M$ 360 wireless

[Taco_assassin]

I got one for a decent price on eBay. Yes it's the one that usually costs $100. Does anyone know if it works well cuz that's probably what I'm gonna end up using in the near future after i move in November.

[Muncher]

Yea, I have one. It works great. I was hosting COD4 practice last night and I thought it went well. I don't know if it went better after I left though. We did have some trouble playing a whole game, that could have just been the servers though.
Anyways, I'm happy with it.

[Taco_assassin]

did you have to set the ports on your router like i did with my wired connection for the NAT to be open, or is that just automatic?

[Muncher]

I didn't have to set up ports, but that doesn't mean you wont. I turn on the UPnP(Universal plug and play). It is a setting in your wireless router.

[RaTix]

Personally, I think hardwired for a console is the way to go. Wireless is just never as fast or reliable as good old CAT5e (or 6) wiring.

[Taco_assassin]

Problem there is when i move in with the woman the router is in the bedroom. And the giant tv is in the living room. I know she's not gonna have a 100 foot worth of cable runnin across the house. And i'm not gamin in the bedroom. That's for assassination. :p

[RaTix]

Might be best to just move the router if possible, to the living room. Is there a PC in the bedroom or anything that the router needs to be in there?

[Muncher]

You can do what ever you want. I don't know what ratix is talking about being unreliable because it has worked perfictly fine for me sence december. I would tell you if I did have problems because I'm terrible with technology. Ratix can tell you that, I have asked him several stupid questions.

[RaTix]

Wireless is unreliable as your network speed will fluctuate based on signal strength. So if your wireless router is in another room, anything more then about 15 feet, you will have a slight degradation in the signal. Other things like the signal going through walls, appliances, electronics, etc.. will all effect your signal strength. For laptops and other small devices that don't need a lot of bandwidth, wireless is perfect. Wireless is a convenience and not a performance mechanism. For things that need A LOT of bandwidth, such as Gaming Consoles, or Gaming PCs, the wireless limits your bandwidth and because of the signal fluctuation, causes LAG!!

The 360 comes with a Gigabit Ethernet adapter built in as Ethernet Port. Gigabit network cards can handle 1000Mbps, where as the Wireless G on the 360 can only support up to 54Mbps. So any signal loss is taken from this number. So a "Good" signal strength (compared to Excellent) will probably only be 36Mbps. So before your actual internet speed comes into play, you are limiting your consoles bandwidth on your network.

Muncher, you might not have noticed any problems, but plain and simple, your connection will be 100x better on a Hard Wired Ethernet over Wireless. Personally I think no gamer should ever even consider wireless unless absolutely necessary and all other options have been exhausted.


**
Just wanted to explain the bandwidth for those that don't know.
Mb is different then MB
Mb = Megabit
MB = MegaByte (this is the speed you usually see in downloads and such)

So to find the easier to understand BYTE of a 54Mbps line. divide 54,000,000 (megabits) by 8 (8 bits to a byte). Which is 6.75 MB (MegaBYTES) per second.

For the Gigabit Ethernet of 1000Mbps. / 8 = 125 MegaBYTES per second.

If your thinking, Well my ISP can only do about < 1MB downloads so I'm fine, Wrong. Especially if your using multiple devices on the network at once (ie. PC or laptop while gaming), then this bandwidth is being split up and is where a bottleneck can occur. the thing is you want to free up as much internal Network traffic as possible so your not bottlenecked by your WAN connection as well as your LAN.

[MajinTony]

Taco is there a crawl space for below or above the house? If it's possible to run a cord in the attic or basement, the cord would be out of sight.

[Zabka]

Ratix is right--as I have been wireless for a couple years now. For the most part, though, I have found that my connection with good cable modem has been better then many of our direct connected brethren if using poor DSL--or a hamster wheel in Kerry's case. I have had some drops here or there, especially when hosting, however. I can't have my modem where my gaming is because the modem is more important for my computer use as that is something I often use for work. Gaming is secondary.

My hosting capabilities are more limited. But as just a member of the party I have not had the lag advantage that some have and rooms don't lag up because of me. But in RB6 I can't really host more than 12 in a room. 14 will lag out at some point. So there are definitely limitations.

But I believe the actual 360 wireless adapter uses the A protocol which is actually better than G. I have a Wireless G adapter that I use...and my PS3 has a wireless B built in (worse than G). But the 360 one is better, I believe.

You shouldn't have to do anything other than make sure you put in all the key codes if your wireless router is encrypted.

[RaTix]

"A" is actually worst then "G". Think you meant "N", never the less the 360 does "G".

Just for the power of knowledge, here is the wireless protocols and their specs.

802.11a
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
October 1999 5 GHz 23 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~35 m

Main article: IEEE 802.11a-1999

The 802.11a standard uses the same core protocol as the original standard, operates in 5 GHz band with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s.

Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used to the point of being crowded, using the relatively un-used 5 GHz band gives 802.11a a significant advantage. However, this high carrier frequency also brings a slight disadvantage: The effective overall range of 802.11a is slightly less than that of 802.11b/g; 802.11a signals cannot penetrate as far as those for 802.11b because they are absorbed more readily by walls and other solid objects in their path.

[edit] 802.11b
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
October 1999 2.4 GHz 4.5 Mbit/s 11 Mbit/s ~35 m

Main article: IEEE 802.11b-1999

802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same media access method defined in the original standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market in early 2000, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the modulation technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with simultaneous substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.

802.11b devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones.

[edit] 802.11g
Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
June 2003 2.4 GHz 23 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~35 m

Main article: IEEE 802.11g-2003

In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified: 802.11g. This works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b) but operates at a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, or about 19 Mbit/s net throughput. 802.11g hardware is fully backwards compatible with 802.11b hardware.

The then-proposed 802.11g standard was rapidly adopted by consumers starting in January 2003, well before ratification, due to the desire for higher speeds, and reductions in manufacturing costs. By summer 2003, most dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a and b/g in a single mobile adapter card or access point. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process; in an 802.11g network, however, activity by a 802.11b participant will reduce the speed of the overall 802.11g network.

Like 802.11b, 802.11g devices suffer interference from other products operating in the 2.4 GHz band. Devices operating in the 2.4 GHz range include: microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, baby monitors and cordless telephones.

[edit] 802.11-2007

In 2003, task group TGma was authorized to "roll up" many of the amendments to the 1999 version of the 802.11 standard. REVma or 802.11ma, as it was called, created a single document that merged 8 amendments (802.11a,b,d,e,g,h,i,j) with the base standard. Upon approval on March 08, 2007, 802.11REVma was renamed to the current standard IEEE 802.11-2007.[5] This is the single most modern 802.11 document available that contains cumulative changes from multiple sub-letter task groups.

[edit] 802.11n

Main article: IEEE 802.11n

Release Date Op. Frequency Data Rate (Typ) Data Rate (Max) Range (Indoor)
June 2009 (est.) 5 GHz and/or 2.4 GHz 74 Mbit/s 300 Mbit/s (2 streams) ~70 m

802.11n is a proposed amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and many other newer features. Though there are already many products on the market based on Draft 2.0 of this proposal, the TGn workgroup is not expected to finalize the amendment until November 2008.[3]

Take note of this Part
activity by a 802.11b participant will reduce the speed of the overall 802.11g network.

[Taco_assassin]

is there a way for me to make my router communicate with the router in the bedroom. they're both wireless. How would that work, and would it really be worth doing. I figure if the M$ wireless thing is really that bad, this would at least funnel bandwidth from one router to another rather than just picking up on the broadcast from the one in the bedroom. I'm figuring the cable thru the basement is gonna have to be last resort since it isn't technically my house.

[MajinTony]

Yeah true, but what about cable and phone wires. There are going to be holes in floors with wires sticking out wether you run an ethernet cord or not. I say go for it. It will be clean and you connection will be just fine. I believe you don't start losing any speed untill you reach over 300'.

I think the worse that will happen is you lose a piece of your deposit, if the landlord even notices.

[RaTix]

One would have to be an access point, or allow you to disable "routing" in it's config somewhere. Otherwise both would be trying to route a signal and cause some conflicts. Depending on the router, it should be possible. But I'm not sure if that really solves the problem as your still gonna have the wireless connection the console has to go through at some point. Also, IMO the jumping between tiers (Modem to router to switch to console) may also cause some delay in the signal. Probably a very negligible one, but one all the same.

As I said before though, if all options are exhausted you can just use the wireless. If you have a laptop that's wireless you can bring it to where the 360 will sit and see what the signal strength. Stare at it for a good 1-5 mins to see if there is any drop or flux in the signal. If the strength is a steady Excellent, then i wouldn't worry too much.

I am assuming the Modem itself is in the bedroom. Is there a PC or anything major that is hardwired to the router in the bedroom? If just for a laptop, move the modem/router to the living room and hardwire the console. If there is a PC hardwired you could try to use the 360 adapter on the PC instead and again move the modem/router to the living room and hardwire the console.

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