Verified answer

Wireless routers are fairly inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/s/?_encoding=UTF8&linkCode=u...

As far as the brand goes, the brand is not as important as the model. Some manufacturers release a good model but the next is crap. I would look at the Amazon reviews of models that interest you. Even if you don't buy from Amazon the reviews will tell you a lot about which models to avoid. Look for at least 15 or more reviews with a 4 star or better rating. Read a few and see if they sound like the particular model will work for your application.

FYI:

A fast router will not make your Internet faster.

A router connects two separate networks and manage the traffic between them.

In most home network applications the router connects your local group of computers and devices known as the LAN with the Internet, commonly called the WAN or Wide Area Network.

Your WAN speed is determined by your ISP and is measured in Mbps (Millions of bits per second).

For example if you pay for a 3 Mbps DSL Internet connection, you will get 3 Mbps.

No router will change your 3 Mbps Internet speed.

This Internet connection bandwidth is shared by your entire LAN via your router.

For example if you have a 3 Mbps DSL plan and one user is utilizing 2.5 Mbps of the bandwidth to stream a Netflix movie that only leaves 0.5 Mbps for all of the rest of the users on the LAN.

Fast routers are designed to stream large files on your LAN quickly. The high speed routers permit fast transfer of files between devices connected to your LAN, however WAN speed is still limited by your ISP.

A note about online gaming:

Wireless connections are not good for systems used for online gaming.

Your latency (ping) may be 30 ms and wireless interference could cause it to spike to 200 ms or more. Wireless connection quality also varies and there is overhead involved in the transfer such as the encryption / decryption used for wireless security.

The best solution would be to use a wired (Ethernet) connection between your gaming device and the router.

If it is not feasible to run cables you have other options such as powerline network adapters You plug one in by the router and one in the room where you need access and connect them to the devices with standard Ethernet patch cables. http://isp1.us/reviews/netgear-xavb2101-powerline-...

The network signals are transmitted over your existing home electrical wiring which will not be affected by wireless interference.

Good Luck...

Best Wireless Router Under 50

Linksys WRT54G/GS

Flash Firmware with DD-WRT (3rd Party) to replace the default Linksys Firmware.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WRT54GS-Wirele...

49.00 $