-----Original Message-----
From: <[log in to unmask]>

>
>> I've noticed that both PCI and ISA modems are available.
>> Are there any particular advantages or disadvantages to either bus?
>
>Do **not** purchase a PCI modem unless it specifically states that it is
>hardware based for operation including hardware based EC/DC. Same
>applys to **some** ISA based modems as well.
>
>Most PCI modems I've seen are all "winmodem" or software based modems
>which require system RAM & CPU power to operate,
>

If you have an old Pentium 100 or slower system, then this should be a
concern. BUT....
For modern systems, you will not notice very much difference at all.
There will be slight hesitation of 2-4 seconds when initializing the modem
and dialing or when disconnecting, but that will be all.

Some power users may see a performance hit, but for the average business
user and home users, the CPU is sitting idle 60-80% of the time.  You can
prove this on your own machine by running the SYSTEM MONITOR utility in
your SYSTEM TOOLS folder.

The tales of WinModems sucking up processor time are holdovers from the
old days.

Jim Meagher
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