Let me see if I understand you. Are you saying that you have no router now --
that your Windows XP laptop system and your Windows Vista desktop can only be
connected one-at-a-time to your broadband modem? If so, yes, any router that
does NAT (PAT, actually, but that's another topic) and which preferrably has
a stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewall built in will provide greatly
superior secutiry for both your Windows XP laptop and your new Windows Vista
desktop. They will both be connected simultaneously to the Internet and be
able to get updates (and do other things) at the same time.
Your wording about "best router" and "newest N protection" is confusing to
me, however. Best is, at best (heh), an elusive term. What is best for you
depends very much upon your needs. Routers can be very basic or extremely
complex. Some are able to act as VPN gateways, print servers, etc. Unless you
have special needs, a very basic (and inexpensive) router will probably serve
your purposes very well.
If you want to use wireless connection for one or both of your computers you
should be careful to be sure that the wireless type of the router matches
that of the wireless adapters in your computer(s). If you use wireless,
please make sure that your adapters and router are capable of WPA encryption,
and that you USE IT.
If your phrase "newest N protection" was referring to the 802.11n
specification, that specification is not yet complete or official. If you
purchase "N" type gear it is probably crucial that it all be of the same
brand, because not everyone is interpreting the preliminary specifications in
the same way. This means that an "N" adapter for your computer might not talk
with an "N" router if the adapter and router were not made by the same
company. Frankly, I would avoid anything 802.11n until the standard is
finalized. Unless I REALLY needed the extra speed. And, if that were the
case, I'd probably just find a way to use cables.
