online and you'll find lots of people that say the same thing.

Thorin

 

[MWink]

If you have noisy lines get a hardware modem and you'll never have problems. Any winmodem will have problems on a noisy line.

I don't even know where to start on how wrong that statement is.

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: MWink

If you have noisy lines get a hardware modem and you'll never have problems. Any winmodem will have problems on a noisy line.

I don't even know where to start on how wrong that statement is.

Ok fine I shouldn't have said "any winmodem" however myself and others have seen time and again that HW modems are much more forgiving or tolerant of line noise then Winmodems are. I wasn't meaning to say that winmodems are totally unforgiving or untolerant of line noise, simply that HW modems handle better. Do you really need me to link to the other 40 threads on this topic?

Thorin

 

[Slickone]

Heh....good try. Now go look up the definition of Modem and tell us if any of those devices are actually modems? (Hint: Modem stands for MOdulate DEModulate ... if a signal is purely digital then no conversion takes place).

Yep, I learned that 18 years ago w/ my 300 baud modem. I think now it has simply become a name for it, not dependant on what it actually means or was derived from. A lot of names aren't really correct when you think about it, especially in the computer world. We call one computer a PC and another a Mac, when they're both Personal Computers. And...crap I had another example but forgot. My cable modem says 'Cable Modem' on it. That's what Toshiba calls it so that's what I call it. Besides my subject made the question more clear and complete to the readers looking over the threads than "Dial up suggestions?", which could refer to ISPs, modem settings, etc.

BTW, do we know that most of the people complaining about winmodems not doing well on noisy lines, aren't using fully software based winmodems, rather than winmodems with their own onboard DSP chip?