Help with home network.

Question

Not sure if this is the proper forum for this question, just point me in the right direction if I'm wrong.
I am a new student in networking, taking the CCNA courses, and now want to rewire my home.  I currently have a cable modem and E2500 setup running my network.  I want to get the modem and router out of my computer room and in the basement where the cable enters the house.  I want to do this to clean up the computer room wiring a bit and to run line drops to different rooms in the house where the internet will be utilized.
Currently there are two PC's, a laptop, a tablet, sometimes a phone, and an XBOX using the internet.  I want to get my printer back up and running on the network but thats another story. Only one PC is currently hardwired.  I would like to run two cables into the room with the PC and XBOX that are currently using wireless, at least two into the computer room for the PC and network printer, and one or two into the living room for the blue ray player and possibly an internet tv. 
If these classes are paying off, I believe I can have the modem and router in the basement with a small switch connected to the router to add more ports for my needs.  I was going to use a patch panel to manage and label my cables.
My first concern is for the wireless signal.  I feel as though I shouldn't have a problem, but I just wanted someone elses opinion.  The only real use will be by the laptop, tablet, and phones mostly on the first floor above the basement.  The wireless signal shouldn't be affected by just one floor, right?
My next question would be about using the other 3 ports on the router before using ports on the switch.  Should I be using the ports on the router first or should that not matter?  
Also if anyone could point me in the direction of a fairly cheap(less than $100) switch that would fit my needs I would be grateful.

Answer 1

Most home routers are omni directional. Technically it is best to have it in a central location. But in good circumstances 1 floor won't make a difference. That is subject to change based on interference though.
Doesn't matter if you use the rest of the ports on router or a switch first.
If you run into issues with wireless signal you could run a wire up to a second wireless router and setup a roaming wireless network. Basically turn off dhcp on second router, give it the same SSID and passkey, and a different channel. Clients should roam between whichever signal is stronger after it goes below a certain signal strength.
If you don't need any link aggregation or vlans and just want a plug in and go unmanaged switch, it is pretty cheap. At that point a switch is a switch is a switch. There's no noticable difference other than port speed.