I live in a fairly small apartment with my girlfriend. we are both moderate-heavy internet users. We are switching to a cable internet connection with max 15mbps speeds. I have a PlayStation 3, an X-box 360 (with a wireless adapter) and my girlfriend and I each have a laptop. At any given moment two of these devices will be accessing the internet. I'm trying to figure out what a decent router is that will allow us to both be online at the same time. The guy at staples just tried to sell me the most expensive one 2.4/5mghz Dual Band N router ($180). Do I actually need this or is there another more cost effective router that will give me what I want? Also, I will *most likely* be wiring my PS3 and Xbox360 to the modem/router anyways as it is fairly close to the TV. Does this make a difference?

Thanks for your help!

Personally I have the D-Link DIR-655 Extreme N Wireless Router in my apartment and it works great. We have four desktop PCs, XBox 360, Wii, two laptops, iPod Touch, HP DreamScreen and a Samsung Omnia, all sharing this wired/wireless connection.

This particular router has "intelligent QoS technology prioritizes both wired and wireless Internet traffic to enable enhanced gaming and phone calling (VoIP) experience" and most of the time everything works great. Once in a while we'll have a 'hiccup', but I believe it to be our cable internet service, not the router.

You should do your research and be prepared to pay more than $40 for a router if you want quality. I would also suggest visit a friend's house or something and see how you like their router with your laptop and see if they can give you testimony for their particular router to use for reference.

If you only have a small apartment, your best option is to get a router that only covers a small amount of space. Most routers do the exact same job, just look for one that you know will fit your needs.

Wireless N doesn't do any good in a router unless your devices have it too (which they likely won't). Any router with 802.11g should work, just put it on an obscure channel (5 or 8) instead of the most common ones (6, 9, 11) and you should have little interference from neighbors' wireless. Also place the router as centrally as possible.

Your bottleneck for web access isn't going to be your wireless router, it's your internet connection. 15mbps should be plenty though