Possibly warm deal on Lucent-based not-a-winmodem: Update: IS a winmodem. Not hot.

[Kwad Guy]

UPDATE: I went back to CompUSA, and it turns out that the Lucent
modem *IS* a winmodem. So not hot deal here...Sorry...


I was in CompUSA today to pick up the free after
rebate 56K modem they had advertised. It's
a Prime Peripherals modem which turns out to be
an Aztech MSP5900-U, which in turn is based
on the dreaded PCTel chipset. In other words,
it's free, but buy it to use in someone else's
computer

HOWEVER, as I was looking for the modem, I noticed
that on the same shelf they had Prime Peripherals
modems (PCI) that appeared to NOT be winmodems
and that were based on the Lucent chipset. These
were marked at $35.
At any rate, $40 or less for a Lucent non winmodem
is an OK deal.

Kwad

 

[thaugen]

O.K. I give up. Wotinell difference does it make if it's a winmodem or non-winmodem? Now, rain down on me all you brillyunt knowitalls!

 

[goog40]

A winmodem lets the computer handle all the work, so it takes up a bit of resources. How do you tell a winmodem from a hardware-based modem without looking at it?

 

[Frglss]

Winmodems lack some of the hardware that non winmodems have, therefore they have to use software to run instead. Software = more CPU cycles and less than optimal performance. *nutshell explanation*
<edit>typo</edit>

 

[Leo]

It's a winmodem.

 

[db]

and must have win to run. if dos, linux, beos, etc you are sol.

 

[Kwad Guy]

OK, here's a question to you all. What are the disadvantages of
external modems. Almost no one I know uses an external modem anymore.
Even people who I know have relatively modern 56K externals lying
about use a PCI (or ISA) internal modem. Even if they need
a non-winmodem they'll go out and buy an appropriate internal
rather than using the external. Why? OK, it takes one piece of
hardware off the desk and frees up a serial port. But on the other
hand, it uses up a PCI slot (or ISA slot if you're lucky
'cause there's no other good use for an ISA slot anymore)AND
(more importantly) uses an IRQ--the fewer of those you have to
use, the happier you will be when installing the next piece of
hardware.

AND, even the cheapest external modems (excluding USB modems) are
non winmodems...That's certainly a plus.

Anyone?

Kwad

 

[psxjunky]

Yes, WinModems _do_ take up a significant amount of CPU cycles to compenset for the lack of its complete hardware support ... but in my experience, if your CPU is PentiumII 333 or higher, you hardly ever notice the difference. This is the reason most computers today (even big brand name ones) use internal WinModem.

Now if you use a non-Windows OS, your only choice is a true hardware modem.

Just my $0.02

 

[Frglss]

Kwad, looks like you have answered several of your own questions already. The downside of exteral: extra cable, power supply needed, if you have an older PC, you may not see all the speed possible due to the older UART chip and as you said: &quot;lost desk space.&quot; i have seen speed tests where several externals were actually a bit faster than internals of the same make. Not much of a downside and you can watch the send/receive lights also to monitor your current 'net condition. As long as it's a hardware modem and you have a PCI slot you don't need; go either way. I don't care for ISA modems since anything installed on the ISA bus will slow the whole PC down. As you can tell, I'm no expert, just trying to give an off the cuff explanation. Anyone feel free to correct me on my misgivings.psxjunky good points I left out.

 

[Leo]

Don't get a USB modem, whatever you do. The verdict is still out on those (need a USB modem review at Anandtech!...), but considering the performance hit other USB devices take on your system (mouse), there's a fairly good chance that it'll be noticeable when adding the winmodem hit plus the USB hit on your cpu.(cpu utilization).

I've had a 56k PCI winmodem for 4 years now. Upgraded from a 28.8k supra (hardware based DSP). Overall I've been pretty happy with it. It only cost $30 (www.blacklabmicro.com <- just found out they went out of business... almost as bad of a company name as mobshop). I think my experience has been better than most, because I chose a winmodem with a lucent chipset, which are the BEST supported winmodem chipsets, hands down. 3com/usr is no longer supporting 56k modems (they recently came out with a press release stating that they were exclusively supporting broadband consumer solutions). Generally you'll see the same or possibly even better performance with a winmodem (lucent updates all the time). Unless you have poor quality phone lines and care about online 3d games. Which has been my case lately. I just moved into a new apartment not too long ago and the line noise here is attrocious, even with only one phone plugged in. I tried another winmodem, with the same result... dropped connections, packet loss from hell, and random pauses (while the modem retrains). This is noticeable with any CPU. I've gone from a celeron 366 to a p3-500 and now I have a p3-933. It still causes horrible ping times and dropped connections when I'm playing Quake 3 or even Quake 2 to a lesser extent. The problem is that the cpu actually does hit 100% for pretty much the entire time when you are in an opengl game and if the modem needs 10% of its attention for critical tasks such as modulation and demodulation and error control than something has to give... and that would be the data packets being sent out thru ur modem. Maybe it's not the modem, but the line noise? Unfortunately it is the modem, because an external Zoom 56k (#2949) does not exhibit the same symptoms. Ping times are radically lower and much more consistent. (gone from 300-350+ ping that roared to 999+ way too often, to a consistent 150-200ms ping using the 56k external going over serial.) If your a gamer, you are best off with a 56k hardware based DSP modem, otherwise there's no reason to not choose a lucent chipset based winmodem.

You really have to read the fine print to find out if a modem has a hardware based DSP. Winmodems come in pci, isa, and now USB. Hardware based DSP modems have typically been limited to external serial port models or isa. Recently there have been pci gaming modems coming out though and these are probably the best solution, considering isa slots are slowly getting phased out and many of the newer motherboards have 1 isa if any (my tyan s1854 included - 6 pci, 1 isa). Where to find a PCI hardware based DSP modem? If you know, please tell. Here's a link to zoom's newest PCI modem.. that is NOT a winmodem. 3com has one too I believe... but given their recent announcement.. I'd rather stick with Zoom:

http://www.zoom.com/news/pci-controller.shtml

The requirements aren't absolute surefire ways to tell if its a winmodem or not. You'll see p-133 and windows on alot of non-winmodems as well. Usually the cost is a hint. Non-winmodems start at around $65, whereas winmodems can be bought for as low as $13. $30-$40? It's a winmodem.
Need Modus in this thread

 

[403Forbidden]

broadband

 

[spec411]

ok..how about this question---my phone lines only get a 26k connection when i logon, i knwo its not my computer ive tried at a diff location get 42k+ and ive tried 2 comps here... i use a high quality phone cable, etc..

called pac bell they only guarantee up to 2400!!!! anyone else get such slow phone connections or is it just me?? i got a cable modem so now im cruisin but just curious if anyone else gets such a poor connection>>>>>

 

[uncouth]

I use an external modem on my mac...

I have no respect for winmodems.

 

[Pretender]

spec: my friend used to get horrible connections ...don't know what speed, but constantly slow, sometimes disconnects or frozen connections for up to a minute. He got cable also and the problem went away.

 

[Tylerdave]

if your only option is dial-up, definitely use and external

 

[The Wildcard]

I thought all win modems were lucent based? At any cost, I would say winmodems is one of the most stupid and useless computer perhiphal in the world.