When my family got “high speed internet” (non-phoneline internet), they
got a laptop too so they didn’t bother with a different router, they got
the stock one.
Here it is: http://www.actiontec.com/195.html
What router ($25-$150) would be a worthy upgrade to this one?
Asus n66u or n56u to save a few bucks
I'd go either an ASUS router and put DD-WRT on it, or if you have an old PC, get an extra network card and put pfSense on it. It doesn't need to be a fast PC. I run my small pfsense-based test network off a 1.24ghz single core and it does just fine, if it's a dual core don't even worry about it.
Basically:
Value = DD-WRT and an ASUS router
Performance = crappy PC and pfSense
Depends mostly on several things.
Internet speed, what you want and what you have.
Yeah, I've seen that video Logan did about 3 years ago. I've though about doing that. Its a cheap $400 pre-built system from 2004:
CPU: Some old Pentium@ 3.0Ghz
RAM: 512mb
Some generic MOBO
A very slow 32mb HD (probably put in a cheap ssd later if plans carry out)
Generic PSU
No WIFI Card ($20 @ Microcenter)
Do you think this is fine or nah?
if you mean a 32GB HDD, that shuold be fine as a small network router. Don't get a wifi card though, buy a separate access point and use that. It'll be less headache and be faster and more reliable. You might also think about upgrading the RAM though, a gigabyte would be a heck of a lot better if you can manage. But at least try it with the current specs, and see how pfSense performs. You may find it runs just fine for a small network with those specs, or you may find you need an upgrade.