PCI or ISA modem....

[CrackRabbit]

I have 3 Modems at my disposal and im wondering which one I should use in my machine, as far as reliability and speed.
Modem #1, An older Hayes Accura 56k ISA hardware modem.
Modem #2, A Conexant Chipset (RS56-PCI) winmodem, pulled from an HP
Modem #3, A PCtel PCI winmodem.


Which one is the best one to use...


Thanks,

CrackRabbit

 

[AirMail1]

Go with the ISA modem.

Win modems use a smidgeon of cpu power. The ISA modem is typically hardware and not software bound. Also the ISA will run on Linux where as the winmodems require a Win OS.

Also depending on your setup, you get the benefit of freeing up a pci slot.

Edit: Also check the hayes site to see if there is a firmware upgrade to flash the device.

 

[MallowJr]

good one airmail.

 

[GregMal]

By all means, if you've got an ISA slot use the hardware modem.
Greg

 

[Modus]

None of those are shining examples of either hardware or software modems. I strongly suggest you test each modem's throughput (download a large .ZIP file from your ISP or a close server) and latency (ping -n 10 your.isp.ip.address). Then you'll know for sure which is better.

Also, see if you can get a flash ROM update for the hardware modem. If you can get one for v.90, then the hardware modem might be the better choice. But most ISP's now don't offer good K56Flex or X2 support, so v.90 is a must. The winmodems have the advantage that the driver IS the modem, so they will continue to improve and perhaps even support v.92 in the future. But those winmodems aren't the best around.

Tough call.

Modus

 

[GregMal]

I must be lucky because my ISP offers flex/X2/V90 lines......
and I've found better throughput using X2..........
Greg

 

[SgtStank]

I'd say just do some testing. The diffence between ISA and PCI will not affect modem transfers since we're only talking about a MAXIMUM of 56Kb data transfers, and last time I checked ISA is capable of that speed!


Although, personally I'd go with the ISA since it's the true hardware solution of the 3. I'm not too fond of Winmodems.

 

[LostHiWay]

I've always had better luck with ISA modems than PCI modems. Hardware and software.