PCA Forums

OK I am a little confused I have heard a lot of people knocking USB Modems. When I got my Road Runner set up they supplied me with a nic which is mine to keep and I rent U.S. Robitcs modem as part of my monthly fee. The nic they gave me ended up being a Percom USB model. So I have the USB nic with the cable modem plugged into it. Is this what they mean by a USB modem? Or is there a modem that plugs directly into the usb port without a nic in between them. My set up works great I get between 2-4 Mbs depending on time of day and have never had any problems and it is a peice of cake to set it up.

You have to specify the type of modem you're talking about... do you mean 56K modem, Cable Modem, ISDN modem, ADSL Modem etc etc...

It sounds like you are using a USB Network card plugged into a cable modem. So what's the question?

OK let me try again You got it right I have a USB mic and it is plugged into a cable modem. My question is this what people commonly call having a USB modem? I am confused because I have heard so many stories about "usb modems" being inferior

They are probably referring to USB nic... USB nic are inferior to PCI nic because it got a maximum bandwidth of around 8Mbps... PCI nic have a bandwidth of 10/100mbps. And PCI nic uses less CPU power to run, a USB nic can use up to 10-20% of CPU power. But if you are just doing regular browsing and not hardcore online gaming, I'd prefer USB nic coz it's easy to use/move around.

Hey,

Yes, there is such a thing as a straight USB modem. I use DSL thru BellSouth and made the mistake of getting the USB modem instead of the network one, cuz I only had my laptop then...it was before I built 5 other computers, so I got the USB one. Yes, it plugs straight into your USB port and then into the phone outlet. I think they also have USB enabled ones for Cable, but I am not sure, since I don't have cable. But, yes, it seems to be a little bit slower, but I really don't know I most of the time, depending on the webpage I can pull a 1.5 meg connection, which is what I pay for. The bandwith meter has gone as high as 1000 kb/s. I would say that is decent. But I also use a network card in the computer and ICS to route out my connection, since I have no clue how to set up a router box runnin linux to run a USB connection. Anyone have any ideas. Anyways, sorry for ramblin, but my modem is made by Alcatel, you could check out their webpage to read about the USB modems.

OK thanks guys that answers my question. According to zdnet USB is cabable of 12mbs which is far more than Road Runner offers and it is so easy to set up I don't think I will bother with an internal PCI nic. Thanks again

I've got RoadRunner also. The guy set me up with the USB connector also. I'm now thinking about going and getting a PCI nic card. Would it help that much?

Hey Fool I don't think so like I said above USB is capable of 12Mbs transfer rates and the most I have ever seen is 4.5Mbs so the USB nic at this point is capable of more than Road Runner provides so while the PCI nic is faster both the PCI and the USB are faster than the service is so there is no point in getting the PCI nic. That is the way I see it so if I am wrong somebody please set me straight.

Yes, there is no point in getting a PCI nic with a 10/100mbps... the maximum speed for cable (IN THERORY!) is about 8Mbps... so in real life, the max you can get is approx 5-6Mbps.

And I believe 12Mbps is the Maximum bandwidth of the USB port, not the USB nic, USB nic can only go up to around 8-9Mbps max.

the advantage of getting a 10/100 pci card is if your computer is set up in a network and you transfer files. It's definitely faster than a 10BT usb solution. surfing the internet, there is no difference.