A few things I want to ask about before upgrading

Well my current router is a Linksys WRT54G2. What does that affect, if anything? Not sure. (Referring to the LAN 10/100 ports).

That's odd, some routers don't have a range/frequency Newegg.com - D-Link Wireless-N Home Router (DIR-601), N150. Like that one.
The speed of the ports refers to how fast you can transfer files and total bandwidth available over hard wired LAN. If you only plan on using the wireless portion then you don't need to really worry about how fast the ethernet port speed is.

The routers that don't advertise speed or frequency are cheaper routers that you can count on being 2.4ghz and either 54G or 150N speeds. That D-Link is a cheaper router only designed to have connections "up to" 150Mb per client but transfer speed wont actually be that fast. For instance, maximum speed capable of connecting will be 150Mb on the router, but if you have a 300Mb or 150Mb N card in your computer chances are you will connect at slower than that. If you buy a "dual band" router that means that router can handle clients on the 2.4ghz and 5ghz frequency range simultaneously. The advantage of being in the 5ghz range is you wont get any kind of interference by devices like other routers, microwaves, or home phones that run in the 2.4ghz range. Being "dual band" just means that particular router has 2 different radios that handles clients on both at the same time. It's like having 2 subnets (literally) on the same local network.

Speed on a router is how much total bandwidth you have and how fast a client connects. If you have a wireless N 300Mb router, and a 300Mb wireless card for your PC then you have 300Mb worth of bandwidth to use on the down and up stream. So literally speaking you can transfer at 150Mb up and down at the same time, or get full up to 300Mb down or up separately. To give you an idea of what I'm talking about in literal terms is this.
A hard wire ethernet connection at 100Mb can handle around 12.5MB/s theoretically (1000Mb gigabit is around 125MB/s max bandwidth), but actual transfer speeds are around 10MB/s. If you have a 300Mb N router, a 300Mb N card in your computer, if you are downloading something from another computer you can transfer up to 37.5MB/s, but will probably average more around 25MB/s. If you are uploading and downloading at the same time split that in half. Remember, these are all based on theoretical "up to" speeds which is the maximum capable of each piece of hardware.

More antennas means more range. The more devices you put on a router the less signal each one will start to get but signal fade only happens to cheaper routers with a bunch of clients. Even if you aren't going to be very far from the router it is still best to have the most you can get from the router due to any possible interference around. You want the fastest speed you can get for the money which is a given.
 
Thanks for all the info PP.

As far as aesthetics go (picky with this unfortunately) will the d-link I linked do the trick?
 
PP, shouldn't I get a vertex 3 or 4 ssd with similar/same storage? Isn't vertex 2 outdated now?
It is, but it looked like you wanted a cheaper solution so I suggested the Vertex 2 since it was faster than that Onyx.

Got the SSD question solved. Found a 120gb fast one for $95. Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

I still need a Router though, is there one with similar performance to the one your friend has but is black rather than white?
If performance isn't an issue then go ahead and grab the D-Link.
 
My friend has the white version, mid tower. The mid tower is heavy, and I mean real heavy for a case. The plastic in front makes it so you have to grab it odd or it will come off and you could possibly drop the case. The rubber grommets are flimsy, weak, and come out very easily. The air flow is ok, but all in all, I wouldn't buy one myself.
 
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