Wireless router question

Hi, new to the forum and very new to laptops/wireless networking so please go easy on me lol


This week I purchased a white c2d 2ghz 1gig ram macbook from the apple website and I'm looking to get this on a wireless network so I can use it outside on my deck. I've searched this forum for past responses and I've seen alot of people point to Linksys and Netgear as the most popular choices. I've had alot of success in the past with Linksys wired routers so I'm pretty keen on sticking with the Linksys brand.

My question is I've been looking at the WRT54G model and I've seen customer reviews complaining that it loses connection on a regular basis, however I've read good customer reviews about the WRT54GS (with speed booster) model. I went to the store today to purchase the model with the speedbooster but on the box it says the actual speedbooster is only compatible with windows XP/Vista (and maybe 2000), and since I"m going to be running a Mac OS will the speedbooster work. Looking for any advice on either of the two models, the price difference is only about $10 which is no big deal but I"m more concerned with compatibility than anything.

Also I"m quickly wondering if it would be worth an extra $40 to get the Linksys wireless G router W SRX 200. If there would be a noticable difference in speed/reliability I can afford any of the models but don't want to pay extra if it's not worth it.



Again sorry if you guys get this kind of question alot, just looking to get pushed in the right direction. Thanks alot