Software vs. Hardware

Software Modems

A modem is a modem, right? Not quite. Not all modems are the same, and gamers have to pay special attention to the type of modem they purchase. In our Gaming PC Guide we warned readers about "software" modems.

Gaming Modem

Winmodem

A few years ago manufacturers introduced a new type of modem to the market. These "software" modems offloaded many of the traditional modem functions such as compression and error control to the CPU. By moving several functions to software, manufacturers were able to cut down on the number of chips on each modem, thus lowering the cost for each board. The most famous software modem is probably the 3Com U.S. Robotics Winmodem.

Winmodems are okay

Software modems aren't bad for general use. In fact, we highly recommend them for users who just want to browse the web and do e-mail. Most systems are powerful enough to support a software modem without a problem. You can't really tell the difference between hardware and software modems when you're just browsing the web, and you can't really tell the difference on more powerful systems in online gaming either.

In first person shooter (FPS) games such as Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament, connection delays as small as one tenth of a second often result in a lost battle. Playing Q3 against the likes of Thresh and Kenn is hard enough without the extra stress a software modem might add to your system. With a hardware modem, you don't have to worry about having a modem that might gobble up those precious CPU cycles and add unneeded latency to your dial-up connection.

Gamers might need something else

A hardware modem is a necessity for gamers, but many of us have plenty of trouble just trying to tell the difference between software and hardware modems. Modem manufacturers don't help, because very few state whether or not a modem is CPU dependent. Gaming performance isn't an issue for the average user and there's no need to point out a product weakness that might not actually be a weakness.

As we mentioned earlier, one way to check the modem type is to look at the system requirements. If the modem requires a Pentium 133 or faster processor, it's probably a software modem. Sometimes software modems are also referred to as controller-less modems. By marketing a modem exclusively for online gaming, 3Com has made it a little easier for gamers to find a hardware modem -just look for the one that says "Internet Gaming Modem."

Now the question is whether or not hardware modems actually help anymore now that current systems are much more powerful than the old Pentium 133 machines.