New to wireless broadband

[Sonikku]

I just recently got broadband internet after moving out of farm country and the modem Time Warner gave me is the barest of the bare bones. (Wired variant with only one cord to connect things with) As I have a PC and and 360 Slim I'd like to have broadband for both without swapping a cord back and forth, so what is the bare minimum of a modem I would need? I'm hoping I don't need to spend some crazy $100+ "gaming" modem for something so basic.

Living in a one room studio apartment.
20mpbs cable road runner internet
Only using two devices, 360 and PC
I believe my 360 slim can already read wireless internet and needs no further accessories
My motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157303

Will some wireless router off the egg for $20-30 do the job? Will I need to also buy some pci slot card for the motherboard, or will the bare bones router suffice?

 

[Termie]

If you are able to run ethernet cables to both devices, simply buying a router will be the easiest solution. The modem you have is exactly what you should have received - unless a broadband provider issues a combined modem/router, you won't see anything more than the jacks you've listed. Here is a simple wired router: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833156001

If you want to use your 360 wirelessly, for instance because it will be unsightly to have an ethernet cable stretching across the room, then yes, any wireless router will do, although their features and throughput do go up somewhat linearly with price. In a studio, you shouldn't have a problem with a cheaper wireless router, although you may get interference from neighboring routers.

Also, either way, I'd try to connect the computer directly to the router to save the expense of a wireless adapter for it, unless you truly cannot string an ethernet cable to it.

You can get more advice on appropriate wireless routers in the Networking sub-forum, but I have found Buffalo to make very good moderately-priced routers (e.g. $40-$60): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...CE&Pagesize=20

I have used and had negative experiences with sub-$30 wireless routers. I don't recommend them.

 

[Sonikku]

Have you had problems with sub $30 wired routers as well? If going the wired route with more inputs would do the job for less, I would consider it.

 

[Termie]

Have you had problems with sub $30 wired routers as well? If going the wired route with more inputs would do the job for less, I would consider it.

I haven't tried wired-only routers, but I have had trouble with wired routing on wireless routers under $30.

I think, however, that a sub-$30 wired-only router should be fine.

 

[Makaveli]

I haven't tried wired-only routers, but I have had trouble with wired routing on wireless routers under $30.

I think, however, that a sub-$30 wired-only router should be fine.

Agreed anything under 30 dollars usually means the thing will reboot during high load.

Example torrents!

 

[mfenn]

Agreed anything under 30 dollars usually means the thing will reboot during high load.

Example torrents!

Agree. Sub $30 means that they really skimp on CPU and RAM, which directly translates to bad performance and poor stability under heavy load, no matter if the load is being generated wired or wirelessly. Wireless performance might also suck on a cheap $30 router, but that's less on an issue (IMHO) that the router crashing.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've been using WNR2000v2 units, refurb, for $20. Rock-solid reliable with DD-WRT installed.

 

[Sonikku]

Bleh, I guess it doesn't matter. Just read this little nugget.

http://gigaom.com/2012/10/22/time-warner-to-make-over-350-million-a-year-from-cable-modem-rentals/

I can deal with the hoops, but not the $50 minimum crappy modem on Time Warners shortlist of compatible modems.

 

[Termie]

Bleh, I guess it doesn't matter. Just read this little nugget.

http://gigaom.com/2012/10/22/time-warner-to-make-over-350-million-a-year-from-cable-modem-rentals/

I can deal with the hoops, but not the $50 minimum crappy modem on Time Warners shortlist of compatible modems.

The modem is a separate issue from the router. If you're going to stick with the service for a year or more, absolutely buy one. Excellent Motorola modems cost $80 at newegg. The 6121,for instance, if it's approved.

 

[Ken g6]

If you're doing wired-only networking, you don't need a full router. You just need a switch or a hub. Apparently they don't make hubs anymore - they're sort of several Ethernet ports dumbly wired together, which means every device gets every other device's signals. The main problem is that many devices talking at the same time interfere with each other, but two devices isn't bad. However, it looks like you can't buy a hub these days because switches are so cheap.

A switch is just slightly smarter than a hub. It broadcasts an incoming signal, then sees who responds. If someone does, future signals are sent between those two devices directly for awhile. Here's one for $10.

If you can hook up the computer wired, and have a wireless card in the computer, but want the xbox connected wirelessly, you could set up an ad-hoc network. That's rather a minimal tutorial - you should do two other things:

1. Set up WEP encryption on the ad-hoc network. This isn't great, but it's the best you can do.
2. Enable "Internet Connection Sharing" on the PC between the ad-hoc wireless network and the Internet.

I did this for years before I bought a real router.

 

[VirtualLarry]

The modem is a separate issue from the router. If you're going to stick with the service for a year or more, absolutely buy one. Excellent Motorola modems cost $80 at newegg. The 6121,for instance, if it's approved.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XC6GJ0/ref=nosim/

 

[mfenn]

If you're doing wired-only networking, you don't need a full router. You just need a switch or a hub. Apparently they don't make hubs anymore - they're sort of several Ethernet ports dumbly wired together, which means every device gets every other device's signals. The main problem is that many devices talking at the same time interfere with each other, but two devices isn't bad. However, it looks like you can't buy a hub these days because switches are so cheap.

A switch is just slightly smarter than a hub. It broadcasts an incoming signal, then sees who responds. If someone does, future signals are sent between those two devices directly for awhile. Here's one for $10.

If you can hook up the computer wired, and have a wireless card in the computer, but want the xbox connected wirelessly, you could set up an ad-hoc network. That's rather a minimal tutorial - you should do two other things:

1. Set up WEP encryption on the ad-hoc network. This isn't great, but it's the best you can do.
2. Enable "Internet Connection Sharing" on the PC between the ad-hoc wireless network and the Internet.

I did this for years before I bought a real router.

You definitely need a router for wired networking unless you have two NICs in your PC and use Internet Connection Sharing (effectively turning your PC into a router).

While you technically could plug your modem, PC, and Xbox into a simple switch or hub, 99% of ISPs are only going to give out one public IP address per customer, so only one of your devices is going to be able to access the internet with that method. Your router does network address translation (NAT) that allows many private IP addresses to masquerade as a single public IP.