Re: GPL: Which Modem

A USB modem would be best for GPL. Alison's site has a review on them too. The problem with serial modems, even hardware ones, is the time the CPU has to spend managing the port. USB does away with this. Jason. JC wrote:

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> Hello > > What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in > regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site > that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external > and internal versions? > > Thanks in advance, > JC

-- Jason Monds http://www.proracingclub.com - Pro Racing Club! (N3, GPL, Fun Run Sims) http://www.racersdomain.com - Race hosting. (Please remove 'no extra spork' when replying)

On Mon 16 Oct 2000 02:27:44p, JC wrote: >Hello > >What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL?<snip> What a question! There are conflicting reports on this, but basically the most important thing is that it is a "hardware" modem - in other words it doesn't have to rely on the CPU to do its processing. Speed isn't that vital - a 33.6k modem will usually work fine. USB? I've only ever had one, and it was appalling - it'll take a lot to convince me to go back. The ISP makes a difference, too - the free ISPs we have in the UK are very handy for testing this, as there's no commitment. Pings and packet loss can vary a lot between ISPs. If you have to choose, choose a steadier connection over a lower ping - in GPL, a ping of 500 and a quality of 0.990 (press ALT+L when online to see this) is much better than a ping of 300 and a quality of 0.920. My current modem is a US Robotics internal hardware 56k V90, and it works admirably. I generally get pings of around 170-200 for servers based in Western Europe, 350-ish for America, and 600 for Australia. -- David. (GPLRank handicap: -5.86) The GPL Scrapyard - http://www.hillclimbfan.f2s.com "After all, a mere thousand yards - such a harmless little knoll, really" - Raymond Mays on Shelsley Walsh.

JC. If you have a USB port free, I would suggest that that is the way to go. ALSO, be aware that there are modems around that are part software modems (i.e. much of the processing is done by your CPU, not the mode itself). this is obviously bad news for game playing. I don't really know makes/models etc. but I'm sure you'll get some suggestios, best advise if you have USB first. Maxx On Mon, 16 Oct 2000 15:27:44 +0200, [email hidden] (JC) wrote:

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>Hello > >What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in >regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site >that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external >and internal versions? > >Thanks in advance, >JC

the best one in my opinion is US Robotics external V90 56000, I have 190 latency on polish servers and ~ 290-350 on foreign servers, but most important is anyway your internet provider...... -- Pozdrawiam Richie ( Piotr Oblicki ) [email hidden] http://gpl.pulse.pdi.net http://oj.gad.pl U�ytkownik "JC" <[email hidden]> napisa� w wiadomo�ci news:[email hidden]... > Hello > > What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in > regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site > that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external > and internal versions? > > Thanks in advance, > JC

Hello What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external and internal versions? Thanks in advance, JC

beforer i got isdn i used a dynalink vq-sompfin external modem.it seems to me as a very good one:) some people i know had an intern modem alsoo 56k v90 but.... very strange..they cauld not get in the races on the vroc with those modem! gl. erik

On the advice of some people on RAS I picked up a used internal 33.6 modem. Works great for VROC as you have plenty of bandwidth for joining races (28.8 will work as well). The 33.6 worked much better than the 56k software modem I have (lower latency, better quality, and more stable). Beware of some USB modems. A friend of mine bought one and had to turn resolution and details way down to run online. He ended up buying a used 33.6 as well and was very happy with the result. Hope this helps Ken MacKay Halifax, Canada GPL Handicap +80.61 JC wrote:

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> Hello > > What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in > regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site > that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external > and internal versions? > > Thanks in advance, > JC

I agree entirely with Ken (I'm the "friend"). The USB modem basically sucked in GPL (I have a PII 333, 128MB RAM, V3 3000 and Logitech FF USB wheel). With my previous modem (a winmodem) I would get 36fps online almost all the time. With the USB modem (and no other changes) it would often be in the 20's. I got less warping online but the fps hit wasn't worth it. On Ken's advice I picked up a used internal "hardware" (i.e. not winmodem) 56K modem and ran it at 33.6. It's almost as warp-free as the USB and no fps hit. The USB modem was a waste of $, don't do it unless you have a much faster PC than mine. I have also heard that USB modems and Voodoo's don't get along so if you have a D3D card you may have better results. I recently got ADSL so hopefully my dial up GPL days are gone though! :) "Ken MacKay" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On the advice of some people on RAS I picked up a used internal 33.6modem. > Works great for VROC as you have plenty of bandwidth for joining races(28.8 > will work as well). The 33.6 worked much better than the 56k softwaremodem > I have (lower latency, better quality, and more stable). Beware of someUSB > modems. A friend of mine bought one and had to turn resolution and details > way down to run online. He ended up buying a used 33.6 as well and wasvery

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> happy with the result. > > Hope this helps > Ken MacKay > Halifax, Canada > GPL Handicap +80.61 > > JC wrote: > > > Hello > > > > What type of modem is considered "best" for GPL? I am interested in > > regular phone modems (not ISDN, cable, etc.). I read on Alison's site > > that serial modems are not a way to go. Does that mean for both external > > and internal versions? > > > > Thanks in advance, > > JC >

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (K_Kid) wrote: > excuse my ignorance . . . > how can you tell if it is a 'hardware modem' > I have "US Rbx 56k Voice Win" modem. > thx > The word "win" in your modem description usually indicates it is a "Winmodem" or a windows based modem. This is usually a modem that requires the cpu to handle some of the data processing when the modem is in operation, and is thus a "Soft" modem. This type of modem will usually suffer worse performance than a hardware modem. Other indicators for a soft or win modem are that virtually *all* PCI internal modems are winmodems. Almost *all* external serial or usb modems are not winmodems. 8-) *Peter* - http://www.cix.co.uk/~peterpc/home.html

In article <8shej6$6ba$[email hidden]>, [email hidden] (Ray) wrote:

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> I can't find my documentation on my system, but in Windows it says my > modem > is : > > US Robotics 56K Voice Win > > I'm pretty sure it is a hardware modem (Only tried VROC a couple > times but > had 36 fps and no warps). I've seen the boxed versions at the computer > stores and I believe the "Win" handle on the end is short for "for > Windows" > but not necessarily "WinModem" which would imply a processor intensive > modem. But I'm no expert. > > I don't know a way of checking for sure - anyone else?

Is it an internal PCI modem? if it is, it is almost certainly a winmodem. Does it have the letters HFC or similar anywhere in the control panel entry or description? if it does, it is almost certainly a winmodem. When you start to use the modem, does the mouse pause for a split second or so as the modem tries to connect? if it does, it is almost certainly a winmodem. 8-) *Peter* - http://www.cix.co.uk/~peterpc/home.html

I can't find my documentation on my system, but in Windows it says my modem is : US Robotics 56K Voice Win I'm pretty sure it is a hardware modem (Only tried VROC a couple times but had 36 fps and no warps). I've seen the boxed versions at the computer stores and I believe the "Win" handle on the end is short for "for Windows" but not necessarily "WinModem" which would imply a processor intensive modem. But I'm no expert. I don't know a way of checking for sure - anyone else? Ray Domagoj Malovic <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8sguec$9nle$[email hidden]...

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> Well, I don't know about that particular model, but I can pe PRETTY > sure that the WIN part means it's a software solution, therefore > eligable for getting rod of! :)) > > Win probably should tell you that it will only run on a windows based > platform, because it does all the commpressing, decompressing, and > error checking in software. What wou have on a modem card is basically > DA converters, that talk to your phone line, and that's it. > > Hope I am wrong! > > Domi > > "K_Kid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > excuse my ignorance . . . > > how can you tell if it is a 'hardware modem' > > I have "US Rbx 56k Voice Win" modem. > > thx > > > >

excuse my ignorance . . . how can you tell if it is a 'hardware modem' I have "US Rbx 56k Voice Win" modem. thx

Well, I don't know about that particular model, but I can pe PRETTY sure that the WIN part means it's a software solution, therefore eligable for getting rod of! :)) Win probably should tell you that it will only run on a windows based platform, because it does all the commpressing, decompressing, and error checking in software. What wou have on a modem card is basically DA converters, that talk to your phone line, and that's it. Hope I am wrong! Domi "K_Kid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > excuse my ignorance . . . > how can you tell if it is a 'hardware modem' > I have "US Rbx 56k Voice Win" modem. > thx >

I disagree Jason, USB modems are not as good in GPL on-line as a serial port one, not even close.. I have done many experiments with USB & serial port modems since GPL was released and my serial port US Robotics 56k external, runs rings around them.... Modems should be slowed down to about 26400 to 28800 for clients in GPL on-line though, as quality is more important than latency in GPL.. The only time a USB modem may be slightly better is if you are using an outdated processor that can't keep up with the demand of the sim/game you are running, then the USB modem may perform slightly better than a serial modem, but with modern processors, the serial modem through the modern day UART chips is a much more stable and pain free platform to base on-line racing from for those of us who are still stuck in the dark ages of low bandwidth technology... Cheers, Ron Jason Monds <[email hidden]> wrote in article <[email hidden]>... > A USB modem would be best for GPL. Alison's site has a review onthem too. > The problem with serial modems, even hardware ones, is the time theCPU has > to spend managing the port. USB does away with this. > > Jason. >

I have used both an internal 56K DSP ISA modem (Lucent chipset, generic modem) and an external USB DSP based modem (ELSA Microlink 56K USB). Both worked the same, no fps hit and similiar low latency. I like having the LED's on the external modem so you can get at least some idea what is going on with the connection. The main thing is to have a DSP based modem, that doesn't load the main CPU. If you have that, the overhead of serial or USB communication is not important, it is almost zero in both types of modem. Keith.

If you can't find it on a manufacturers site see if you can find the FCC or Reg# and see if its listed at http://www.o2.net/~gromitkc/20001005a.html Ken MacKay Halifax, Canada GPL Handicap +80.61 Ray wrote:

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> I can't find my documentation on my system, but in Windows it says my modem > is : > > US Robotics 56K Voice Win > > I'm pretty sure it is a hardware modem (Only tried VROC a couple times but > had 36 fps and no warps). I've seen the boxed versions at the computer > stores and I believe the "Win" handle on the end is short for "for Windows" > but not necessarily "WinModem" which would imply a processor intensive > modem. But I'm no expert. > > I don't know a way of checking for sure - anyone else? > > Ray > > Domagoj Malovic <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:8sguec$9nle$[email hidden]... > > Well, I don't know about that particular model, but I can pe PRETTY > > sure that the WIN part means it's a software solution, therefore > > eligable for getting rod of! :)) > > > > Win probably should tell you that it will only run on a windows based > > platform, because it does all the commpressing, decompressing, and > > error checking in software. What wou have on a modem card is basically > > DA converters, that talk to your phone line, and that's it. > > > > Hope I am wrong! > > > > Domi > > > > "K_Kid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > excuse my ignorance . . . > > > how can you tell if it is a 'hardware modem' > > > I have "US Rbx 56k Voice Win" modem. > > > thx > > > > > > >

My dad has this type of modem in his PC, whereas I have a US Robotics 56K Voice Internal. His is PCI, mine is ISA. We both connect on the same phone line to the same ISP (NTLWorld) - mine is faster and more stable, and I've noticed his has a tendancy to wait ages before disconnecting properly (connection icon hangs around). I'm 90% sure that the USR 56K Voice Win is a software driven WinModem and I am not very impressed with it. Alex. "Ray" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:8shej6$6ba$[email hidden]... > I can't find my documentation on my system, but in Windows it says mymodem

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> is : > > US Robotics 56K Voice Win > > I'm pretty sure it is a hardware modem (Only tried VROC a couple times but > had 36 fps and no warps). I've seen the boxed versions at the computer > stores and I believe the "Win" handle on the end is short for "for

Windows"

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> but not necessarily "WinModem" which would imply a processor intensive > modem. But I'm no expert. > > I don't know a way of checking for sure - anyone else? > > Ray >