Microsoft Xbox System Link Cable #K08-00004

by Microsoft

Product Details

• ASIN: B00005R6YW
• Item Weight: 3 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,611 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Xbox link cable connects two consoles together to enable multi-Xbox head-to-head gameplay. Note that not all games have system-link support.

Product Description

Microsoft Xbox System Link Cable K08-00004The Xbox System Link Cable connects two game consoles together to enable multi-Xbox head-to-head gameplay.Lookfor system-link support on game packages.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

184 of 190 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Xbox System Link Play, February 17, 2002

By 

Chillydogg (Leawood, Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Xbox System Link Cable #K08-00004 (Video Game)

I'm seeing a lot of confusion over whether you need the official MicroSoft licensed nifty green System Link Cable or just any old ethernet cable. Okay, here's the deal. If you just want to unite two Xboxes (and 2 TV's) under Multiplayer/System Link Play, then you link system to system with an ethernet CROSSOVER cable. This is different from a regular Cat 5 cable, because it takes Transmit pins 1&2 and CROSSES them OVER to Receive pins 3&6. It does this in both directions, so that your two Xboxes can transmit/receive to each other. A regular Cat 5 ethernet cable will not work because it connects transmit+transmit and receive+receive. (mouth to mouth & ear to ear)

If you have a hub, then you CAN use regular Category 5 ethernet cables from Xbox to hub, Xbox to hub, etc., up to four Xboxes each linked into a hub. You don't need the hub to be connected to a computer or a DSL/cable modem or anything. Just two to four Xboxes that all meet at the ethernet hub. That's it. (of course you need a separate TV set or RGB monitor for each Xbox) Up to sixteen players can play Halo under Multiplayer/System Link Play. What a difference it makes when people can't watch your screen split and see you sneaking up on them. It just rocks out loud.

Cool?
Cool.

128 of 132 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cable Confusion..., April 24, 2002

By 

"thetuvix" (Long Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Xbox System Link Cable #K08-00004 (Video Game)

From the reviews below, there seems to be confusion regarding cables... here's the deal:

A CAT-5 ethernet cable has two "wires" twisted inside, a transmit wire for outgoing data and a recieve wire for incoming data. When you buy premade cable, there's two types you can get, Normal and Crossover:

1. Normal Cable -- This is standard ethernet cable that is used to connect MULTIPLE XBOXES TO HUBS AND ROUTERS. The hub or router does the job of taking signals from each transmit wire and sending them to everyone else's receive wire. This is what networked computers use and you can get cables of varying lengths and colors from any computer store.

2. Crossover Cable -- This is what the Xbox System Link Cable is, but you can use any crossover cable. Crossover cable is for connecting TWO XBOXES TO EACH OTHER. The wires are switched or "crossed-over" inside such that one person's transmit terminal connects to the other person's receive terminal and vice versa. If you are using a hub or router, you CAN NOT use the Xbox System Link cable or any other crossover cable as the hub is expecting to do the crossing for you and is not expecting data on the receive wire. In that case you must use normal ethernet cables.

The Xbox System Link Cable works great for connecting two Xboxes to each other, but if you are going to use a hub, you must get a normal (non-crossover) cable from your local computer store.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get a cable, but not this one, October 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Microsoft Xbox System Link Cable #K08-00004 (Video Game)

Playing multilinked XBoxes is as much fun as you can have with your clothes on. However, this cable is way overpriced, and there are many non-Microsoft-branded alternatives to save you money.

Seriously, unless you just want to make Bill Gates a richer man, buy one of these cables that are just as good but less expensive, all easily found here on amazon.com. Just type the item number in the search box for all products and it will pull each item right up.

Item B00004Z5IF, 25 foot cable *or*
Item B00004Z5T4, 50 foot cable (much longer than the Microsoft cable)

If you want to connect more than two XBoxes together, do not buy this cable because it WILL NOT WORK!!! (I don't mean it's inferior, I mean it is literally not designed to function in this manner!) This cable is for connecting two AND ONLY TWO XBoxes directly together. To connect more than two if you don't currently have any network equipment, buy the following:

Item B00000J4M9, 4-port 10 Base-T hub

*and* one of the following for each XBox, depending on where you plan to put it (i.e. how far away from the above hub each XBox will be):

Item B00006HURP, 7 foot cable *or*
Item B00006HURH, 25 foot cable *or*
Item B00006HUQ0, 50 foot cable

I hope this helps. Happy gaming!