This is my first post. I have researched the archives and modemsite.com quite a bit and haven't found exact answers to the following questions. Any help will be most appreciated!

I am about to purchase an analog modem for the first time in years (been high speed for over 4 and just moved to the deep sticks)!

I am leaning towards a USR as the ISP I've chosen is 3COM/USR based. I also think external is the way to go as my slots are nearly full, I may want to do a Linux thing soon, and I may want to do a switchbox setup to use it on two different machines (one Linux, one Windows). I'm also contemplating a future Multilink machine and networked sharing of the dialup connection (Windows-based, obviously, and not Linux).

Other considerations beyond surfing are online gaming (twitch, strategy, and cards), rudimentary website management, 'work from home' opportunities, and the occasional SETI@Home packet.

I have no idea what the condition of my copper is, but I'd bank on poor line quality. I'd like reliability, flexibility, and speed within this context (of course!). I also like a Ferrari. Good thing I don't want a speakerphone, too!

I'll probably pay more to purchase locally so I can return it if it doesn't work well.

Here are my questions:

1. Is Multilink more viable using 2 of the same external hardware modems? I know that two controller-less internals of the same brand can be a challenge. What about externals? Would two different brands provide any benefits? One internal and one external? One controller-based and one controller-less? Is USB a wise or un-wise consideration here?

2. 2 Standard 16550 UARTs built into the motherboard. If I can go for V.92 someday will the serial port itself be a bottleneck? Isn't V.44 compression capable of making 52K of line speed decompress into more than 115k of data speed? Is this a non-consideration as most data won't be that compressable anyways?

3. (the dreaded question) Any recommendations for modems, USR or otherwise, that might fit my parameters?

Again, thank you for any assistance you can provide. I miss my cable modem and ISDN more and more every day!