3Com Game Modem

[Hellmut]

Hi all,

I just stumbled over the new 3COM Gaming modems, they claim to have better ping times than everybody else when using a socalled "game mode" as opposed to application mode for other inet apps...
Anyone know the trick behind this?
Can I update a standart 3com 56k/fax to this option softwarewise?
Does 3com maybe only hack the windoze registry (DUN, etc.)?

regards,
Hellmut

[Thundrchez]

I suspect that they are comparing to winmodems. I don't see how it can be any faster than a good ol' true hardware modem. I'd like to see comparison stats between my USR external courier v.everything and their "gaming" modem.

I hate winmodems. I'd like to slap some sense into the schmuck who thought that winmodems would be a good idea.

[cjolley]

After I got our DSL setup working, the first thing I did was take the winmodem out of my wifes computer and break the PCB in half.
It felt GOOD!
chuck



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ABit BF6 w/ Celery 333@500, 128mb gh@cas2, 10gb IBM@7200, SB Live Value@3.0, noname CDRom@40x, Mitsumi CDRW@2x2x8, Acatel 1000 ADSL@1.5mb/sec, Princeton EO75@1024x768x32x85hz, USB mouse,Matrox G400 MAX!!!!

[Kruzin]

Yup. My guess is that it's just a variation of the good old Sportster (probably with v.90 turned off...which I just do with my init string anyway).

[Hellmut]

Hi all,

on the 3com website it says:
" Results based on independent testing by Henderson Communications Laboratories, using average PING times over a range of phone line conditions. "

Henderson = Muppets ???
Comparing a US Robotics (3com just bought them) to a winmodem or a Sierra chipset is cruel in any case, wish I had the benchmark of 3com vs. 3com/gamemodem...
The gamemodem is so much more expensive than the normal one...this smells like a hoax, but who knows, maybe they send smaller packets? Or the modem OS does sorta ICD/wrapper stuff for Quake? I guess I don't know what I'm talking about ;-)

Anyone got that modem yet or further info?

l8er,
Hellmut

[Hellmut]

Hi Kruzin,

what is that v.90 thing about? Why turn it off?
btw, I always get a 49333 connect here.

l8er,
Hellmut

[Kruzin]

v.90 and X2 are error correction/compression doodads that speed up file x-fers and such, but really screw with on-line gaming.
Through many weeks of tweaking DUN and modem settings, I found disabling v.90 and mnp5, and locking my connection speed to 48k (X2 modems have a nasty habit of retraining their connect speed every few seconds) provided the best gaming results (although downloads slowed down ~10-15%).

In DUN, set your packet size to small.
For your modem, it's all a matter of finding the right init string for your rig. I use this:
ATS32=66S15=2&K3&N32&U31
S32=66 disables v.90 (on my sportster)
S15=2 ..I forget offhand what that one is..
&K3 disables MNP5
&N32&U31 sets a locked speed, eliminating the retrains

A good site for finding USR tweaks (this site helped me a lot) is here:
http://www.navpoint.com/~zephed/qx2.html
Different USR modem use different values for their strings, so don't count on my string working on your modem

[Grail]

Apparently, the "gaming" version of the modem revamped version of the way it handles the packets used in online gaming. Firingsquad did a cute little article on it a short while back. He found no difference between the 3COM Gaming modem and the regular non-winmodem model.
What he neglected to mention(if memory serves correct...) is that it *might* have some effect in areas that suffer from bad lines... Don't know tho. Thresh's idea of testing the modem is to take it home and test it only on his computer.

[KvHagedorn]

Amazing.. I got one of the original Sportster 56k modems 2 1/2 years ago... apparently this is still leading edge for gaming (until DSL comes to town)

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Kind Regards,

KvH