Software modem or hardware modem?

Lazarey

Gawd
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Dec 17, 2006
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I am buying a new PC from Velocity Micro this evening and I need to know, which is better a software modem or a hardware modem?
Unfortunately I still use dial-up though I hope to get high-speed soon. I will not be doing any online gaming with this computer while I have dial-up.

Here are the preliminary specs on the PC if matters:
Velocity Micro Vector GX Holiday Edition
Motherboard: Genuine Intel P965 Chipset Motherboard with DDR2, PCI Express.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400, dual 2.13 GHz cores, 2MB L2 Cache
RAM: 1024MB Corsair DDR2 PC5300 DDR667 (1 x 1024).
GPU: 256MB eVGA NVIDEA GeForce 7600 GS.
 
If i remembered correctly, hardware modem will work with other OS such as linux. Who uses dialup anyway? save your $$$, get the CHEAPEST modem as you will upgrade to broadband soon.
 
There are actually plenty of people that use dial-up, a lot more than most people think. Also, those living in the country do not have access to anything faster, usually.

I would recommend a hardware dial-up modem. They are so cheap, usually less than $25. You can even find some online for under $10. I have no experience w/ software modems, though.
 
I recommend hardware modem.
I am forced to use dialup because nothing else is available and use a hardware modem myself.
 
The hardware modem is a $65 option on the VM config. The software modem is only a $30 option. Could I add a hardware modem after I get the system? Is it hard to do? I don't have much computer building experience.
 
This is an easy one. Hardware Modem. Especially if you ever intend on using any non-Windows OS.

-Larry
 
Putting in a PCI modem card is really easy, you literally just stick it in the slot, and then load drivers for it. Most come w/ the driver disks, and some even have the drivers built into Windows XP.

$65 for a dial up modem card? That's utterly ridiculous. I'd hate to know what they are charging you for other parts.........
 
Personaly I would prefer a hardware modem. Back in the day(think early pentiums and like pentium 2s) haveing a hardware modem was important because of the cpu overhead of a software one. Now it shouldn't really matter.
 
Thanks so much for all the help everyone! I ordered the PC last night and decided not to have ANY modem installed. I will put one in once it gets here. Velocity Micro said that it will not void my warranty.
Any advice on what modem to get?
 
=Lazarey
Any advice on what modem to get?

Without question..a hardware controller based modem. My reason...has absolutely nothing to do with wether you can run it in a non-windows OS..but my reason is for performance purposes, and compatiblity with software. Software controlled modems SUCK as far as performance goes. Slight line noise causes frequent disconnects. Poor throughput when your PC is working hard doing other things (software..meaning your CPU is also performing modem jobs)

US Robotics is still a top notch one here....their external 5686 modem (about 90 bucks), and their internal 5610 (about 75 bucks).

If you can find their Courier model..on fleabay, snag that one. It's about 250 bucks new..but one of the best out there..can practically hold a signal through a lightening storm.
 
Demon_of_The_Fall said:
The difference between software and hardware is being able to game badly and not being able to game at all.

One cannot answer that without knowing the game. Granted on a heavy client game such as the Battlefield series..yeah. But on some games like the original Unreal Tourtnament, Quake 3, 2, even 1, etc...it was fine. I remember having pings back in the dial up days of 120..115...etc, while playing Quake 2 and UT.
 
Can you get a nice dial-up modem for around $25-$30? The cheapest one YeOldeStonecat suggested was $75. I'm not sure I can afford that much. What does paying that much get you?
 
Lazarey said:
What does paying that much get you?

It gets you what was mentioned above.

Software controller modems (USR named them "Winmodems") use your CPU heavily...they skimp on costs by not using onboard hardware controllers. For your average AOL user and web surfer..they work somewhat "OK". They don't tolerate noisy phone lines well, are more prone to disconnects, perform poorly when your PC is under heavy load (such as....gaming).

Hardware controller based modems have...hardware controllers built into them. Your PC has less work to do, your CPU isn't taxed like on a winmodem. They perform better...and don't crumble when your PC is under heavy work loads.

Like many things in life..."You get what you pay for".
 
It's been a long time since I've purchased a modem...

The cheapest internal hardware based modem on newegg looks to be around $70, as stated, however a quick browse around should give you some hope.

Search Froogle for the USR5610B or 3CP2977-OEM as those are both controller based hardware modems.
 
I hated software modems, but they've gotten much better than they used to be; and with computers being so much more powerful, the resource hit is minimal now. But still, I prefer hardware modems, especially since the price difference is quite minimal.
 
You can get V.92 USR hardware modems on ebay for about $15+shipping.
 
A hardware modem with onboard controller and DSP is the way to go. They are usually 50-100 bucks. If you have dial-up it's foolish to NOT invest in a good modem. That would be like trying to drive a Geo Metro through the harshest country terrain with no roads. You'd be better off spending a bit more money to get a nice Jeep.
 
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