[quote3bfbdaf78d="gafdpc"]any wireless router should do the trick. might as well get one thats 802.11g as 802.11b is quickly becoming obsolete (although a 802.11b is cheaper and should work fine). [/quote3bfbdaf78d]
You'd be hard pressed to even find 802.11b gear, outside of eBay. In fact 802.11g is nearing obsolescence, since the 802.11n standard has been ratified and most manufacturers now guarantee support of the final spec in their current Draft-N models. The N spec ups bandwidth to 248Mb/s (74Mb/s typical) over G's 54Mb/s (19Mb/s typical), and roughly doubles its range.
That said, if you're only using wireless for internet access and not for heavy LAN traffic (file sharing or other local client/server use) then by all means stick with 802.11g since you're bottlenecked by your internet bandwidth anyway. However keep in mind that if you have higher-end broadband (>5Mb/s) you should avoid trying to use 802.11b. It theoretically tops out at 11Mb/s, but typical is only around 4Mb/s. Also the B spec typically only supports WEP encryption, which is easily crackable and offers no security nowadays. You want WPA-TKIP minimum, preferrably WPA-AES.
[quote3bfbdaf78d="ajasax"]I've used a couple "brand-name" routers such as D-Link and Netgear. Both routers weren't very reliable. I have a Linksys router now. This thing is a champ. I don't think I've had to reset it once since I hooked it up. It works perfectly![/quote3bfbdaf78d]
Any my experience has been mostly opposite. I don't like Linksys gear at all, although it is undeniably popular -- primarily because it's cheap and most plentiful, and easily hackable for those who care about such things. I consider myself a hacker of a lot of things, but not for my wifi. I don't use wifi router capability anyway, I just want an access point, as I have far greater router/firewall capability in my custom-built Linux router.
I choose Netgear over Linksys any day, for just about anything. D-Link I'm more ambivalent about, they've had some decent stuff and some junk.
For WiFi gear my first choice for SOHO use is actually Buffalo. However they're currently under injunction from a patent lawsuit and cannot produce wireless gear for sale in the U.S. until that is resolved. But if you can still find their products on the shelf, eBay, etc., then that's my highest recommendation. Particularly if you can find the
WHR-HP-G54[=http//www.amazon.com/Buffalo-WHR-HP-G54-Wireless-G-Performance-Router/dp/B000AOKTJ8]WHR-HP-G54 High Power router/access point. I have it and it's by far the best home router/AP I've ever used. It alone covers my whole house where previously I had to use two access points for full coverage.