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Very slow connection with USB modem

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7 replies

by komp 1 view

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Hi,

I just bought a new USB modem (Creative Modem Blaster USB, 56K) to replace my old serial port modem (external, 56K). When I set it up and tested it, I found out that this new modem is a lot slower (about 3 times slower) than the old one. Withmy old modem, I could download files at at least 3.x K/s, but with the new one the fastest speed only reached 1.2 K/s. So my question is, are USB modems actually SLOWER than serial modems, or is my case a weird exception? Is there any way to improvethe performance of a USB modem?

Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks

Rgds,
Kom

7 replies

by mikel~t

My understanding is that USB has a slower bus speed than Serial, so an external Serial Modem might actually be quicker than your USB modem.

I'd go back to the other Modem, or make some room for an internal modem.

Hope this helps.

Mike

by komp

Thanks, but going back to my old modem isn't an option for me (sold it), and I don't trust internal modems.

by big ray

Here is an article that was done on the top USB Modems on the market. All tested in my opinion faster than my 56K internal P.O.S. Take note however, that I think the article may be a couple of years old and there may be a newer one.

http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Fpctoday%2F1999%2Ft1308%2F11t08%2Easp

The other question is are you running 95, 98, or 98SE. I have read articles that have tested across the 3 platforms and they found that speeds on USBmodems are dependent with the OS. 98SE ran the fastest and 95 w/ USB support ran the slowest.

by komp

Thanks a lot for the article. It really helped me learn more about the USB interface. However, now I think the problem is the modem itself, as I tried other USB modems and they were fine.

by computab

The raw speed of USB is 12 Mb/sec, so it is faster than serial, that's why it was invented. USB2 is twice as fast again, so if you have a slow connection, try reinstalling, or there may be a hardware fault. Of course, you are still limited to 56k on the net.

by komp

I tried updating its drivers and now the performance has improved a little, but still sluggish and unstable. Since other USB modems work fine on my machine, I think the problem is my modem itself. Thanks for the tip.

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