intermittent internet connection

My laptop is having troubling maintaining an internet connection with certain programs while using my wireless router. I can be on battlenet all day without an internet connection issue however if I check my email (thunderbird) or the internet (mozilla) my connection dies and requires me to reset my modem. These programs will work for 20 seconds to an hour and then the modem will need to be reset again. When I connect directly to the modem I can use any program without issue. How can I tell if this is a wireless card problem or a wireless router problem?

My laptop is a sager NP9150
wireless card is realtek rtl8723ae wireless lan 802.11n pci-e nic
driver version is 2002.1.1201.2011
OS is windows 7
router is a linksys wrt120n (installed the latest firmware today)
modem is a zoom 5341j
ISP is Cox

I have changed the channel on my wireless router from default 6, to 1 and then to 11 and still have the same problem. I'd appreciate some troubleshooting help.

 

The source of the problem should be pretty easy to identify - when this issue happens again do not touch the modem but instead reboot the computer. If this helps that indicates the issue is with the notebook.

Connecting directly to the modem implies using an Ethernet cable which again seems to point to the issue with the Realtek Wi-Fi card. Last but not least - when I see a Realtek card mentioned I can reasonably assume that I have found the root of the problem.

Start with this new driver (click Télécharger to download ) If it doesn't help try changing Wi-Fi to 801.11g mode on your router.

 

A few notebooks that I have owned and several that I upgraded for others had Realtek wireless cards as the stock card.

They all were replaced because of disconnect issues.

These days I don't see any Realteks coming my way.

A good inexpensive replacement card if you don't need Bluetooth is the Intel Advanced N 6205.

Amazon Link for reference:
http://www.amazon.com/Adpt-6205-Hei...ZB4A/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=A2P6GX0MLH82KM

 

Thanks for the help. I don't still don't understand why some programs access the internet fine while others make me reset my modem repeatedly (turning off the offending program would also fix the problem). I did install the driver that was suggested and still had intermittent connection problems. Now I've switched the router to 801.11g. It's been running without issue for an hour. Hopefully this will do it.
Funny thing is I took my laptop to a coffee shop and didn't have any trouble connecting to their network.

 

So you could have issues with your router at home also.

Try facing the top flat part of the linksys wrt120n router toward your computer.The connect may be better when the routers internal antennas face the computer because the antennas are directional.

Both your router and wireless card have known connection issues dating back to when they were released.