type of dial-up modem?

'Soft modems' typically only works with Windows and loads the CPU since it has to do some more processing. I have heard of varied experiences with those. Some claim that they perform badly if the CPU is loaded with something else at the same tíme.
External modems are .. well external. I recommend you go for an internal hardware based modem. I don't have any specific brand in mind, but years ago when I was on dial up, US Robotics and Zyxel was a good choise. Im not sure how the market looks today though.

<i><b>Engineering is the fine art of making what you want from things you can get</b></i>
<A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=655" target="_new">My systems</A>

External, it doesn't put a load on your system like an internal modem. USR's are still the best.

<b><font color=blue>Press 1 if you want to be on hold, 2 for disconnect, 3 for a representative who will put you on hold before disconnecting.</font color=blue></b>

External, because then your sure it aint using your processor. With my old soft modem my computer used to freeze for a few seconds when I disconnected (especially bad if listening to MP3s) but now my Diamond Supra Express 56k makes no difference. i get a better ping, faster connect speeds, faster download speeds and no freezing  

External, because then your sure it aint using your processor. With my old soft modem my computer used to freeze for a few seconds when I disconnected (especially bad if listening to MP3s) but now my Diamond Supra Express 56k makes no difference. i get a better ping, faster connect speeds, faster download speeds and no freezing  You also dont have to worry about IRQ's and taking up a PCI slot etc (this used to be v.bad for me).

Huh? I can't believe the reasons for why you recommend an external modem. It doesn't put more load on the CPU than a good internal modem. Futher, we are only talking about 56Kb/s. This doesn't put any significant load on the PCI bus. The bad experiences with internal modems just may be because they were winmodems; the type that actually is a burden on the CPU. Get an internal modem to get rid of the hazzle with cables etc. and make sure you get a non-windows type. This doesn't load the CPU any more than an external.

<i><b>Engineering is the fine art of making what you want from things you can get</b></i>
<A HREF="http://www.btvillarin.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=655" target="_new">My systems</A>

I have two US Robotics modems. Both are v92 compliant, one being the 5610b and the other is an External. BOTH CONNECT ABOUT THE SAME. About the only advantage I see to an external modem is that it doesn't take up a PCI slot. Externals are more expensive than Internals too. Like the man says, get an internal, install it and forget about it! Here is a Pricewatch.com link to the US Robotics 5610b

Product
Description
Price
MaxTotalCost
Price + Max Shipping
Dealer/Phone/ State

US Robotics
Info...

USR Performance Pro Modem 56K* V.92. 5610B
U.S. Robotics 56K PCI internal faxmodem RJ-11 phone cord (7 ft) Quick Install Guide Installation CD. Retail Box

(Part - USR5610B)
Price: $ 68

Ship: $6.00 - 8.00 Ground

Updated:9/13, 2:11 PM
$76.00
Pahl Computers
Info...

800-318-8808

OH

I paid almost $90 for mine about 8 months ago.

UsHeR_564

"You can run, but your punk ass will only die tired!"

Internal modems are absolute junk. If you have a phone line that is even barely marginal it will kill your internal modem performance faster than you can believe. Trust me I know from experiance. Even the best, most expensive, highest quality internal modem cant compete with a half descent external modem. I have tested enough modems on bad phone lines to prove that. The best example I have is I have an uncle who lives 20k`s from the exchange. His computer has a fairly deascent quality 56k internal modem. (He has an internal because I didnt build the puter for him) Anyway he can NEVER get a connection better than 9.6kbps with the internal modem. And he also has connection dropouts at that to. I know the modem works because I can bring his puter over to my house and get the full 56k because I only live about a kilometer from the exchange and also have fairly new cabling. Anyway I just got a generic external 56k modem to test his phone line with. Nothing special just something I picked up at a computer fair and I took it out there. It still wasnt able to achieve the full 56k (nothing will) but it did do 33.3 to 39kbps 100% without dropouts. So that proves that you should NEVER EVER get an internal modem. You will end up regreting it. Another plus with the external modem is I have heard a lot of people talk about how hard the internals are to get working a lot of the time. Hardware and IRQ conflics and all sorts of troubles. Also with the external modem you also have some idea of your modem activity by just looking at the LED`s on the front. All these are reasons why it would be stupid to go for an internal modem. I know this is repeating but a good rule to keep in mind with internal modems is if you are too far from the exchange to get ADSL you are too far away to use an internal modem. Oh and before anyone asks yes I have had troubles with external modems too. Only 1 though. And it was a really realy cheap and nasty 56k webexcel on a fairly marginal phone line. A slightly better external modem worked perfectly fine. Just so you can see that I am being fair in my comparasons. Anyway I recommend you get a descent external modem and you will never regret it.
AREA_51

I like the old Lucent 1646T00 modems (better than their newer modems also) because they require very little from the CPU (they'll run on a Pentium 90), perform well, and cost around $10. In fact, I even have a copy of the older, non-MMX driver on <A HREF="http://www.crashmania.tk" target="_new">My Site</A>

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

Have to agree on this one. Externals are generally better then internals. If you decide on an internal, get the highest quality you can, Lots of cheapos out there.

More reasons for the external, does not use a PCI slot, checking out the LEDs, and easy to transfer to another computer. IMHO, I always buy externals.

I would suggest a USR V.92 external.

Crashman, the old Lucents are very nice.

the Prisoner

I'm not a number, I'm a free man!  

Thanks to everyone for your input! So, let me get this straight just to make sure . . . an internal modem that is controller/hardware based is the same thing as an external modem except the internal is in a PCI slot and the external, well, is external. They operate the same way though? Please explain if I'm wrong.
Thanks,
Brent

"Anyway he can NEVER get a connection better than 9.6kbps with the internal modem".

I don't know what kind of internal modem you were trying to use but I'll stick by my post on this! I've been on an analog dialup since 1995. I've used pretty much every brand out there including the Diamond Shotgun setup in Multilink and dual USR modems setup in Multilink. I too have tested MANY modems (for my ISP too), internal and external, from different locations doing computer repair and I don't see any difference between the two except for price and whether it uses a PCI slot or not. To me, the external makes things a little more cluttered because of the extra cables and power supply, which means another something to plug into a wall socket that you may not have available. Don't mean to start a pissing contest here but you're obviously not in the US and there may be some difference there. To me, it just boils down to personal preference! Just make sure you get a good one, whichever you choose!

UsHeR_564

"You can run, but your punk ass will only die tired!"

No I am in Australia. And I stand by my statement that external modems are way better quality than internal modems.
AREA_51