Well I think we have all dialoged this one to pieces.  I suppose that at
some point we should have changed the topic from "PCI or ISA" to "WinModem
or not WinModem" (apologies to the original poster for stealing your topic
<sheepish grin>).

I haven't done any counting or any other kind of scientific analysis, but
my perception is that the overwhelming majority of comments have been very
positive for WinModems.  And every one of those positive comments have
included the phrase "I have such-n-such brand of winmodem and....." (or
something very similar).

Except for a couple or three gamers (who have a valid problem), most of
those making negative comments seem to be expressing opinions or are
requoting statements that were made waaaaay back in the early days of
winmodems but are no longer relevant.

Now don't mistake me for the champion/spokesman for the winmodem industry.
I'm not!  As an engineer, I am appalled that one of my brethren would
design a product that is neither self-reliant nor self-sufficient.

Jim Meagher
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-----Original Message-----
From: Herbert Graf <[log in to unmask]>


>--
>
>On Wed, 17 Mar 1999 09:40:10   Jim Meagher wrote:
>>Bob,
>>
>>I heartily agree with Dennis.  I have seen acceptable performance with
>>non-MMX 166 CPUs, so your PPro200 should have no problems.
>>
>>As I have said in the past, you (anyone) can prove to yourself the
"fact"
>>or fable behind the infamous "CPU hit" problem of winmodems......
>>
>>Install the modem, connect to the net, then load the SYSTEM MONITOR (in
>>your accessories/system tools folder) and look at the CPU usage chart.
>>As a comparison, check the CPU usage with your current modem first.
>
>     Although performance is always of top concern, with winmodems there
is another big concern, at least for me, drivers. Winmodems use very low
hardware drivers that have to have access to the whole machine at times.
The problem is if you use a winmodem you are at the mercy of the driver
manufacturer as far as stability goes. I agree, winmodems do not pose
much, if any, performance hit, but if my machine crashes more often than
it does now what good is it? Over the years drivers HAVE gotten to the
point where even I trust them, as long as it is from a good company, I
would be wary of a company I've never heard of. Just my opinion. TTYL
>
>
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