Thanks everyone, this is so difficult because everyone has different opinions about routers. Some people love netgear or linksy while others hate or do not prefer them. I figured netgear would be good because the one I have now lasted for 5 years and is still going.
The reason I'm asking is because if I'm going to spend money on a router, I want it to be good and last awhile. I should of changed the title... It doesn't necessarily have to be for gaming, but for general use. I know there is no magical gaming router, but I want one that doesn't hinder performance in gaming as well as general online use.
Sorry if don't know what I'm talking about....It's because I don't
The linux based ones seem pretty good but I don't know how noob friendly it is?
A "gaming router" is all marketing. They just put that on there so they can make the price higher. Dlink gaming routers are reliable, but also expensive. The only thing they have is "Gamefuel" which is a fancy name for QoS. Any router that can be flashed to a custom firmware and have QoS and cost a lot less than dlink's gaming routers. Not all can be flashed to a custom firmware though. Yes I do have a d-link DGL-4300 gaming router. Yes it is reliable, but I got it for like $70. I would not have bought it for more than that probably.
The router is not causing you to have high pings, I am sure you will not notice a difference. A faster internet speed will not help either. Unplug your router and plug the modem directly into your computer. Check if you see a difference.
Pick servers that are closer to you.
If you don't need "wireless N," or gigabit LAN. Which I don't think you do. I would get this router
http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c..._re=Buffalo_WHR-HP-G54-_-33-162-134-_-Product
It is frequently recommended in the networking forum. It is stable, has good wireless performance, and can be flashed to custom firmware.
There really is not much to setup a router. Basically you plug it in, maybe change the IP, and set up a wireless password. I don't think you need to know anything about the other options in the login page.
Also no router "will hinder performance." People pick routers based on stability and features. Many regular, not so good routers, get overloaded and crash if you have a lot of torrents downloading. So you have to reset it. Or some have better wireless signals than others. For features, some have wireless N or gigabit LAN, while others don't.