airport extreme

[hauss316H]

I currently have a d-link router in which i only get 30%-45% of signal where most of my electronics are. i have a imac, tivo, xbox360, ps3 (all wireless) and a pc (wired) that i would like to have running at all times versus turning one off to get the other to get internet. will the airport extreme handle this? also, will i get better range with regular b/g connections?

 

[ab2650]

I currently have a d-link router in which i only get 30%-45% of signal where most of my electronics are. i have a imac, tivo, xbox360, ps3 (all wireless) and a pc (wired) that i would like to have running at all times versus turning one off to get the other to get internet. will the airport extreme handle this? also, will i get better range with regular b/g connections?

If you have a router then you should be able to have all your network devices on it at the same time; Hence, the whole point of a router. So it's either the case that you don't have a router (perhaps a access point on a network switch, or a cable or DSL modem?) or you have improperly connected something to your yes-it's-really-a-router router.

But to answer your question, the Airport Extreme Base Station (you know, the one for $180) is a router with 802.11a/b/g/n and 3 wired ports, so you can have 3 computers or wired devices hooked up and lots of wireless devices hooked up simultaneously.

Before dropping $180, look into what hardware you really do have. Post a model number here and someone can tell you if you really need the AP Base Station.

I unfortunately can't speculate on the distance and performance of the AP Base Station vs. whatever wireless you're using at the moment. Generally 802.11n access points have decent range, but probably your tivo and xbox are using 802.11b, and your PS3 I think is 802.11g. I some ways you can increase your range is either with antennas, better AP placement, or look for a MIMO access point, for instance Netgear's Rangemax line.