I wanted to write a positive op for this product I truly did, and even though most of what follows talks about the good points of this modem and Creative. There was just a few too many niggles with this modem that has dented my appreciation of Creative.
(Sorry Creative!)
Onto the op!
I ... Read review
Advantages: V.92 Disadvantages: No outline port. Faulty installer software
...the merits of it being Creative and because its got the new V.92 standard! (More on that later)
What you get in the box
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 x Modem Blaster™ V.92 (PCI)
Driver, manual and Installation software on CD ROM
Phone Cable (Actually you get 4 phone cables for use all across the world!)
Quick Start Guide
And an AOL frisbee :)
I would like to point out that ... .../>
Here’s what Creative themselves say about it
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“For a faster and more enjoyable Internet experience.
The Modem Blaster™ V.92* PCI is the fully-featured solution for better internet connections and surfing. It offers users all the benefits of the latest modem standard, V.92, and is built to the highest quality. It installs easily into a standard PCI slot ... more
I wanted to write a positive op for this product I truly did, and even though most of what follows talks about the good points of this modem and Creative. There was just a few too many niggles with this modem that has dented my appreciation of Creative. (Sorry Creative!)
Onto the op!
I picked up this modem from Dabs.com for slightly high price of £34 + VAT + P&P about a week ago and sadly enough I’m sending it back! I was in the middle of building 3 computers at once and needed an internal PCI modem so I ran to a well-known company and their modem!
I picked this modem mainly on the merits of it being Creative and because its got the new V.92 standard! (More on that later)
What you get in the box ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1 x Modem Blaster™ V.92 (PCI) Driver, manual and Installation software on CD ROM Phone Cable (Actually you get 4 phone cables for use all across the world!) Quick Start Guide And an AOL frisbee :)
I would like to point out that Creative products boxes are actually nice boxes, not the kind that you have destroy to get to the product, nor the type that you just know you are never gonna get the product back into the box! They are nice boxes that you won’t mind being on your shelf containing the driver disk! (Handy)
Specifications ~~~~~~~~
Data Rate Compatibility V.92 and V.90 (I won’t pretend that I really know what V.92 is but it is the new modem standard. Which means you will get theoretically get a faster transfer rate from it! V.90 being the standard being replaced) 56Kbps (Potentially) Videoconferencing Data Compression and Correction (Always handy!)
Features ~~~~~
2 year warranty (Very nice) Fax / Data transfer. V.92 Modem-On-Hold features call-waiting service from your local telephone company
First let down from Creative! There is no line out on this modem. So you can’t plug your phone into the back thus saving you a line splitter. Silly point but they are always nice.
System Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
133Mhz Intel Pentium or higher (Any AMD chip) compatible PC 16MB RAM (32MB or higher recommended) Microsoft® Windows® 9x/2000/Me/NT and XP 1 free PCI expansion slot (The small white ones!) DVD/CD ROM for modem software installation An audio card and microphone are required for video conferencing
Here’s what Creative themselves say about it ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“For a faster and more enjoyable Internet experience.
The Modem Blaster™ V.92* PCI is the fully-featured solution for better internet connections and surfing. It offers users all the benefits of the latest modem standard, V.92, and is built to the highest quality. It installs easily into a standard PCI slot and is backwards compatible with V.90, ensuring complete compatibility with your ISP. It is also an ideal upgrade purchase, because it supports advanced features such as 'quick connect' for faster dial-up, high-speed uploading, superior compression, faster surfing - and even the ability to take a voice call whilst connected to the internet* This data, fax and voice modem is also an ideal component in a videoconferencing installation. v
*V.92 features require V.92 support from your ISP. Modem-on-Hold feature requires call waiting service from your local phone company.”
Sounds great doesn’t it? What that really means is that this nice new V.92 modem may be able to do V.92, but the odds are that your ISP doesn’t yet. So you will not be using it until they do. I would still buy the V.92 as opposed to V.90 as the ISP’s will get round to it eventually.
Web support ~~~~~~~~
As always with Creative the web support is fantastic. You can download the most up to date drivers for your modem from their site. Everything is easy to find on the site also. www.creative.com
Installation ~~~~~~~
As with all Creative products you get a huge fold out sheet with very clear but short instructions on how to install in every language under that sun. Following the instructions is easy and very simple, essentially you let windows find the modem and then you point windows to the disk you got in the box and volia! Installed. (Only problem with the instructions is when something goes wrong. Then you’re straight off on the web for answers. But hang on don’t I need a modem for that?)
But here’s gripe number two. Having tried this modem on three different machines I can honestly say there is a fault in the installation software, where it copies the drivers files over the software loses the path of the files. And you get a message from windows asking you to point the installation to the disk once again. This isn’t a huge problem it’s just a bit sad Creative!
Summery ~~~~~~
This should be by all accounts a great modem. But it is let down by two silly points; broken installation software, and no line out on the modem. I personally don’t like it as my one has a chip fault on it causing it to lock my system if I tried to use it twice in one sitting and I prefer external modems anyway.
The points above combined with the £34+ price tag means this modem just isn’t worth the money.
I suggest you buy a cheaper modem for now, a £25 one. (I brought a no-name £25 modem the other day, installed easy, works great, does have the line out on the card!) Wait till the new V.92 is more settled in and the modem manufactures bring the price down or just wait till the new standard comes out, I can feel it coming in my bones!
Sorry Creative just not your normal standard!
p.s. Just a general tip! If you are having troubles getting your modem to work with the drivers they give you. Just install the modem as a standard modem. It will work just as well, although you won’t be able to use any of the modems funky features.
Advantages: solid performance, cheap Disadvantages: still not as good as Diamond
This is another Creative diversifysation into the modem market. They seem to be moving into a whole number of different markets and good luck to them because i've only had good experiences with Creative products. As for this modem, well its a budget effort from Creative, costing around £25-00. It is internal using the PCI local bus, and is also hardware, so less stress on your system specification. I find this to be a reliable modem with no more ... ...mind of it being a Creative is a very good feeling indeed. Myself personally I would always opt for a Diamond modem (see my opinion on the SupraExpress to find out why), mainly because I have always used Diamond products and have found them to be the best around and in fact they are renowned for making the best modems, however Creative have come up with a very viable alternative which should be seriously considered by people wanting internet access ...
CyrixDes 11.11.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI
Advantages: Easy to fit, good software package included, good brand Disadvantages: only one line in - no audio sockets or line out
From the well known Creative (SoundBlaster) stables comes this internal V90 PCI 56K modem. Complete with cable, drivers and some usefull software - Mediaring talk, Quicklink Message Centre and Bitware fax/communications. It only has a line-in socket on the back so you cannot 'daisy-chain' your telephone from this modem.
I found the card easy to fit and configure and was up and running in less than 10 minutes - just fit the moden into your case and ...
l200man 22.07.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI
Advantages: modem on hold software Disadvantages: not any faster than my previous modem; uninstallation was a disaster
I bought the modem for 2 reasons: everything was supposed to be faster (making the connection, downloading, etc) and the modem-on-hold feature. Comparing it with my 7-year-old generic modem, the connection time with the Blaster modem is only about a second faster. Downloads are definitely not faster, and may be slower; phone line conditions vary, so it's impossible to say for sure. Definitely not enough speed advantage to make it worth the money!
... ...other modem that advertised outgoing modem-on-hold. I had the opportunity to try both the outgoing and incoming only once each. They worked fine, but they're limited by the time limit the ISP imposes; in my case, 3.5 minutes per call. Caller ID worked also, on the incoming call.
Here's the real problem: Because I felt the download speeds were slower than my previous modem, I removed the Blaster and reinstalled my old modem. As soon as I tried to ...
bobjohn 06.06.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI
Product Information for "Creative Modem Blaster V.92 PCI" »
Modem
Interface Type
PCI
Connectivity Technology
Wired
Max Transfer Rate
56 Kbps
Digital Signaling Protocol
H.323, H.324
56K Technology
V.90, V.92, V.92
Protocols & Specifications
ITU V.21, Bell 212A, ITU V.22, ITU V.22bis, ITU V.29, ITU V.32, ITU V.90, ITU V.17, ITU V.23, ITU V.27ter, Bell 103J, ITU V.34bis, ITU V.92 , Hayes AT command set, ITU V.80
Error Correction Protocol
MNP-4, ITU V.42, MNP-2, MNP-3
Data Compression Protocol
MNP-5, ITU V.42bis, ITU V.44
Max Fax Transfer Rate
14.4 Kbps
Fax Compatibility
G3
Features
Modem-on-hold
Manufacturer's product description
The Modem Blaster V.92 PCI is the fully featured solution for better Internet connections and surfing. It offers users all the benefits of the latest modem standard, V.92, and is built to the highest quality. It installs easily into a standard PCI slot and is backwards compatible with V.90, ensuring complete compatibility with your ISP. It is also an ideal upgrade purchase, because it supports advanced features such as 'quick connect' for faster dial-up, high-speed uploading, superior compression, faster surfing - and even the ability to take a voice call whilst connected to the Internet. This data, fax and voice modem is also an ideal component in a videoconferencing installation.
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