Modem for Dell Dimension 8300

[SQ]

I have a Dell Dimension 8300 that needs a modem.

I have an older machine, 6-7 years old that has a 1.53Ghz AMD
processor. That's all I know about it, not sure which motherboard.
It has a modem.

Can I take the modem from that old AMD machine and stick it into Dell
Dimension 8300, would they be compatible slot-wise?

Secondly, would I have to install drivers to get it to work?

 

[Dave]

I have a Dell Dimension 8300 that needs a modem.

I'm sorry to hear that. Really.

I have an older machine, 6-7 years old that has a 1.53Ghz AMD
processor. That's all I know about it, not sure which motherboard.
It has a modem.
OK.



Can I take the modem from that old AMD machine and stick it into Dell
Dimension 8300, would they be compatible slot-wise?

No way to tell without knowing the exact model number of the modem.
Mainboards of that era used wierd modem-only slots. Your Dell 8300 might
not have the right slot. The "modem" in the older machine might be just a
couple of chips on a proprietary card that requires a certain motherboard to
make it work. But you might get lucky, if the modem in the old machine is a
PCI format expansion card modem.

Secondly, would I have to install drivers to get it to work?

Yup. But this goes back to what I was saying earlier, we'd need the exact
model number of the modem.

In general, you have nothing to lose by trying to install the modem in your
Dell. Once you have both machines opened up, it should be obvious whether
the modem will fit in the Dell or not. BUT, before you put that modem in
the Dell, copy ALL markings you can find off of it. Then google to find out
the exact model number of the modem and find drivers for it. If you can't
find drivers, there's no point in trying to install it. -Dave

 

[Paul]

I have a Dell Dimension 8300 that needs a modem.

I have an older machine, 6-7 years old that has a 1.53Ghz AMD
processor. That's all I know about it, not sure which motherboard.
It has a modem.

Can I take the modem from that old AMD machine and stick it into Dell
Dimension 8300, would they be compatible slot-wise?

Secondly, would I have to install drivers to get it to work?

The Dimension 8300 has four PCI slots.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8300/sm/techov.htm

There are fourteen returned results here, for 56K dialup PCI modems.
What you're looking for, is a product that includes a bundled driver CD.
Don't buy a product without drivers. (Some OEM card versions save you
a few bucks, by not including drivers, but the web search for drivers
can be an unending one.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...02810018+1126509662+1127609672&Subcategory=18

For example, this one includes a driver CD and costs $16. If you're
wary of shipping charges, you might even find this product available
at a local store. But it'll be hard to beat the price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16825104001

http://www.usr.com/support/product-template.asp?prod=5670

You can buy a $5 modem if you want, but good luck on that.

The purpose of buying a modem, is to get drivers. An old modem might
not have drivers for WinXP for example. And you could spend hours
trying to find a driver on the web. In a sense, you're "buying drivers",
and the hardware is a secondary issue.

A standalone modem that uses a COM (RS-232) port is another option,
but the retail pricing is not attractive. The advantage of this
approach, over a "Winmodem", is there is no computing overhead,
converting audio samples from the phone line, into digital data.
This kind of modem does that internally, with extra chips.
No real driver is needed with this, and all these need is the
Hayes command set sequence of characters, to configure them. I
like these, and have an old one available for emergencies, such
as if ADSL goes down for a long period of time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16825104135

Good luck,
Paul