shakran

I really like the Motorola WR850G router. It's fast, reliable, and hasn't given me one speck of trouble since I bought it. It's also got all the standard WEP security goodies as well as MAC filtering, which only allows the wireless devices that you specify to get access to the network.

I have no idea if you will need a signal booster - that depends entirely on the construction of the house and the distances involved. Keep in mind that only one of the computers needs to be wireless- the other should be wired since it'll be next to the router.

This means you can make a directional antenna (look up "cantenna" on google) if you need better signal. My guess is unless your house is freaking huge or someone did something weird like line the walls with reynold's wrap, you'll be fine with the out of the box equipment.

Your alternatives are:

1) run an actual wired cat5, cat5e or cat6 network. This will probably involve drilling a hole to get from 1st floor to 2nd floor, but if you're real clever you can probably avoid it. I once ran a cat5 cable through the central air vents. Note that if you do this you may need to use plenum rated cable to stay within fire codes. And it might just be flat out illegal, but then again, who's going to know

2) they do have a system that networks computers through the home's electrical wiring.

It, however, is a pile of crap and is generally considerably slower than a modem. Stay away.