All right. All this talk about how great the Xbox Live service is has me interested. I’ve got my cable modem all hooked up to my PC in my office. Trouble is, my Xbox is downstairs in the family room.
Since I don’t want to run wired throughout my house what exactly do I need to make this happen and how much is this going to set me back?
I am sure Case will come through with a more detailed reply but it sounds like you need a cable dsl router + that Nyko Wireless Net extender (http://www.nyko.com.) or a wireless router and one of those wireless access points for the Xbox.
Make sure you check out www.xbox.com for router compatibility I had an issue with mine (Linksys wireless-G) not initially wanting to update Live! Of the non-wireless routers that are Live! compatible the low end MS one is simple to setup and inexpensive but I am not sure about the performance. The base Linksys is a good safe one if you don’t want wireless and runs like $60. The net extender can be found for $99. Then you need a couple of ethernet cables ($10-20 each at Best Buy). So total is about $180 if you go with the Linksys/Net Extender or $150 if you go MS/Net Extender.
For wireless you are looking at $70 + $130 for the access point if you want the 802.11b 10mb network or $100 + $130 for the 802.11g 54mb network. Of course you could go wireless plus a net extender if you think you will add any other computers wirelessly to your network further down the line and want to save some money. Oh and don’t forget to add $20+ for the cables.
Of course you could just do it the old fashioned way and run wires which would be cheaper if you do it but messier and you need to find a place that does custom length cables or a friend who can do it.
Personally I would get the low end linksys listed on the xbox Live! page plus that net extender.
– Xaroc
Don’t know how it would affect Xbox Live, but my father-in-law, prior to going wireless, got a fairly cheap adapter that ran a networking signal through the phone lines. I think you lose a little speed, but I’m not sure how much.
It might be worth considering, at least, so you didn’t have to wire everything, or fork over tons of cash for wireless stuff.
I’ve used netgear phoneline and netgear powerline networking with my Xbox – both work great! They are slower than 100 megabit networking, but about the same speed at 10 megabit – which is faster than any broadband connection I’ve seen in someone’s house.
Total cost, including router and adapter, was about $130 for either solution (and both have worked like champs).
Aleck
If you want something fairly future proof, get an 802.11g router. Most of the major suppliers make decent ones. I have a DLink, but the Linksys is good. The Microsoft MN-700 is probably the easiest to set up, though, and even will auto-download firmware updates.
Whatever router you get, I’d suggest the Microsoft Xbox wireless adapter. You can actually configure it on the Xbox, rather than having to set it up on a PC first, as you do with some other similar products.
I recommend the Nyko option. I was in the same boat as you, and the Nyko turned out to be the cheapest and most hassle-free option. Set-up was a breeze and gaming has so far been totally lag-free. I love it.
Good to know. I’m going to look into the net extender.