Wireless network issues...driving me nuts!

[Calefaction]

So heres the deal. I have a Netgear WGR614v6 wireless router, and until a few weeks ago, it was a decent enough router. Connectivity was stable, all seemed well. I could play XBox Live, all the laptops in the house had good connections...everything was good.

Then a couple of weeks ago, it all went to shit. The wireless network will just disappear every 20-30 minutes. DNS will stop working, you can't reconnect to the network, it's just total crap. Devices hard wired to the router seem okay, but any wireless device in the house is screwed. I've done everything that my limited wireless knowledge has allowed me to think of: Resetting the router, upgrading the firmware, making sure the router isn't on a channel that any other router near my apartment is. My phones are 5.4ghz and never caused a problem before, so it's not that either.

What else can I trouble shoot to see whats causing this? I've heard people say these routers overheat sometimes, but I need a router that is going to handle 24/7 wireless connections from an XBox 360, and two laptops. No p2p or torrents going on, just gaming and web surfing. Should I go and purchase another router? Or is there something I can do to this one to shore up the problem?

If I do need to purchase another router, where should I look? I've heard the D-link gaming grade routers are good, but I've never owned one. How is the range on them? Do they cool themselves well enough not to have these heat issues? How is the range? I live in a two bedroom apartment, but I would like something with enough boost to keep my signal strength strong in any room.

Thanks for any advice you can give me.

 

[0ldman]

I've had to replace one of those under warranty, pretty high failure rate.

I'd go with a Buffalo WHR G54S, good, cheap, solid and third party firmware options.