3.20 Should I buy an internal or external modem?
Description
This item is from the PC Hardware FAQ, by Willie Lim and Ralph Valentino with numerous contributions by others. (v1.25).
3.20 Should I buy an internal or external modem?
[From: arnoud@ijssel.hacktic.nl (Arnoud Martens)]
While low speed modems are often only produced as an internal PC card, most modem manufacturers provide two versions of their higher speed modems:
1: internal ISA bus card, specially designed to work with the standard PC bus. You just plug it in and configure it to use on port.
2: external modem that has to be connected to the serial ports of your PC (com 1-4), using a serial RS232 cable.
In most cases the functionality of these two is equal. There are however some differences in using, maintaining and buying these modems. It is very difficult to give an definite answer as to which one is better, it completely depends on your own situation. Some of the points that are in favor of an external modem are:
* It has lights showing the status of the connection, this can be useful in those (rare) cases that you have problems with the connection.
* It can be used on a wide range of systems. External modems are connected using a RS232 cable, a standard that most computer systems support. So you can as easily use your external modem on a Mac, Amiga or Unix box as on your PC.
* It doesn't consume power inside the PC (it uses a normal net adapter), and doesn't produce any heat inside your PC.
On the other hand the internal modem has also a couple of advantages compared to an external modem: * It is always cheaper, Somewhere in the order of 10% less compared to the same external modem.
* It doesn't need special serial hardware since it has already been integrated on the board, which will make it even more cheaper. So basically if portability of your modem is an issue, you are better of with an external modem. But if you only intend to use the modem with your PC and don't have any power problems, an internal modem is the best choice.
Continue to:
My Books
