[pk_volt]

I'd like extend my wifi range in my house so that i can have wireless access to my basement and not just restrict it to the upper floor

I've googled some wifi repeaters, but are there any good recomendations for well-priced and good reliability repeaters?

[Wedge_]

I have 3 different Linksys WRT54G models, all running OpenWRT. It's pretty easy to set up WDS between multiple routers using the OpenWRT firmware, and it all seems to work very well here with about a dozen wireless devices scattered around the house. If you happen to have a WRT54G already then getting another one wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

[MSP]

I'd just spend the money getting a single, long range N AP. Check out the reviews, some of those beasts have impressive range.

[ivanolo]

I second Wedge_'s suggestion. I recently upgraded my PC and had to get rid of my old wireless adapter because my new motherboard wouldn't play nice with it no matter what I did (the system would freeze). Instead of buying another wireless adapter and possibly running into the same problem, wasting time and money, I decided to go for a Linksys WRT54GL, which replaced my WRT54G as my main router. I flashed the old router with Tomato and enabled WDS. Works like a charm!

Wireless repeaters and APs are priced about the same as routers, but offer less functionality.

There are several 3rd party firmwares and vendors whose products support them, so you can mix and match to your heart's content. Be aware that, generally, flashing your router with a firmware other than the manufacturer's will void your warranty, though.

[pk_volt]

Originally Posted by Wedge_

I have 3 different Linksys WRT54G models, all running OpenWRT. It's pretty easy to set up WDS between multiple routers using the OpenWRT firmware, and it all seems to work very well here with about a dozen wireless devices scattered around the house. If you happen to have a WRT54G already then getting another one wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

I heard those routers have problems with whoring up the internet bandwidth when using torrent.

[Wedge_]

Well, I usually have utorrent running for several hours a day and don't have any problems...as ivanolo was saying, there are many different 3rd party firmware versions available for the WRT54G family, and it's quite possible that the problems you've heard about were on routers running the default Linksys firmware, or from one particular 3rd party version.

[SoulAssassin]

Originally Posted by pk_volt

I heard those routers have problems with whoring up the internet bandwidth when using torrent.

They do with stock firmware. If I allow too many connections it'll cause it to lock up.

[ivanolo]

Tomato Firmware - Wikibooks, collection of open-content textbooks