Help with Dual Modem Question

[Oboy]

I just got a seconded account and was wondering if doing that dual modem thing was worth it or not. It looks like it will be years before I will be able to get some type of high speed access, so is doing a dual modem hookup worth it or not?
Does the setup need to be from the same ISP or can I use two different ISP's? The reason for asking is we got a free account from work.
What needs to be done to get it all setup? Will it help for online gaming? (main reason for asking) What would be the benefits from this type of setup or pitfalls ?

Thanks for your input.

Oboy

[Liquid Snake]

I've never used such a set up before, but I do know that the accounts must be from the same ISP. Also the ISP has to support dual modems. Assuming it's two 56k modems on clean phone lines you'll be able to reach near-ISDN speeds when downloading. However the ping in gaming will probably not decrease, and might even increase because of the balancing that needs to be done between the two lines.

[Wulfman]

I can only talk about win98(se) - here you have the option to use "multilink". you can specify a own telephone number for the second modem...

never tried it, only know that it is there

mfg
wulfman

[Kruzin]

I ran dual 56k USR modems for a while.
It has it's pros and cons.

Both modems must be connecting to the same ISP, and the ISP must support multi-linking (not all do). Usually, there will be an extra monthly charge from the ISP to do this (my old ISP charged an extra 10 or 15 bucks a month)
Then, of course is the monthly cost of a second phone line in your house.

As far as performance goes, U/L and D/L speeds are effectivly doubled, however, gaming pings remain about the same, but with less packet loss.
I had tried the multi-link thing primarily for gaming, but to me, the extra cost was not worth the slight improvement it provided.

[Oboy]

Thank you for the info.
Looks like Ill keep hoping that someday I can get DSL or Cable.
/me hopes it before I'm 6 feet under!

Oboy