$500|1-US Robotics $eee|1-33.6/56.6 WinModem $300 Reviewed by D!ck $00c Item : Internal, software-based ISA modem card. Price: 94.00 inc VAT, no delivery. From : Output Computers, Grimsby. (01472 311777) Warr : 5-yr USR Warranty Everyone knows US Robotics, they are second only to Hayes when it comes to modems of quality, and if you've had anything to do with modems just recently then you'll have heard of x2 technology, a protocol being pushed by USR to facilitate internet downloading at 56.6 kilobaud, twice the speed of 28.8 modems in common use today. Four of the USR models can be upgraded to x2, but only two of these can be done via software, the Sportster Flash and the Sportster Winmodem. I visited Output Computer Repairs in Grimsby with the intention of getting some info on the AMD K6 processor - another story - and noticed a WinModem sat on the shelf. A few enquiries to the price and it turned out that I could get it for much the same price as mail order would cost with Delivery on top. A detailed technical discussion followed regarding CPU drain and upgradability, the WinModem differs from the Sportster Flash and all other external modems because the sending and compression is not done by chips on the card, but by software, which means your processor will have extra work to do. The general concensus was that my P133 would have no trouble at all, certainly Output have sold several and never had a complaint yet. I parted with my wad of cash and took the modem home, a squint into the box while on the bus revealed a pile of literature, several CDs and - phew! - a modem-to-phone cable, not all manufacturers include these with their modems, I was feeling down, as one does when large sums of money have just passed away, and so was in no mood to spend another two quid on a cable. I got home and emptied the box, and found that a lot of the stuff was CDs and junk mail for internet services, so I could ignore them, though people looking to join up could do a lot worse than use the Virgin Internet Trial CD included with the modem. |1-How d'you fit it then? First of all, uninstall any other modems you might have, remove all settings and software and physically remove the modem and pack it away. I got shut of Sacko's Psion Surfer - hurrah! - pile of poo that it is. As it's an internal modem it's going to take up an interrupt, so I disabled COM2, where my old modem was, and used that for the modem, you'll find the software sets itself up quite nicely so there's no need to panic, but I turned off COM2 in my BIOS before proceeding. Next, unplug everything and open up your PC, it's a good idea to have it plugged into the mains (but switched OFF at the socket) to prevent electrostatic discharges building up. Find a vacant ISA slot and remove the cover from the back of the machine. Here's where your first problem might arise: The modem card is very long and overran the end of my ISA slots by a good half inch or so. On the first slot I tried it in this meant that the end of the card wouldn't go in because the CPU fan was in the way - doh! I then tried the next slot down, and found that the CD-Audio connector on my soundcard protruded out too far towards the neighbouring slot, and pushed hard against the modem card - double doh!! In the end I simply bent the CD-Audio connector out of the way, this meant it jutted out less and while it still touches the modem card, I can at least get the card in and it's only touching the big plastic housing on the modem anyway. If you've disabled COM2 you might like to pysically remove the port from your machine like it did. You won't be using it for anything else anyway, not even null-modem games (get a network card!). Right, it's in (phew!), plug everything back in (but leave the cover off just in case) and switch it all on. The machine boots up as per usual, only now the Plus & Pray BIOS detects *two* cards, network and - hurrah - US Robotics 33,600 Winmodem! So far so good! Windows 95 detects new hardware and automatically starts searching for the drivers for it, all standard stuff, and less than 10 minutes after switching it on I've got it set up and working, the installation is just superb. |1-And? So what's it like? My mail program is none-standard and so the old Psion didn't like it AT ALL, but the USR just whips my mail off the server like there's no tomorrow, this thing is fast! I tried it on the internet, and again, it rips the code down that phone line, twice out of four attempts I got on at full 33,600. At my old place, and using a normal Sportster, we'd never got on above 28,800 before, the WinModem is *much* faster. As for the CPU worries, there are none, nothing has happened to make me wonder if getting a software modem was a wise decision, it has all performed perfectly, even calls to the local BBS connect at 33,600 with no hassles, it's all working as you'd expect from a company such as US Robotics. I'm in the habit of running two or three browsers at once, plus Notepad, and I've had no trouble whatsoever. |1-The x2 Upgrade At the time of writing the x2 upgrade is not available for this modem, I keep visiting the UK site (you need the version for the UK phone system you see) at www.usr.co.uk but so far the patch is not there, just a nice picture of my modem card and the text "upgrade coming soon". Both Phil!97 and Video have upgraded the Sportster Flash to x2 and tell me the procedure is relatively painless, and I see no reason why upgrading this one should be any different. Half the time though, you will not get on at 55,600 anyway. When we tried the Sportster Flash at my house the fastest we got on at was around 45,000 but this is still much faster than your normal 33,600. Pictures and thumbnails appear much quicker, pages come down a lot quicker, everything is much better all round. Note that x2 is only a one-way system, you can still only send at 33,600 but you download at the faster rate. This is because the modem is not equipped to send at these speeds, to do so you must be connected directly to the digital phone network. This is what is happening at your ISP's switching station. Pipex, who we tested the modem with, have set up a dedicated x2 number for you to dial: 0645 336576, just change your dial-up connection and that's it. |1-All in all then... What a modem, it's great, and when he x2 upgrade becomes available it promises to be even better. You can get it mail order for much the same price as I did, I simply bought it from Output because I was there, and they've always helped with problems, they're just down the road too. Value: 9/10 - Good price for what you get, 33,600 modems still cost around this amount and they're not all upgradable. Installation: 8/10 - The card is a bit long and you might have to choose your slot with care. Ease of use: 10/10 - Just like any other modem, piece of cake really! Speed: 10/10 - Or rather, it will be when it's upgraded! Features: 10/10 - Does everything, voicemail, fax, data, you even get a dinky little microphone for the voice software, it's so cool. Support: 10/10 - BBS and web support, E-Mail, plenty of free internet offers, 5-yr warranty, can you think of anything else you'd need? |1-Overall 10/10 I really cannot see any reason why you should buy any other modem! D!ck .-------------------------------------------------. | E-Mail: Dick@emarkt.com / UIN (ICQ): 1809384 | |-------------------------------------------------| | Visit D!ck's webpages, the D!crosoft Dimension, | | http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/2020 | | and Bodyshop Central: http://www.qcs.co.uk/bsc/ | |-------------------------------------------------| | P133, 40Mb, 1Gb, 512vx, Nec4x4, 33.6 (@^@) | `---------------------------------------oOO(_)OOo-' $ff5 [I'd like to hear from anyone with x2 modems about how it is performing on downloads. With the current state of the UK's analogue connections it is not possible to get anywhere near 56k/s on download unless you have a dedicated ISDN/T1/T2/T3 line to your house. You are looking at 46.6k at the most or 53k if a fibre optic connnection. At present I get 107k/s but only at uni. I'll have access to the above lines in my new job so expect some performance tests from me in future issues of The Word. Kei] $00c end