Transfer over wireless network (slow)

[uk_sam]

I have a 54Mbps wireless router and needless to say, copying anything more than 50Mb is too slow to bear. What options do I have to increase the speed? Would getting a Gigabit LAN Router make a big difference, what transfer speeds should I expect to get? - Will my existing wireless network cards work at the faster speed or would I need to purchase new ones?

Can anyone who has a speedy wireless network give me some tips? Cheers.

 

[uk_sam]

The router I have is the BT Voyager 2100. I just copied a 130Mb video file wirelessly from my desktop PC to my laptop and it took 2min 10s giving me a transfer speed of 1 Mb/s. Now that is what I call slow. The router is a 54 Mbps model so I assumed I should be getting something closer to 6.75 Mb/s when transferring wirelessly? (I assume walls and other barriers would mean I would not get this maximum speed)

I'm confused about Gigabit LAN speeds, are they achieved only using a network cable? Should I go for a 108 Mbps router?

 

[uk_sam]

Thx for the advice guys. I will likely get a 108Mbps router. Some of the better models apparently give a better signal range which willl be good since my router is likely to be downstairs and most of my computers upstairs.