Faster networking

Hi guys - need some help/advice please.

I have Virginmedia cable broadband (8Mbps) with a netgear wireless router (54Mbps). There are two other PCs using this network (one notebook and one desktop. The desktop has a wireless USB dongle fitted). The 2 other compuetrs belong to my kids who are always gaming/downloading. My wife is always on the internet downstairs.

The problem is that my lads are complaining of high ping on their games (no suprise there with all the wireless activity). I was wondering if upgrading the router to 100+ Mbps would make any difference at all or am I just wasting money?

Does anybody know another way to increase internet speed?

The 2 computers are directly above the router with no interference.

Thanks guys

Your biggest issue is the downloading. That's what slows down your connection-for everyone.
Upgrading a router won't necessarily increase your connection speed, but there are routers out there which will allow you to prioritize your internet activity.

such routers can also allow certian bandwidth to be distributed to certian ip addresses. You don't recissarily need a new router to do this though, there are programs I'm sure that allow you to monitor/divvy out bandwidth.

Another thing I can think to do is ping the game servers that your lads are using. There are guides online that can explain how to ping a server. Many times the information going to or from the server goes through multiple points, and if one of the points isn't filtering the info through fast enough, or is getting overwhelmed, there can be lag issues. There are ways to block IP addresses that you computer uses to get to the game server. I would look into this. If I find a good guide about how to do all this, I'll make sure I re-post it here so you can check it out. As a gamer, I know what the lads are feeling, getting the best of a gaming experience is always a good thing.