Xbox 360 networking through PC

[Wuzup101]

I'm considering buying an Xbox 360 sometime before the holidays. I currently live on the 3rd floor of a house while attending college. We use a wireless router based on the second floor of the house for our internet. I'm wondering if I would need to purchase the (expensive) 360 wireless kit, or if I could just network my (future) 360 to my PC and share the net through there. I'm sure networking isn't an issue and can be done, but would the connection be reliable enough for Live?

 

[ricleo2]

I asked the same question recently of xbox 360 support. They said it is possible to use a pc as a router but difficult to set up. We tried to no avail. I have to unplug my pc ethernet cable from my dsl modem and then plug in the 360's cable. It works fine but it gets real old. Is their anybody out there that can help us both?

 

[InlineFive]

If you have Windows XP and two nics you can bridge the connections.

 

[ricleo2]

I have 2 ethernet ports on my computer and well as windows media connect. That is about all I can tell you. A have posted this question on several other forums and no one has responded. Surely some one from the great Anandtech forums will respond?

 

[Wuzup101]

Bumping this for answers from the guru's here. Anyone have any idea how to help either of us?

 

[InlineFive]

In the Network Connections windows click on the Advanced menu and then Bridge Connections. It's been a while since I've done this but it should work for your purposes.

 

[NuroMancer]

I cannot speak to the reliability of the connection, you'd have to try it.

Go to the network connections screen.
Right click on the lan card in the PC.
Select properties.
Move to the advanced tab.
Select, "Allow other networ users to connect through this computer's internet connection.
In the drop down list select the lan card.
From here, you can set the settings and configure the connection.

To be honest I have never tried this, so best of luck.

 

[blemoine]

if you are going to get the 360 why not get the wireless kit while your at it. it will be much better than fighting with ICS. Its like getting a car and pushing it around because gas is expensive. if you can afford the car you can definately afford the gas. please just do it right the 1st time you will be much happier

 

[Wuzup101]

While that's a very good point, I was just asking since I happen to have a PC sitting 2 feet from me... and it's on 24/7. If I were to buy a $40k car, I wouldn't expect that the dealership would make me buy $10k (25% of the price of the car) worth of gas before driving it off the lot. However, the wireless adapter is priced "reasonably" haha at $99. However, at this point, with the launch of the PS3, I'm considering just plunking down the $599 for the higher end PS3 console. I plan on playing mostly on a dell 2407, and the ability to run an HDMI to DVI cable right from the PS3 to the 2407 would have it's perks. I currently own both a modded xbox and a ps2, and I like both systems, so I'd likely get an x360 later down the line. The thing is, the only game that I NEED to play on 360 is halo 3... and that's pushed back to somewhere around the 2007 holiday season. By that time the 360 will likely be down in price, and I might even be able to pick up a used one. The difference between the two systems is $100 when you figure that the higher tier ps3 already has wireless (and the 360 is 500 with the wireless dongle).

I'm still not really sure what I want to do, both have their perks (xbox live is great). However, I'd most likely be playing solo or with my roomates for the majority of the time. God knows I play enough WoW online, I don't need to play 1000 other things online hehe. As a student, I'll be blowing a decent amount of my savings either way, but hey, atleast christmas would bring a lot of games

 

[vorgusa]

I personally like the idea of the PS3 better but for a wireless connection to your Xbox, just get a wireless bridge. look them up on pricegrabber or something, linksys has one for 40 bucks and it would be something you could use for other things later on like a computer or whatever networking stuff you might have later on in life

 

[audiscarp]

Originally posted by: NuroMancer
I cannot speak to the reliability of the connection, you'd have to try it.

Go to the network connections screen.
Right click on the lan card in the PC.
Select properties.
Move to the advanced tab.
Select, "Allow other networ users to connect through this computer's internet connection.
In the drop down list select the lan card.
From here, you can set the settings and configure the connection.

To be honest I have never tried this, so best of luck.

I'm going wireless to a pc, then wired (via crossover) from that pc to another using this method (ICS). I've found it much more reliable than setting up a bridged connection, though that did work at times. Going into your 360 should work exactly the same as a pc. The only change from this is that you'll need to select your wireless in step 2 and drop down to your LAN after checking the "Allow other..." You'll also want to make sure your XP firewall is either off or configured for the 360 (not sure if there's a config or what it is).

Another solution would be to use a wrt54g router (or any other that takes the hacked firmwares) and set it up in client mode, then split the connection to your pc and your 360 via wire, if I'm understanding that feature of the firmware correctly. That would cost money, but would allow more flexibility than the 360 adapter (say somebody else brings one over or something), and you'd be able to use it later as a router if you move, which would be the only upside over a wireless bridge.

Eh, good luck.