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Topic: Improved connection speed! |
Michael Holland
From:
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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Posted 24 Jul 2001 5:35 pm |
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I was browsing the computer section at Sam's Club today at lunch (how geeky am I?) and decided on impulse to pick up a new USR 56K internal modem. My Diamond SupraMax 56K works perfectly, but my connection speed is always 26400 or 28800. After installing the USR (and much gyration) I'm now connected at 41333 to my AT&T $4.95 a month dial up connection. Yippee!!
If anyone wants the Diamond SupraMax 56K PCI, I'll let it go for $10 including shipping (4 and with the software and drivers CD.
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Emmons Push Pull S10 | Peavey Session 400 | '52 Fender Lap Steel | Goodrich L120 & Matchbox
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 25 Jul 2001 2:47 am
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US Robotics modems have been the cadillac of modems for quite a while. Some of the other modems with different chip sets just don't cut it. The relatively cheap modem that Sam's is selling is the bottom line model but it's still better than most.
Most non-USR modems use either the Rockwell or Lucent chipsets.
My compaq came with a Rockwell (now connexant) chipset modem. It never would work reliably, but one of it's problems was it would connect at higher speeds than it should have and consequently would drop off quite a bit. This wasn't isolated to the Compaq supplied Rockwell chipset modems according to a website dedicated to Rockwell chipset problems.
I replaced the Compaq/Rockwell modem with an older USR (ISA BUSS) modem and all my modem problems went away. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Jul 2001 7:50 am
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Michael, that term "connection speed" in modems has little to do with how fast you're receiving data. Dozens of factors limit the actual data transfer speed over a phone line, and just because it says it's capable of a higher speed doesn't mean you've actually gained anything.
My new modem always hooks up at 57,600. But, in terms of the maximum data transfer speed I've ever experienced...I've never seen over 19,200! The average is between 2,000 and 6,000. Often, merely changing or updating the driver will boost maximum speeds. So, this new modem is actually no faster than my old modem which usually hooked up at 28,800 or 44,600.
Those big numbers might give you a "warm feeling", but they're really meaningless in the real world.  |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 25 Jul 2001 9:59 am
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57.6??? FCC Rules limit dial-up modems to maximum of 53Kb connection speed. If yours is showing 57.6 you must be displaying the internal port speed to the modem rather than the "connect" speed (some modems do this and the USR I have did that till they came out with a fix to show the actual connect speed). Also uplink is limited to 33.6Kb.
However, regardless of the connection speed, the modems are continually "handshaking" and negotiating the data throughput speeds at any given moment. And that speed is only the speed between the user's modem and the ISP's modem. It doesn't relate to the speed(s) throughout the rest of network.
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 25 Jul 2001 3:18 pm
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Jack, you just reiterated what I said. That number you see (whether a port speed, or a connection speed) is...merely a maximum speed---that you will NEVER obtain! In years of "modern computing", on dozens of computers, I've never seen (or even heard of) anything over 20KB/s on a standard modem/dialup access connection. If it ever happens...it is indeed very rare.
Also, I think the FCC actually limits data transfer speeds, and not "maximum connection speeds". They know (just like I do) you'll never really see those "big numbers". 
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Everett Cox
From:
Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)
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Posted 26 Jul 2001 10:31 am
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The 'connect rate/speed' DOES have SOME meaning. It provides an indication of the quality of your 'phone connection to your ISP. Even local calls may vary in quality and/or get routed differently from one time to the next. A bad connection between you and the ISP will likely exist for the duration of that session. Often, when I 'connect' at a slower rate, I'll hang up and try again and get a better connection.
While, as others have said, the data rate may vary up or down according to transient conditions, you are still limited by the connection established to your ISP. I have noted the transfer rates at various connect speeds and DO notice a difference. As Donny (I think) stated, you will likely never get a data transfer rate which comes close to the theoretically possible rate over a dialup line.
I use a 'Download Accelerator' program and a 'Dialup Connection Monitor'. The accelerator makes multiple 'connections' to the download site and 'splits' the file into smaller pieces, then simultaneously transfers each piece over a different connection. That can SOMETIMES dramatically improve the effective download speed. After downloading, the pieces are rejoined with no user intervention. The monitor gives me a real-time plot of the modem activity so I know exactly how the data transfer is doing. |
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