I had the same problem. I could not use my laptop in the next room or downstairs. Bought a Belkin "N" router and now I can use my laptop all over the house and outside. I even have some Televisions connected to the internet wirelessly now.
It is not so much the N technology but rather the MIMO antenna technology which uses multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver. My wife uses N and I use G and reception has improved drastically. I believe that my Belkin has two external antennas and a few more internal ones. We now watch streaming movies with no problems at all from anywhere on my property.
I am not a computer professional and do not pretend to be one.... wait a minute, I am and have been doing this for over 40 years.
