Planning for setup at new home

[StoneyPA]

I'm currently using a Netgear R7000 wifi router and get extremely solid coverage everywhere in this current 2 story home of about 2500 sqft plus game room in basement. Main advantage here is that the router is fairly centralized on the main floor so no dead spots even in the corners of the floors above and below.

However, we're moving into a new home in June and unfortunately the router will be located on one end of the first floor. Will be a somewhat similarly sized home (2700 sqft) but no basement coverage needed until we have cash to finish it years down the road. Furthest points will now be the garage and daughter's bedroom on opposite side of the house from the router.

Desktop is hardwired to router, but will also have 2 laptops, a few tablets, 2 phones, Xbox, TV & Blu-ray player streaming of Netflix, etc... so nothing that strays from the norm.

I'm pretty much a noob for networking other than a basic wifi setup as I have it, so my question is this...
What is best (and/or easiest) to use to reach the far side of the house if I find bad coverage zones??

 

[sfx2000]

First step in planning is draw out the floor plan of the house - then take a compass and draw circles - each AP is good for 800-1500 sq feet - draw circles around where people generally congregate... that's where you want to provide the best coverage..

For capacity - figure about 10 clients per radio per AP - figure 3 screens per person in the house, and add four for general purposes.. this is just general guidance as a starting point.

 

[StoneyPA]

OK, now moved into house. Coverage is good everywhere except daughter's bedroom at opposite side of house.

We just want a simple solution with usable speeds to pair with our Netgear R7000 router, so better to use Netgear EX6200 (desktop extender) or Netgear EX6150 (plug-in extender)?? This site has EX6150 rated better, but shouldn't the desktop version be more robust?

 

[stevech]

extender (repeater) as you may know, needs to be placed where there's a good signal from the WiFi router, AND where the repeater's signal is strong in the area to be improved. And the repeater needs to be rather unobstructed by furniture, etc.
Sometimes this is a paradox. Also, though it may not matter, a repeater halves the speed since is receives data then re-transmits that data - and the kind we speak of cannot receive and transmit simultaneously.

If at all possible, using a WiFi access point (AP) is much better than a repeater. But the AP needs to connect to the router via wired means. This can be (a) cat5 cable under house or in attic, etc; (b) A "homeplug" type of adapter that moves data packets over the home AC power wiring - there are one-piece devices that have an antenna and plug-in to mate with another unit that is near the router; (c) "MoCA" which moves data packets over existing TV coax in the house.