Dial up modems

I'm using wm connect and download are sloooow! I'm wanting to know if the type of modems really make much differences, they are not so high priced that if would make any real difference I would change out for more speed.

Your limited more by the phone line its self than you are the modem. Its unlikely changing the modem will speed you up unless you changing to a hardware modem, then you may as I believe the compression is better, but the performance increase is barely worth sniffing at to be honest.

-Chris

i'm using a legacy ISA 56K V.90 , as i have for the last 14 years. i hate it more than you can possibly imagine. i dont really have any reccomendations, it really is the line...but i'm almsot crying just thinking about this modem. its causes more headaches than i can count. bah. bah humbug!

(edit) okay, sorry about the brian fart. i've been using this modem since it came out and cost like $45...before that we had a 14.4 that actually was prety nice. i wish i could download at 14 KBS...heh. 2.5 average here. same ISP for 14, thats a big brainfart. (/edit)

That's what I was thinking but I just realy wanted to hear that we were all having so much fun. Please pass the hammer it's my turn to hit my big toe, you no, you don't know how much it hurts till you quit. Thank!

When I was on the dial-up train, I had an external USR modem that served me very well....................

correct me if im wrong but i think that u might be able to get a faster download if u get two phone lines and 2 modems and use them at the same time. U would have to get in touch with ur internet provider but i think that u can get a faster download if u use 2 modems.

yeah the majority of places don't support that.
Considering the price of 2 phone lines and the extra cost from ur isp ur better off seeing about cable,dsl, or possibly isdn (that would be a touch better than the performance from combining 2 modems).

You can combine as many as you want, but most isps don't like it. Theoretically you would have a possible connection of a little over 100kbps however, if your only connecting at say 40kbps now expect a max of 80kbps. You also take up both phone lines when u do this. A couple of companies made modem specifically for that, look for 112k modem or something like that.
I use a internal pci us robitcs (hardware) modem. I can play call of duty, ut2003, warcraft 3, etc without much lag. get a hardware modem as it doesn't rely on your processor. Also get one that supports v.92, helping for games and web browsing. It doesn't boost ur dl but it does boost your upload speed. theres no satelite internet where i'm at so, me stuck with 56k for a while.
I wouldn't get satelite even if they did support it though because, it has a higher latency, so gameplay is bad, and bad weather could mean u have no internet, and its hella expensive. ISDN is probably your best bet if you want to spend the extra cash. If you get a (dual 64k lines) 128k line it will be noticeble but a 64k line won't be worth it. (No isdn for me either).
Also having a fast computer greatly helps when web browsing and playing games.
I strongly recommend us robotics. They are the best i've had. I connect at 44kbps just about any time i dial in and I live well over 3 miles from the telephone processing station. My old zoom i had would barely get 32kbps. Also for some reason OEM for a modem isn't good. I had a OEM model of my modem and it would usually connect at 38 or so. So get the retail.
Also you could try getting a petition. I think if 12 people sign it they have to run cable whereever your at and those people don't have to get the cable.
However, i don't think 12 people live down my street. Im in a swamp lol, im lucky they have phone lines back here and a paved road

I have two identical machines. See sig (my son has the other one.)

One machine has a generic 56k Win modem.

The other has a USR hardware modem that I got from newegg.com for $44.

The Winmodem connects at 28.8
The Hardware modem connects at 40.0

Same machine, same OS, same phone line, same overclock, same, same, same.
Different connect speed.

Modems suck. If you can get anything else, do that. If you can't because of location...I pity you. I used to play UT on a 28.8, it was like playing with my left hand cut off.

To clear it up a little better....

Hardware means the modem has its own controller. Winmodems, or other similar types, sometimes labeled HSP (host signal processing) means that the CPU handles all of the modems operations. HSP modems are junk, they are less stable and generally have slower speeds. Plus they make your CPU do work it could be using elsewhere!

Having worked in the internet business for many years I developed a strong hate for HSP modems. All ISA modems are controller based, some PCI modems are. Last I checked the PCI flavor wasnt worth the cost. Use an ISA if you can.

If your downloads average 2.5 then you are connecting slower than 28.8, possibly 19.2 or 21.6 If I had a customer with a controller/hardware based modem getting slow speeds I would instruct them to call the phone company and ask for them test your line for noise.

In some cases you may need to embellish your story, as in, say you cant stay connected to ANY ISP for more than about 5 minutes without getting booted. It works, they arent too concerned about helping if you just say you have slow speeds.

I noticed a significant increase after switching from a Winmodem to my Zoom 3049 V.92 Serial Modem. General serfing is just the same as cable but downloads are still slow and you will never get away from that . I purchased both a USB and Serial for a week and returned the USB. Much better performance from the Serial. If you looking at external modems only purchase a Zoom or US Robotics. They’re both dirt cheap on eBay.

"General serfing is just the same as cable but downloads are still slow and you will never get away from that".

General surfing with my cable connection completely blows away the dial-up I had. You must of had a great dial-up connection!!

I still do. I have no plans to upgrade to cable. I rarely download and do not play online games. I have the fastest internet access possible in this day in age at work and hardly notice any difference accept when downloading and then there is a HUGE difference.