*The* standard in 56k modems
Pros:
Speed, reliability, compatability
Cons:
Price
The Bottom Line:
Buy it. You won't find a more superior 56k V.90 modem out there. You won't regret it either.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
A couple years ago, I received an older PC as a gift. It had a modem installed in it, which turned out to be dead. Fried by a power surge I suppose. So I set off to find a replacement for it.
The modems I found were mostly of the 'Winmodem' variety, which means that they had as little actual processing hardware in them as possible, and the great majority of what drove the modem was software, which really can drag down not only your Internet performance, but your PC's general performance as well. They also have nasty habits of dropping connections frequently, especially with bad-quality phone lines and overworked and underpowered PCs.
So I looked for a modem that was 'hardware controlled', meaning that it had its own special processors onboard to handle all the data that it would have to process, taking the load off of the PC's processor and processing all the data itself.
I found one, the USRobotics 56k Data/14.4 Fax modem. I found it on eBay for $28 plus shipping, but you might not be so lucky. Because of its rarity and exceptional performance, it still sells for somewhere around $70 today even though it is older technology. By saying it's older technology, I mean to say that as of today, many homes in the US have 'broadband' cable or DSL connections, and not so many modems anymore.
But if you're looking for a superior 56k V.90 (Not V.92) modem for Internet access over a regular telephone line - This is the absolute best you can get. It may be a bit pricey for you, but I can say with almost 100% certainty that you will not regret this purchase.
