cheaper alternatives to make 360 wireless???

[mailman187666]

ok so its not that I'm cheap, I really don't mind spending money. I suck at everything that has to do with home networking, internet, wireless, routers, EVERYTHING like that. What I need to know is do I really have to resort to spending $100 on that rip off that M$ is selling to make my 360 do wireless? there has gotta be another way. I'm looking for something that will work well too, nothing that is gonna be "well ______ kinda works but its slow, and you have to mod this and install that." I just want to plug something into the USB port and have it connect to my router. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Also stores to check and prices will also help me that much more. Its a little bit of a request but, you guys know all this kinda shit and all I know is games themselves, so please, help the uneducated guy. Thanks alot.

[heybtbm]

There is nothing as easy to set up and user friendly as the official MS wireless adapter. However, I agree that $100 is a little steep. I'd advise you to buy it used. $69.99 - 10% at Gamestop/EB (http://www.gamestop.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=900643). I've seen them at other used video game stores as low as $60.

[Damaniel]

For a installation at my parents' house I used a device by Logitech called the Play Link. You can find them from various online sellers for around $30, though they used to be even cheaper than that for a while. Installation was fairly easy. One box plugs into your router, and the other box plugs into your 360's network port. No other configuration is necessary. The speed is limited to 1.5 megabits per second, but that's far more than you'll need for multiplayer gaming (though downloading demos via XBox Live will be slower than it could be if your internet connection is faster than that). I never saw any lag issues either.

If maximum download speed is important (like if you download a lot of demos and videos), you can buy what's called a 'Wireless gaming adapter'. They're like the ones that Microsoft sells, but are made by the other major networking companies. Of course, these will cost more (but less than the Microsoft one -- $60-$80 is normal) and will require a little bit of configuration, but then you'll get the maximum 802.11b/g speed from your wireless network. This is the method I ended up using on my system.

[mailman187666]

So far the best thing to use is the official microsoft one it seems. I'd definately get one used if I was going to do that. The ones that are between 60-80 bucks sounds good but I want to stay away from the whole configurations and calibrations and all that. I just want to plug something in and have it work for cheaper than $100 and be able to make painless downloads. I mainly use online gaming for dowloading games and demos, so whatever would be best for that I guess I'd say. I'm the type of guy that can click on a couple things on the computer screen and somehow manage to make the internet not work anymore, lets all keep that into consideration also.

[nebrazca78]

If maximum download speed is important (like if you download a lot of demos and videos), you can buy what's called a 'Wireless gaming adapter'. They're like the ones that Microsoft sells, but are made by the other major networking companies. Of course, these will cost more (but less than the Microsoft one -- $60-$80 is normal) and will require a little bit of configuration, but then you'll get the maximum 802.11b/g speed from your wireless network. This is the method I ended up using on my system.

I've been using the Buffalo Airstation Wireless Ethernet Converter. It has four ports on the back so you can use it with more than just the 360 if necessary. Setup is minimal especially if you are running an unsecured network.

I paid less than $60 for mine quite a while ago and it works great.

[mailman187666]

I've been using the Buffalo Airstation Wireless Ethernet Converter. It has four ports on the back so you can use it with more than just the 360 if necessary. Setup is minimal especially if you are running an unsecured network.

I paid less than $60 for mine quite a while ago and it works great.

where would you pick something like this up?

[Darren870]

I've been using the Buffalo Airstation Wireless Ethernet Converter. It has four ports on the back so you can use it with more than just the 360 if necessary. Setup is minimal especially if you are running an unsecured network.

I paid less than $60 for mine quite a while ago and it works great.

Same....

Best buy has it. I think its like $40 now.

If you use a secured network it can be a pain if you don't know what you are doing.
I use WPA-AES and got it to work in a few minutes...I also know what I'm doing though.