Can a router go bad?

[Bukem_]

My connection has been very slow the last month. If I bypass the router the connection is fine, which leads me to the obvious answer, but I wanted to make sure.

For the most part it seems to have real trouble loading images, half the images on this site won't load, and requests for any image intensive site frequently times out.

Ffiw, I called my cable company when this first happened, and they said they were having difficulty with my area, so I didn't think it was me at first, but bypassing the router makes me think it infact is.

If it is the router, any suggestions for a new one(with wireless). The one I have now is a netgear that I got for 4 bucks by stacking rebates.