Which modem

[ppsking]

I have to roder my modem now and don't want to make a mistake here. People warned be to stay away from the laptop modem, but what is the difference between the Desktop and USB modem? Will the one (without the external antenna) give me better signal strength? Advantages and disadvantages of both will help.

 

[DagegeN]

I have to roder my modem now and don't want to make a mistake here. People warned be to stay away from the laptop modem, but what is the difference between the Desktop and USB modem? Will the one (without the external antenna) give me better signal strength? Advantages and disadvantages of both will help.

go for the desktop modem .. it's got ethernet and usb .. so it makes it easy to network the unit later on ... and aswell to install a extrenal antenna to the desktop unit is easy ... and the HUGE PLUS is .... the desktop unit got better signal qualities ... !!! trust me go for Desktop unit !!!

 

[ppsking]

How can I argue with that! You convinced me on the first reply already. So if you say that the Desktop has both ethernet and USB, why would anybody go for the USB only. With the Desktop they have both in one. But connecting your Desktop with USB cable, do you still have to connect the Desktop to a seperate power supply? If so, then it's probably the only downside of the Desktop......having more wires on your wireless!

 

[Tjorriemorrie]

go for the desktop modem .. it's got ethernet and usb .. so it makes it easy to network the unit later on ... and aswell to install a extrenal antenna to the desktop unit is easy ... and the HUGE PLUS is .... the desktop unit got better signal qualities ... !!! trust me go for Desktop unit !!!

I agree

 

[DagegeN]

How can I argue with that! You convinced me on the first reply already. So if you say that the Desktop has both ethernet and USB, why would anybody go for the USB only. With the Desktop they have both in one. But connecting your Desktop with USB cable, do you still have to connect the Desktop to a seperate power supply? If so, then it's probably the only downside of the Desktop......having more wires on your wireless!

well my setup is :

my desktop unit in in my garden in a waterproof box .. and a external antenna is connected to it ... from there i run Power Over Ethernet and connected to Linksys WRT router in the corner of my TV room .. and from ther ei have Wireless cards on all my pc's and laptops ...

but as i said before ... if you are not going to roam around town with you iburst why would you want to go for a PCMCIA card ???

 

[Raithlin]

I have to agree. It's like asking what's the difference between a USB ADSL modem and a ADSL router - it's a moot point. I have the desktop modem - heck, a friend of mine has the UTD, and he has a laptop! Separate power is not really an issue either - the power cable is quite long out-of-the-box anyway.

 

[Pilgrim]

Well, I have the UTU (black usb one) and am very happy with it. I have 100% constant signal strength, so I have no need for an extra antenna. If the signal at your place is good, then the usb may be a good idea.

The downside is that you cannot network it so the pc it is connected to has to be on all the time to share it. In my case i have an old pc that shares the connection so no problem there...

I must admit the reason i bought it is that it is a few hundred rand cheaper than the desktop

 

[Ekhaatvensters]

Well the USb one is cheaper.. probably the main bouns. And its made for the slightly mobile types. It doesnt require power, so it is easier to move around with, plus its smaller.

But it is of almost no use if you just want Iburst in your house, and ocasionally taking it over to a friends place or holiday/travelling etc..

 

[JTech]

So the UTU is powered from USB? That sucks so if the thing transmits too hard it will cause the PTC on the PC motherboard to trip and there goes your mouse and keyboard

 

[Pilgrim]

So the UTU is powered from USB? That sucks so if the thing transmits too hard it will cause the PTC on the PC motherboard to trip and there goes your mouse and keyboard

Well, i plug my modem into a unpowered cheapass usb 1.1 hub along with my joystick, keyboard and mouse and have not had one power trip on there. The modem takes way less power than my mobile drive (laptop drive).

Look the point is that if you have good signal at home and you do not intend to use the ethernet port then there is really no reason to get a desktop modem.

What is really nice about the UTU is that the antenna is on a 30 - 40cm cable allready, so you can wondergom the modem to the bottom of your desk and have only the antenna sitting against the wall or something. It really saves a lot of space.

If your signal is not too good the you have to get the desktop modem with an external antenna though. Or if you want to share the modem with a few pcs and do not want one to always be powered on...

Anyway, hope this helps you.