What is the Fastest Dial Up Modem?

[GarbMan]

I want something to suck in the KiloBytes. Everytime I try a different modem I get a different connection speed. Changing the settings has very little benefit. I have an AMR slot in my computer. I can only connect at about 36K reguardless of the modems I try. I live in the country and I can not get cable or DSL in my area. Satelite is to expensive.

 

[lupohki]

I think maybe it's your phonelines that's limiting you then.

 

[GarbMan]

Yes, your probably right. Someone mentioned to be a noise filter. Do they work? They are not cheap.

 

[amdskip]

Sometimes I have a little luck running a new phone line directly from the telephone companies box outside the house directly to your computer. I have not heard of filters helping but it's a possibility.

 

[JC]

I think the USR v.everything modems are the best hardware modems for us dialup-types...but I live in the country, can't get DSL or cable, and only get 31200.....consider yourself lucky

Can you get any wireless out there? AT&T Wireless is available to some around here....supposed to be pretty fast

JC

 

[MSantiago]

Modems are pretty much all the same when it comes to connect speeds--it's the lines themselves that are holding you back. If you feel up to it, you can buy some cat5e cable and crimp it to an RJ-11 connector. If you use that as your phone line patch cable and still get mediocre connect speeds, it's the telco's lines that are at fault and there isn't anything you can do about that.

 

[c0rv1d43]

Actually I've seen quite a bit of variation in connect speed that was directly attributable to the modem being used. Part of the variation comes from the differences between the way comm protocols are implemented through the OS for software modems vs the way they are implemented through hardware on an external modem. And some modems just handle noisy lines and speed negotiation better than others. The USR externals tend to be outstanding on all accounts. I proved this to my wife one day by switching between her internal WinModem and a USR external. The internal modem connected to her Earthlink dialup consistently at 35-40K, and the external modem was ALWAYS in the high 40s to low 50s. She let me yank the internal POS and consign it to the trash where it belonged.

An external modem can also reduce CPU loads due to comm activity. Makes a big difference in responsiveness on some systems, particularly older hardware.

But if I had to guess, and I do, I'd say that this situation sounds pretty much like a line noise limitation. A good external modem may improve connect speeds somewhat, but the difference may be underwhelming.

- Collin

 

[FluxCapacitor]

Yeah I agree, the modem can make a difference, sometimes a large one.

My parents live in an area with horrible phone lines... I think they used chicken wire or something instead of phone cabling. It's really that bad. Anyway, using an internal ISA US Robotics modem they could get about 33-35k connections. When I upgraded their computer we tried getting a Creative Labs external modem, which turned out to be a bad idea when their connect speeds went down to about 24-26k. Apparently it couldn't handle the line noise very well. So, we ditched that and went with a good ol USR external modem and connect speeds went up to 44-46k. Not too shabby. I tried to tell them to go with USR to begin with, but trying to convince my parents that the extra $50 was worth it when both modems are the "same speed" was futile. I guess they should have listened to me.

Try a US Robotics external modem. External modems are your best bet. It's worth the extra money (and you can always take/send it back if it doesn't do anything for you). And get a quality serial cable to go with it (it doesn't come with one). Don't expect to get a 53k connection though. I mean it's possible, but if your lines are as bad as they sound you might be able to get high 40s with the USR.

 

[dbrown39]

Another thing that can slow down or make it seem like your connection is slower is that your ISP at different times of the day depending on network traffic will switch you to a slower server that is not as busy. The best thing to do is contact your ISP about your concern and find out when they have a high traffic time and try to connect before or after that time so you connect to a faster server. Make sure the phone number you connect with is a 56K .90v server at your ISP.
Good Luck

DB

 

[zephyrprime]

maybe isdn?

 

[MWink]

The Creative/DSI 56k V.90 internal PCI modem is the best modem I've found. It works quite well even on noisy lines. It's also quite cheap ($20-30). Just make sure you don't get the V.92 version which is not as good.

 

[Baldy18]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
maybe isdn?

I have residential ISDN and it is about 4 times faster than dial-up (at least it has been for me) at about $10-15 more per month.

That said ISDN service sucks. There are constant problems with it if you use it for your primary phone line also. Then when you call the phone company (Ameritec here) about it nobody there knows anything about ISDN. Now that the problems are worked out it is alright but if there is another storm that causes me to lose phone service the problems will be back and it will be a month before they will get fixed.

 

[GarbMan]

You guys (and maybe gals) have given me some good ideas. The USR external modem sounds good and I will look into the Creative V90 also. I have ran a good quality line straight to the box, even to the first pole. That got me from 28K to 36K. I have two phone lines and I have a dual modem setup, but if I playing a game, I stand a double chance of one line dropping out. It does this more then you think. Its good when it works (about 60K). You would think I would get better then that with two modems! I wonder what it would be like with two USR externals? Maybe 80K! I would like to hear from someone who uses a filter. Maybe the USR modems have a buit in filter.

 

[peter7921]

Originally posted by: GarbMan
You guys (and maybe gals) have given me some good ideas. The USR external modem sounds good and I will look into the Creative V90 also. I have ran a good quality line straight to the box, even to the first pole. That got me from 28K to 36K. I have two phone lines and I have a dual modem setup, but if I playing a game, I stand a double chance of one line dropping out. It does this more then you think. Its good when it works (about 60K). You would think I would get better then that with two modems! I wonder what it would be like with two USR externals? Maybe 80K! I would like to hear from someone who uses a filter. Maybe the USR modems have a buit in filter.

Hey Garbman do you know a link that can show me how dual modem setup works and how to make one? I also live in the country and would be interested in trying this. I gues im lucky when it comes to quality of phone lines cause i consistently get 51-53k connections. Thx.

P.S. Ever since i upgraded to Win XP i will sometimes connect at 115k although it isn't really that fast (actually about 52k) when testing connection anyone else experience this bug?

 

[GarbMan]

You probably don't have the exact drivers you need for your modem so it reads your connection speed wrong. Try updating your drivers. The setup for two modems is simple. Physically install both modems in your computer, go to internet properties and click on the "connections" tab, click on your connection, go to "settings", then to "properties". If both modems have been configured right, you should see them listed with a check box beside each one. Check both boxes and both modems will dial (usally one then the other will dial). You have to have an Internet provider that allows you to be logged in, in two different places at the same time. I use EarthlinK.

 

[MWink]

I wonder what it would be like with two USR externals? Maybe 80K! I would like to hear from someone who uses a filter. Maybe the USR modems have a buit in filter.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this (again) but, I've had very bad luck with USR modems on noisy lines. In fact they tend to do worse than ANY other modems I've tried. The V.90 PCI (hardware, I think) modems never seem to do even 28.8 on noisy lines. I've replaced a few of them with the Creative/DSI I mentioned and the connections speed usually jumps to about 44Kbps. I've also had some problems with USR External modems. I had a X2 (anyone remember that? ) USR External modem which I flashed to V.90 and it was always loosing the connection even on our near perfect phone lines. Though that one might just have been defective.

 

[Technonut]

The Creative/DSI 56k V.90 internal PCI modem is the best modem I've found. It works quite well even on noisy lines. It's also quite cheap ($20-30). Just make sure you don't get the V.92 version which is not as good.

I have used both the Creative/DSI and USR internal hardware modems. I found that the Creative/DSI was indeed better, giving an average of 49K compared to the USR. (44K)

 

[RanDum72]

Another good modem that works well with less than ideal phone lines is the Diamond Supramax (PCI winmodem). Its based on the Connexant chipset, which is the same as the Creative labs. When I still had AOL, it always connects at 50-52K. My USR external modem couldn't even top this.

 

[moronNZ]

Phone line is the limiting factor. The line may be too old. Some phone company even let multiple customers share a single phone line(It happens in New Zealand). I also want to say chipsets are important as well. I have three 56K modems(Topic,Rockwell,Motorola). Among them, motorola/rockwell performs the best. Motorola/Rockwell are all capable downloading constantly at 4.9k/s while my topic can only get 4.4k/s(same ISP,same line). I say this from hours of downloading observation

 

[veryape]

Number one would have to be Creative's Modem Blaster 56k, and second in probably the one i'm currently using, which is Diamond's Supramax 56k. With mine, I never get anything under 50k, and generally it's 52, but i've also had the Modem Blaster, and it was a great modem, very fast. Other than that there is nothing you can do to make it any faster, since you're likely limited by your phone lines, but at least a decent modem will help you somewhat.

 

[Snoop]

If you dont mind spending a little money, the US Robotics V.92 Hardware modem is the way to go.
At newegg its around 70.00 dollars, look Here.

 

[rocketbubba]

As someone has already stated, don't get a Creative/DSI V.92 modem (I don't know about the V.90 - my problems are with the Broadxent brand V.92). The drivers are pretty bad and there's little if any support available for it. First the documentation that came with the card is horrible at best. For support it directs me to their on-line support - there is no phone number listed. Well, if I can't get the dang modem to work, how the heck can I get to their @#$% web site?? Then, I check their webpage (from a different computer obviously) for support and it says that there are no articles available for this modem - I'm starting to get a headache just thinking about it! When I look for a new driver it does not list my model - it directs me to the Creative web page. I managed to locate a driver set for this modem and downloaded them - the drivers didn't seem to have any effect. So I check for a support phone number on the web page and it tells me to look at the documentation - so in effect there is NO support number. Bottom line folks - I would never ever recommend one of these modems. Run away - run fast!

 

[LED]

I too live in the Country and have tried most brands with the External US Robotics winning out for me. I also rewired the phone lines and had the phone company install 1 new box at the driveway so I hit 52K...before was 44K

 

[woodie1]

I had a lot of trouble connecting @ more than 33,000 for a long time. Then one day I unplugged all the phones in my house and found out 47-52K was possible with my lines. It was one of my own phones that caused the noise. Try it, you might be surprised. Then go back and plug in one at a time until the connection speed drops. Bingo you have the guilty phone.

 

[Aboroth]

If you ever call the phone company to complain about line noise, *don't* mention that you are trying to use a modem. They will look at it if you are having problems with voice communication, but the phone company typically will completely ignore all complaints regarding line noise interfering with modem connections. So if you ever call them to complain just tell them you hear noise when talking on the phone.