My wireless router is terrible....

[puffy_plus]

We recently added a Netgear wireless router (WGR614) to our already existing cable modem. The desktop pc runs smoothly and quickly as it should. However, our netbook and laptop run so slowly it reminds us of the old dial up days. It is to the point that no one wants to use either of the wireless computers. I should mention we also stream movies through the router and they do just fine. Would upgrading to another router of any brand make a difference? And right now price is not a factor...Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[me13245]

Is the desktop connected wirelesly or through a cable to the router? If it is with a cable then it is going to be a lot faster then any wireless connection just by nature. As well, the farther you are and more walls and/or big steel objects such as filing cab nets between the computer and the router will also slow speeds down. However if you are looking for a new router, generally (as with most technology) the more expensive ones are better. I use a Linksys wireless router and have never had troubles with it.

 

[eibgrad]

The way you're describing performance (dial up speeds) makes me think something else is going on here and simply changing routers probably won't help.

The first thing you should do is visit SpeedTest.net and get some baseline performance numbers for all your PCs and laptops. Let's get some ACTUAL numbers so we have something to work with. For each PC and laptop, test for BOTH wired and wireless (if applicable). We want to see if the numbers change significantly between the types of connection for any given device, esp. for wireless devices.