I run a separate switch (actually two, one in my bedroom with the computers, the other in my living room with the entertainment equipment) from my router.
So it goes, router with Internet connection with one of it's ports connected to a gigabit switch, and then one of those ports runs to my living room's gigabit switch.
I've upgraded switches, but still running the same router over the last few years. Well, the same model, I had one completely fail, but that was also easy to replace without upsetting the rest of my network.
