Simple Question - Should We Cable Cat6?

[hamd01]

If cabling a new build, would it be wise to use CAT6 cable rather than cat5? Are there any drawbacks (aside from cost).

Are there any brands to avoid, or any which are recognised as being good quality?

Many thanks.

[Johnny.A]

Well cost is one of the big factors plus need cat6 cable "is faster" but only if the need is there cat5 is fast enough for 99% of applications and cat5 is alot cheaper to!

[Boyzer]

If you wish to blow a few more bucks on performance, either put it into the processors of the routers, switches or firewalls and given yourself a faster network that way.

A common misconception about faster and capacity, is that 1gb is faster than 100mbits, from an end-users point of view, its not.

Finally, beg/borrow/steal or insist on having your cables tested.. Soooo many installations with duff cabling at some point and as its operating at 25% it can fool some detectors and end-users...

[impossible_]

If cost is no issuse then going for cat6 will help you run future spec speeds....but check out cat6e which doesnt have the 55m limit for data.

Imp

[hamd01]

Originally Posted by Boyzer

A common misconception about faster and capacity, is that 1gb is faster than 100mbits, from an end-users point of view, its not.

I'm not quite sure I follow: Surely if the end users desktops have Gb NICs, then having 1Gb connections rather than 100Mbits its going to offer a significant performance boost.

I'm estimating that around £300 worth of CAT6e will cable the house. Given that its backward compatible with 5e, I cant see any reason why I shouldnt install it....I dont want to be in a position in 10 years where Im streaming god knows what here and there and wish I had 6e in place.

[Johnny.A]

Well its up to you and your cash if it makes you happy buy the cat6e your cash!

[GavT]

Bear in mind CAT6 is more difficult to terminate than CAT5. I understand that CAT6 is only required over very long runs if you're aiming for 1000Mbps network speeds. Normally CAT5 would suffice.

[Skars]

Originally Posted by GavT

Bear in mind CAT6 is more difficult to terminate than CAT5. I understand that CAT6 is only required over very long runs if you're aiming for 1000Mbps network speeds. Normally CAT5 would suffice.

Cat6 has the same length limits as Cat5e, however you can run with faster speed. If you want to future proof your house then Cat6 is the way to go but if there are no major developments in wireless/wired speeds then Cat5e running at 1GB should be plenty for your house and streaming needs.

Oh and I'm not so sure it's more difficult to terminate, I've not noticed any difference between the two other than Cat6 is a bigger cable.

Bear in mind that Cat6 can be used in speeds up to 10GBase-T however the quality of the cable will play a big part on the speed you will be able to run. Make sure you use a good quality shielded cable and you should be ok.

I do 100% agree with Boyzer have your cables installed by a professional company or get them tested if you run them yourself.

[hamd01]

Originally Posted by Skars

Cat6 has the same length limits as Cat5e, however you can run with faster speed.

Cat 5e has a limit of 328 feet, and from what I have read cat 6e has a limit of 1000 feet.

[Skars]

As with all cables defined by ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B, the maximum allowed length of a Cat-6 horizontal cable is 100 meters 330 ft so unless your house is huge then I wouldn't worry too much about the cable length

And if your house is that big hell I would just go for fibre instead :P

Not wanting to pick a fight but do you have a link to where it says the standard is now 1000' I would like to have a read, knowledge is power etc

[hamd01]

Originally Posted by Skars

Not wanting to pick a fight but do you have a link to where it says the standard is now 1000' I would like to have a read, knowledge is power etc

I can dig the article out where I read the full cat6 standard (I was at work at the time).....but heres one from a quick google;

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...quot-long-quot

[Skars]

Originally Posted by hamd01

I can dig the article out where I read the full cat6 standard (I was at work at the time).....but heres one from a quick google;

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/...quot-long-quot

Well, obviously every cable run that you do is entirely dependant on the environment you run in. However I don't know if the 630m segment length is believable. As far as I was aware the ANSI standard was 100m per network segment even some of the posters on your link say 100m so I'm more confused than ever now

[KrisLee]

Cat5E and Cat6 are cable standards. 100Mb & 1000Mb Ethernet are networking standards. Running 10/100/1000Mb Ethernet over Cat5E or Cat6 gives you a length limit of 100m.

Cat6 needs a lot more care when installing than Cat5E, e.g. crimping, twisting, bend radii and termination, and all your modules/patch panels need to be Cat6 too.

One very important point is if you haven't tested your installation using a proper Cat5E/Cat6 tester, as apposed to a modtap tester, then it hasn't actually been proven at either standard. Yes, it might work, but not to it's best ability or for your future needs.

Would I install Cat6 for a new build? Not sure really: as Gb is really over kill at home anyway, a nice to have obviously, and that is no problem with Cat5E. If it was only 10-15% extra cost then probably.

Kris.

[vex]

If you or your electrician is doing the install then I would hazard a guess that the performance of CAT6 will be no better than CAT5e.

Regardless of the proposed performance it is a lot less tollerent to the abuses of a domestic install.

We still install CAT5e in properties and IMO with the amount of legacy CAT5e out there there should be alot of performance improvements to come.

V.

[dmce]

Whatever you do make sure you are actually getting the speed you can. Having cat5e or 6 is very different from getting (1)gigabit transfers rates.

I just wired up my house and couldnt think of a reason to justify the cost of 6 over 5e.