Easiest/Cheapest extend network up/downstairs

[teknomedic]

Long story short...

Cable modem and current wifi setup is downstairs (basement)... I need to add wifi and wired access upstairs.

I currently have a Linksys WRT54GS that's running my whole network downstairs, but I'd like to extend that to upstairs as well.

I'll need at least 5 wired ports upstairs with wifi... and I'll need at least 3 wired ports downstairs with wifi

I'll need to stick with Wireless "G" for now as well... going "N" at this point isn't possible and expensive from what I've seen.

Everything should be able to talk with everything else no mater if wifi or wired as well... as I do a lot of file transferring and media/music center type stuff. Also.. ping rates/packet loss is important as I'll be gaming on both PC & consoles both upstairs and downstairs.

Thanks for any suggestions,
TK.

 

[teknomedic]

After some reading... I'm between the D-Link DIR-615 and DIR-655. I think I'll just buy two of these and try to setup WDS to extend everything.
Not that I wanted to spend this kind of money, but I'll probably grab the DIR-655... has better range, speeds and Gigabit lan.

 

[teknomedic]

Not that anyone helped me here... but maybe this will help someone else...

This is my plan...

So far I've bought two DIR-655 routers.... I figured I'd have the same signal issues with this that I had with my Linksys... wrong. The DIR-655 is like a dream. I'm getting 85-100% signal strength in every room of my house, outside on my deck... and even in the furthest corners of my yard, lol. So the 2nd DIR-655 I got will go back to the store (didn't open the box yet anyway). With that return, I'm fliping it to purchase an 8 port switch...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7907713&type=product&id=1149206843265

...I'll then run a cable from my upstairs TV section down to the router through the wall since the router is directly under the TV area upstairs. I'll then have 8 ports for my TV area hardware like Xbox and such.


As some final thoughts... the DIR-655 is a great router and I love the user interface and menus. I think they're some of the best I've ever used. Also, the options that you can set inside the router are very cool. I've setup the DIR-655 without any issues (besides a strange Wii bug that I've just solved). Lastly, I think I got a good deal on the router... they were on sale for $119 plus a $20 gift card last week ((still at 119 this week, but no gift card))... I'm going to use the gift card on the 8 port switch keeping my final costs around the $160 for Gigabit LAN across the board plus Wireless N.

I highly recommend the DIR-655... it's well worth the money and it's the best router I've ever bought. ((assuming no issues that would cause an RMA, lol))

TK.