Soft modem

A software or "Win-Modem" is more correctly a 'controllerless' modem.

A soft modem still has the hardware to connect to the phone line, and at least the first level of the analog to digital codec (enCODe dECode) circuitry. What it does not have,is an IC to process the data stream into information.

The controller function is handled by the software driver and your CPU.

Soft modems are less expensive because they have fewer parts.
With the controller functions taken care of in software, it is easier to upgrade the modem as technology changes.

Conversly, they use some system resources, and can slow down older PCs (less than 300MHz)

You can find further information in the 'white papers' at the modem chipset manufactures.
Intel,
Ageree Systems
PC-Tel

Chas

I agree with the previous answer, however, in layman's terms, a software modem uses processor resources way more than a hardware modem. I have a 56K External modem and I get about 10-15% better download speeds because I'm not using system resources with a software modem. A hardware modem basically performs some of the services that a software modem does not.
Hardware dial-up modems are a little more expensive but if you don't have high speed service, it certaintly helps.

All modems are hardware using software to function.There are two different types of modems hardware and software based or winmodem which they work only in windows not even DOS. The hardware modems are 2 types external connected thrugh com port and internal as a card installed in a slot. the hardware modems do all of the modulation, demodulation, error correction and compression which leaves all of the computer resources free for other tasks, on the otherhand the software modems are tow types built in the motherboard and internal as a card installed in a slot. The software modems are tow types controllerless modems and HSP. The software modems are less expensive than the hardware modems because they have fewer chips needed on the modem so they use the computer processor to do processing and use some windows resources because they nedd a DLL file that loads into memory at windows startup. The software modems use a range of memory addresses instead of a fixed memory address which may result in a messy configuration.Controllerless modems do the modulation and demodulation function and use its drivers to communicate with the CPU to do the compression and error correction. HSP modems use its drivers to communicate with the CPU and passmodulation and demodulation and compression and error correction to process them. This makes HSP modems notorious, slows and speed problemsfor a connection especially on a slow CPU.

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