I'm a Wireless networking n00b!!!

[DaFunkyUnit]

We just got our broadband installed today (woooo hooo!!! ) and now I'm looking for a good router. I wanna go wireless of course. Whats the best way to go about this? The cable modem is connected to the comp in the den (this is where our cable line is available) and I wanna be able to hook up the comp in the next room (bedroom/guestroom). Its only ~30 feet away. Plus, my dad would like to use a laptop around the house as well. Is it better to get something like the Linksys all-in-one type of deal (Linksys BEFW11S4) or should i go router+access point? Plus, which is a good brand? Theres that recent deal on the D-Link DI-713P.

suggestions would really help, thanx!

[PoloM1]

I am currently using a Router and a separate access point setup, but that is only because I got router when wireless routers were way too expensive for me. I am using the netgear rt314 router and am extremely happy with it's performance. The access point I'm using is the one made by belkin. I totally recommend it.... it really is as easy to setup as everyone says, but if you can afford it, you might want to get an access point or router that is 802.11a instead of 802.11b. I'm using 802.11b and there are times where I wished I had 802.11a instead but it depends on what you plan of using the network for, if it's surfing the net, 802.11b is more than enough, but if you plan to be transfering large files between computers, you really should consider 802.11a

[DaFunkyUnit]

what about online gaming? is the connection pretty consistent so that I wont have to worry about being disconnected/dropped packets?

[PoloM1]

I don't really do online gaming but I do watch videos over my network and the connection seems consistent, I guess that would be more of an issue the further you get away from the router/access point, but I haven't had any problems.

[DaFunkyUnit]

i got the NetGear 314 wireless router and 4-port switch along with the NetGear M101 USB wireless receiver. It works beautifully for the most part. however, there are times when the signal just drops for a 1 or 2 seconds. This occurs maybe once every 10 minutes. For tasks such as web surfing, its no big deal, but when you're playing a game online, its an annoyance.

[ribitch]

i have an smc 4 port router connected to an apple airport. The speed is great, the connections are great, and the speed is awesome. Most games are optimized to it they can run over low speed networks (dialup), so you wont get any lag with a wireless setup. The available bandwidth is split per wireless user at the access point. so if you flood the AP, then you may get lag time. You probably will never have enough people playing at that point that will cause it to be noticed