USRobotics 56K hardware PCI modem for $20 + shipping, good?

[ewsn]

Just browsed into this place. A hardware voice modem from USR is priced at $19.99:

www.microtechcomputers.com/product.asp?Sku=MOUSR5695BULK

ground shipping is 7.75, not bad too.

I'm not sure about this company's rating, resellerratings.com does not have their name

 

[FSUpaintball]

Yes. This modem goes for $50+ in stores, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Squisher]

Linkified

$24.99 now, still hot.

 

[Underclocked]

If it's a hardware modem, why does it require Windows 9X plus? Just askin.

From USR site:

List Price: $115.00
Your Price: $99.95
Model: USR5695

Free long distance phone calls within the United States and Canada.**
Make outgoing calls while you're online.
Online call notification.***
Easy installation.

Designed to work exclusively with the Windows operating system.

 

[uchau]

Actually I don't think this is a hardware modem at all? Why does the modem say that Pent 133 is the min for the card? My USR PCI hardware that cost $50 said the min was a 486 or something that low.

 

[ETan]

what is the difference between this modem and a cheap $10 one, like a winmodem?

Can anyone tell me if it is worth it to spend more than $10 on a pci modem?

and is it worth it get a V.92 modem? Newegg has them for around $20+ shipped. Is that a good / better deal?

 

[Fishmonger]

Cheap modems like winmodems (also called software modems) process their signals using software drivers, using up your CPU cycles and other resources. The process could take up to as much as 30-40% of your CPU cycles.

Hardware modems do their signal processing using an onboard chip so it uses a lot less CPU and other memory resources.

It used to matter a lot but might not matter so much anymore these days because CPUs are much faster now. Back in PI / first generation celeron days it used to make a lot of difference.

 

[jonnashville]

You may want to peruse other areas of A*Tech and other tech sites for modem recommendations. After reading those, I bought a 9-month-old lightly-used external v.92 Zoom off eBay for $45, since USR's quality has dropped significantly. Since many folks are switching to broadband, good hardware modems are cropping up more and more on eBay.

Also, I doubt that this is a true hardware modem (it may only have a DSP chip in it to take over some of the processing from your Windoze processor). A true hardware modem will not be OS specific; for example, the external v.92 Zoom handles DOS, Linux and Mac as well as all versions of Windows.

Edit: 3 other stores on Pricewatch are selling this same modem for under $40; none of them mention that it's a controller or hardware-based modem. Only MicroTech is doing this. USR is also becoming famous for not supplying good XP drivers for discontinued products. I also did a search on USR's site for firmware updates for this modem: nada. That is a rarity for controller-based modems, which leads me to believe it is not fully hardware based. There is also no v.92 upgrade path (which would require a firmware upgrade). Caveat Emptor.

EDIT 2: I found an Excel file (Price-List_march-2002.xls) on the USR site intended for resellers (searched for USR5695). THIS IS A CONTROLLER-LESS MODEM; not hardware based:
USR5695 USR 56K V.90 Internet Call Modem UPC662705350585 Controllerless PCI $115.00 (suggested list)

Microtech, it seems, is not to be trusted.

 

[CAunt]

Software vs hardware implementation does still matter!
Almost all software modems CANNOT be run under Linux for the simple reason that the hardware is not there and the manufacturers do not release the information required to make a linux-version software driver... and most don't bother making a linux version themselves.

So if anyone wants to buy a cheapy 56k modem, why spend $20? Wait for one of the $20 - @$20 rebate deals that run frequently on this kind of modem. Then at least when you have to throw it out because you can't stand restrictive OS licsensing anymore, you haven't wasted your money. That's what I did.

 

[jonnashville]

Especially under WinXP, many cheapo modems don't work. The freebie Conexant winmodem I got from CompUSA (boxed as Mach 2 or BestData) works fine under Win 98, but not at all with Win XP, even after trying the alleged XP drivers. I've also experienced a 20% download speed gain with the Zoom external.

According to reports, the only older winmodems that seem to work reliably with XP are Lucent based.

 

[vortix]

<< Almost all software modems CANNOT be run under Linux >>

Lucent ones can Hardware modems are still, of course, much better than software ones.

 

[Athena]

It's a Winmodem with voice capability. If you don't need voice, you might want to look at the deal at PC Club -- $6.99 + shipping (after rebate) for a USR modem is not bad at all.

It must be a bad link. This morning's newsletter says should have a $20 rebate good through the end of the month.

 

[jonnashville]

Your link to PC Club doesn't work (there's a log-in code in your url).

Linkified without the nasty code:
USR 5699

THE $15 LINKED REBATE EXPIRED MARCH 31!! PC Club's site is incorrect, or has an improper link.

 

[wyvrn]

<< Cheap modems like winmodems (also called software modems) process their signals using software drivers, using up your CPU cycles and other resources. The process could take up to as much as 30-40% of your CPU cycles.

Hardware modems do their signal processing using an onboard chip so it uses a lot less CPU and other memory resources.

It used to matter a lot but might not matter so much anymore these days because CPUs are much faster now. Back in PI / first generation celeron days it used to make a lot of difference. >>




I don't know of a single current winmodem that uses 30-40% of cpu cycles. The newer chipsets are much easier on the cpu, and offer pings as good or better than hardware modems. I believe Modus wrote an article for Anandtech on this very subject. This statement is nothing more than completely ignorant.

 

[erickotz]

Sort of an interesting sidenote on soft-modems I discovered. I've worked with some poorly written software (DodgeView anyone?), that, amoung other things, at least appeared to run itself as time-critical. As a result, anything else would temporarily stop responding for a few seconds frequently. This often caused the modem to disconnect, when I was connected to the internet. The best conclusion I can reach is that the software modem was not responding to the remote system, the remote system hung up. So if you're getting frequent disconnects and your computer temporarily stops responding..... I doubt a hardware modem would have had this problem.

 

[Fishmonger]

wyvrn the almighty diamond member who knows everything,

Ignorant I might be, but at least I've learned how to read and interpret the English language.

First of all, please read my comment "the process COULD TAKE UP to as much as 30-40% of your CPU cycles." Please pay attention to the words "could take up." I didn't say it takes 30-40% on every single computer, but based on my personal experiences it could take up that much CPU resources for some computer configurations.

Secondly, please read my comment "it USED TO matter a lot but might not matter so much anymore these days because CPUs are much faster now. Back...used to make a lot of difference." This comment implies that modern day software modems used IN CONJUNCTION with recent CPUs offer much better performance than before.

I'm not a computer expert, I only speak based on my personal experiences, but I don't go out and call people ignorant when I don't even know who they are. When I owned a Pentium 166mhz a few years ago, I owned software modems that would take up 35% of my CPU usage. However, I now have a software modem based on the Lucent chipset. When used in my Athlon XP setup, it hardly takes up any resources. I suppose you know every single modem out there and have tested it in every single available computer configuration out there in the world?

 

[jvisaria]

Whats a "modem" ?

 

[DestruyaUR]

3Com's hardware modem is called the Performance Pro Modem. This most likely is a glorified winmodem.

 

[Underclocked]

THIS IS? a hardware PCI modem for $19.00 - limited stock and shipping is a tad high.

Okay, now I'm scratching my head on this one The ONLY driver I can find for this is at DriverGuide and it indicates the modem to be based upon Motorola chipsets (winmodem). However, within the .inf file in that driver is reference to the Lucent Venus chipset???? - which would be hardware. I'm backing off my order.

From MS: "Actiontec 56k Venus Modem Device (No further product information available) Compatible with Windows XP"

 

[amdskip]

Fishmonger, all he is saying that generally a hardware modem will conect much better than a winmodem. I have seen it myself at my friends house. 1 Ghz Athlon is highly affected by the modem that is used. 48k connection=hardware modem, 33k connection=winmodem

 

[jonnashville]

That $19 modem would be a good deal if you could upgrade the firmware to XP (if you are using that OS). However, the only info about the PM560 on the manufacturer site (here) does not mention the MS2, and gives a warning about upgrading firmware on some PM560 modems.

It's a crap shoot... it might be only Win98 or 2000 compatible (maybe that's why it's only $20.) Plus, there are no XP drivers (the Win2000 drivers are 2 years old) and it's been discontinued for quite a while.

 

[rimshaker]

The best hardware based modem i ever used was still the USR 16-bit ISA card from long ago. Modems don't need a 32-bit interface, but the industry has eliminated the ISA bus.

 

[GlenatUF]

a USR PCI *VOICE* modem sounds too good to be true for 20 dolla. I suspect they have a DSP on there and then they claim its a hardware modem. I dont know much about modems except for my experiences - winmodems suck hard (cause cold restarts without warnings if u get the drivers wrong, slow connections, random hang ups, and so forth), and ISA hardware modems and non-USB externals (all of which are hardware) are the shiznich. Did anyone pick one of these up? I've been looking for a decent modem foreva. LMK please!!!

 

[ETan]

man i haven't used a modem for a long time... but now that i'm graduating i am not gonna have my t1 line anymore..

how do you use the voice / fax / etc function of a modem? I just don't have a clue... I thought the modem just lets you connect to the internet...

 

[dragonlord2112]

If anyone really needs a hardware PCI modem, try this guy I have bought from in the past. It's an Intel modem. I got it from him off fleabay, but he also has a site I later bought another on. Link to Site

BTW: It's $15 plus shipping. I have this and a cheapie AMR modem running on my 1800XP system, and it connects more solidly. Also, the win2k drivers on it work GOOD in XP. Just click the "continue anyway".