I have a modded Xbox that I would like to add to a new home network I am setting up. The goal is for all computers to have access to everything. Here is what I have:

Xbox running XBMC
Media Center PC (can be a server)
Work PC
Wife's laptop (only needs internet access)

I'm not afraid to wire the house so I don't need a wireless network (plus I want to keep broadband speed on all devices). What's the most efficient setup?

Hi,

get a wireless router. Most of them have 4 lan ethernet connections and 1 wlan connection. The box arranges the traffic between all the units on the lan, and sends traffic to and from the internet when needed. Just make sure the lan ports are 100Mbit. If they aren't, get a 100Mbit switch, and connect one of the switch ports to one of the lan router ports. The wireless function will sooner or later become handy. The Laptop will probably have a wifi network adapter. Using wireless, you can access the Internet with it, without the need for a network cable connection. If you don't use wireless, you can always disable it if you feel safer without it.

regards.

If I go wireless, do I need a separate access point for the Xbox? I was also looking at some hybrid ethernet/wireless routers like this one:

LINKSYS WRT54GL

if you just want to wire the xbox in you wont need anything special, if you want to use wireless with the xbox you will need a wireless ethernet bridge or gaming adapter