I agree completely (with texrat and jolouis). Cheap routers are _cheap_ in the worst sense, and not just wi-fi routers - ordinary wired-only routers too. Although the latter tend to work a bit better than cheap wi-fi routers. A "100Mbit" cheap wired router may only be able to serve 5-6 MBit/s, but still work flawlessly (just slow) and thus still useful for many things. Cheap wi-fi routers instead tend to have hickups and other really annoying problems.

(The exception seems to be pocket travel routers.. my vely vely cheap asus travel router has served me perfectly for years, and I've heard similar reports on other brands)