90% sure router is dying, thoughts?

Hi everyone.
So I'm not sure if routers "slowly die", but our wi-fi went from very fast/completely normal to very slow/not normal quite literally the next day. It started happening Friday morning. Basically, many webpages would either load very slowly or not load at all (just a blank screen). YouTube videos wouldn't play (not even 1 second in), antivirus programs couldn't update, things like that. Strangely, watching Netflix on our TV w/ wi-fi Blu Ray player doesn't seem to be affected (no buffering, slowing down, problems loading, etc).

We have Comcast with a modem+router setup they gave us. Our router is a NETGEAR WGR614v8. We have one PC that's physically connected via Ethernet cable to the router. This computer also experiences the same slowness as the ones that run wi-fi. But when I unplug everything and run the Ethernet straight from the computer to the modem, it's like night from day (only tested it for 10min, will do more to see if this is actually the case). Everything performs as fast as expected. When I plug the Ethernet back into the router as it should, things become slow again.

I'll try hooking up this netbook up to the modem to see if the speeds are the same when I do it with the desktop, but other than the trouble shooting I just mentioned (along with restoring it to factory settings, unplugging it, updating firmware), is there anything else I can do to be as close to 100% sure it's the router that's causing this slow-down? I would hate to go buy a router, open it up, and find out that nothing has improved.

I've had this modem+router for 3 years now btw. Signal is excellent (max bars). There are usually only two wi-fi machines running at the same time all day. The actual desktop that's physically connected to the router is used lightly.

Thanks!

 

Is the temperature hotter than usual at the moment, your router could simply be overheating.

 

It does sound like your router. Get a new one from a store that has good return policies (like Best Buy), and see if that improves your situation.

 

Hi guys, thanks for responding. It's not hotter than usual atm. I keep the blinds closed so no direct sunlight hits it either.

But actually today the wireless has been pretty normal. No slow-downs, YouTube plays 1080p w/o buffering. Websites work, gaming is fine. I think I'll keep an eye on it for a few more days and see where it goes. Otherwise I'll search around for generous return policies.