Signal strength problem on MacBook Pro

We bought a new AirPort Extreme 802.11n for Christmas. Setup was fairly easy. We have two Macs--an 2005 iMac which is plugged into the AE via Ethernet, and a MacBook Pro from mid-2006 that we use in other rooms.
Our problem is that the signal strength on the MacBook Pro is terrible. Even at just 20 feet away, the signal strength varies between 1 and 3 bars (most often just the one tiny bar). The wireless is basically unusable at that point because pages stop loading.
To eliminate interference as a problem, our daughter brought her 2008 MacBook Pro over and we carried it around the house. It had 4 bar strength with no problems wherever we went and held 4 bars for hours while she used it in the kitchen. So we're pretty sure the problem is not interference in our house, unless her newer AirPort card is far better at blocking it.
What could be causing the signal strength on the older MacBook Pro to be so lousy? The computer is a Intel Core Duo, 2.16 GHz, running 10.4.11. The wireless card is 0x168C, 0x86. The wireless network adapter is 802.11 a/b/g, so it's not running "n", but I can't believe that's the only reason it won't hold a good signal. The AE is set up to run "n" as well as the older ones. (Bear with me...this is my first experience with wireless!)
We've been trying everything we can think of to improve the signal but nothing works. When the bars are in the 2-3 range it runs the internet fine, but the problem is that the signal constantly shifts between 1 and 3. So is the AirPort card in the computer that weak?
Any ideas are most welcome. Thanks.

Sorry, posted in wrong forum by accident. Please ignore.

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Is there a tweak or does Apple need to tweak somehow?

BB623 wrote:
yes it got better closer to the router. It's signal strength. Bring back?
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Problem description: (MacBook Pro 15" late 2008, OSX Yosemite 10.10.2 installed, no pending updates) computer is running very slow - takes 2-3 minutes to open apps such as Pages, even when no other apps are open. Randomly freezes and becomes unrespo

Problem description:
(MacBook Pro 15” late 2008, OSX Yosemite 10.10.2 installed, no pending updates) computer is running very slow - takes 2-3 minutes to open apps such as Pages, even when no other apps are open. Randomly freezes and becomes unresponsive, requiring forced power down. Randomly logs off. Removed Kodak AIO software via Clean My Mac2, but BonjourAgent still there and requesting access. Cleaned weekly with Clean My Mac2 and running Sophos AntiVirus. 2GB memory installed. Currently 169.99 GB available of 249.2 GB capacity.
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EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated March 21, 2015 at 11:35:35 AM EDT
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008) (Technical Specifications)
    MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,1
    1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core
    2 GB RAM Upgradeable
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            1 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
        BANK 0/DIMM1
            1 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
    Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
    Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 59
Video Information: ℹ️
    NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB
        Color LCD 1440 x 900
    NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - VRAM: 256 MB
System Software: ℹ️
    OS X 10.10.2 (14C1514) - Time since boot: 0:13:37
Disk Information: ℹ️
    Hitachi HTS543225L9SA02 disk0 : (250.06 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 249.20 GB (168.91 GB free)
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
    HL-DT-ST DVDRW GS21N
USB Information: ℹ️
    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
    Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
    Apple, Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
    Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
        /Library/Extensions
    [not loaded]    com.leapfrog.driver.LfConnectDriver (1.11.1 - SDK 10.10) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.sophos.kext.sav (9.2.50 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.sophos.nke.swi (9.2.50 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
        /System/Library/Extensions
    [not loaded]    com.leapfrog.codeless.kext (2) [Click for support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.kodak.BonjourAgent.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.sophos.uiserver.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.leapfrog.connect.authdaemon.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.sophos.common.servicemanager.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.diskSpaceWatcher.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.scheduledScan.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2Helper.trashWatcher.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
    Dropbox    Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
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    AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin1017265: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 [Click for support]
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    AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin: Version: AmazonMP3DownloaderPlugin 1.0.17 [Click for support]
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.94 [Click for support]
    Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 [Click for support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
    AdBlock
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    Add To Amazon Wish List
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
    Flash Player [Click for support]
    Java [Click for support]
    Tuxera NTFS [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
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    Auto backup: YES
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        Total number of backups: 1
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         5%    WindowServer
         1%    loginwindow
         0%    AppleSpell
         0%    SophosUIServer
         0%    SophosAntiVirus
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
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    101 MB    SophosScanD
    60 MB    Dropbox
    54 MB    mds_stores
    41 MB    SophosAntiVirus
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
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    682 MB    Active RAM
    652 MB    Inactive RAM
    315 MB    Wired RAM
    1.49 GB    Page-ins
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Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
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