Xbox 360 networking question -Do I have to use a name brand microsoft wireless device

[LightingBird]

I'm on the verge of buying a system and debating between these two devices.

Linksys Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with Speedbooster :
Amazon.com: Linksys Wireless-G USB Network Adapter with Speedbooster (WUSB54GS): Electronics

Or the name brand...

Microsoft Wireless Network Adapter Xbox 360:
Microsoft Wireless Network Adapter Xbox 360 - Wal-Mart

Been to the xbox 360 forum and they seem to be completely clueless. A friend of mine uses another linksys device and it works fine. Some of the people over at teh xbox forum think that it will not work due to a driver issue which doesn't make much sense to me. Basically, the microsoft device costs $100 and the other only $15 so I'm trying to make a logical better buy.

Anyone able to clear this up for me with no assumptions... please?

[bmitchell73]

Alright...Heres the lay down, I just faced this same problem like two weeks ago:

If you don't want to buy the Microsoft network adapter for a whopping $100, then unfortunately there is only one other work-around that I've found so far. You need a wireless access point. A USB adapter won't work for some reason, I tried it out with one I had and could not get it to work at all. So I opted for the access point. I picked up a Linksys Wireless-G Game adapter that said it would work for Xbox, and ps2 for about $20 on craigslist. The nice thing about this device is that it immediately began to get signal, and show that it got signal in Xbox 360 panel. Unfortunately it wasn't able to pick up an IP address. To fix that, I simply entered in a static IP, a static DNS, and Gateway. Then I used the supplied CD to access the adapter's firmware, and set the default wireless connection to the one that's in my house. Everything works great! Better yet, I saved $80 that I used towards some new games!

[LightingBird]

Hmm like I said my friend uses a linkskys one and it works fine so I'm a little lost.

[bmitchell73]

Ok, theres a difference between the usb adapter that you gave a link for, and a network adapter like the Linksys Wireless-G game adapter that uses a lan cable to hook to the xbox. To my knowledge, you CAN'T use usb unless it's the microsoft one. So your only option is an adapter that uses the lan connection to your Xbox, like the game adapter. Thats probably what your friend has.

[sl1pkn0t]

I had this same problem I didn't want to spend $100 on the Microsoft one so I use this usb adapter.
Amazon.com: Linksys USB100TX EtherFast 10/100 USB Network Adapter: Electronics

Basically what I do is hook up the Ethernet to the xbox then usb to my pc, then I just bridge the network connections and run off of wireless from my computer works great. But the only USB device that works for xbox is there own kind of sucks but there are many alternatives.