ISA V. PSI

[FOH]

I am building my first system and want to know what is the differance between getting a ISA modem and a PSI modem? The board I am using will support either one. Which one should I get? Thanks!!!

 

[Buddha Bart]

ISA is a dying standard, and while your current computer will support it, your next almost definately won't.
Technicaly the ISA bus has MUCH less bandwith, but that doesnt really matter as it is still much more than a modem can saturate.
Most ISA modems are "hard modems" while most pci modems are "soft modems" or "winmodems". hard modems mean the actually do all the proccesing work on the card in a chip. Softmodems use the cpu to work with the signal, and therefore eat up proccessing power.

The ideal modem would be a PCI Hard-Modem.

bart

 

[FOH]

Thank you for your quick and thorough explanation!!! I am glad I found this forum. Everyone here is so nice and very helpfull!!! THANKS AGAIN!!

 

[Stosh]

You could always get an external...guaranteed to be a hardware modem...

 

[DABANSHEE]

Actually no Stosh, many of those USB modems that have come out of late are winmodems. So don't assume that because its external, that its also 'hardware'.

IMAO the best modems are Jumpered ISA modems, that way you no they are Hardware. As they have jumpers to controll which on card com port to use.

Also AFA modems are concerned, ISA is just as good as PCI, so putting the modem there saves a PCI slot. Plus it saves the desktop space & powerpoint that an external modem would use.

When choosing a modem, its best to get the same type as your ISP, if your ISP has USR X2/V90 modems, then get a USR modem, if your ISP has Rockwell KFlex/V90 modems, then get a Rockwell modem. Since replacing my mdem with one that matched my ISP (Rockwell), my connection speeds have gone from arround 40kbps (max 46kpps) to a minimum of 52kbps & normally 54kbps.

 

[vi edit]

external serial connection ='s hardware