
...never been a huge fan of those combo devices. I just upgraded from my older
Netgear WNDR3700, which was a pretty good router overall. I had very little trouble with it, but it was always a gamble whether Netgear's latest firmware was worth flashing. I think I'm using an older firmware that had less reported connectivity problems (note: I don't have any), but the Attached Devices section never works.
I'm currently using
The Nighthawk. (I just like saying that. I'm also waiting for it to mess up so I can say, "Nighthawk down!" :biggrin

Anyway, routers like that are probably overkill. Although, I am a fan of external antennas as they should provide better coverage (kind of like how they were better on cellphones).
Your best bet would probably just be to wait about a week for some good Black Friday deals on Newegg or Amazon. Also, keep your eyes peeled for anything good on sale leading up to it. I'd probably look for a good, quality 802.11n router, but just don't skimp on it. It's rare for me to pay below $100 and get a good router (unless it's on sale). Unless we're talking about the old Linksys WRT54G.