Cat 6 Gig Eth and cost

[dspit1664]

Hi. All
Got a NAS + HDD on order and intend to hook up to my PS3 and Tv using my Network plugs; plus stream to laptop . Later i intend to stream to other TVs in the house.

So it's natural for me to star thinking about physical cabling. So as my NAS uses gig Eth whats the best Cat6 ? And then where us the best place to order from (keeping cost in mind) ie x meters or possibly more cost efficient for me to get a reel ?

Looking fwd to replies for anyone who's done this and has any additional considerations I may not be thinking of.

 

[mickevh]

If cost is a factor, they you could save money by not bothering with Cat6 and use Cat5e instead.

Unless you do a spectacularly bad job of installing it, 10/100/1000 ethernet doesn't work any better (or worse) over cat6 than it does over cat5e.

Also, remember you don't achieve a cat6 spec. job just by buying cat6 cable. You also need cat6 sockets, patchcords, plugs, et al and you have perform "cat6" quality install. It's not simply a matter of buying all cat6 kit.

 

[Trollslayer]

Agreed Mickey, I put in Cat6a partly because I could get it with a hardened jacket and may want to put HDMI through which needs higher bandwidth than Cat5e.
Cat5e is rated for Gigabit up to 90 metres.

 

[dspit1664]

Thank for all the info. Now let's say I want to rip some of my blu ray films on to my NAS can I get away with 5e or would I need Cat6 as one of my reasons for setting this up is I already have an external WD hdd hooked up to my ps3. But as it needs to be fat32 not ntfs so I can't store blu ray / hd that is without some jiggery pockery can't deal with files bigger than 4gb so blu ray films are out.

To view/stream hd I needed a media server or NAS.

So ordered my QNAP 412 + hdd (only 1 for now to prove concept)

Now need to think about transmission media. So as mentioned already got media plugs but thinking cable eventually. So gathering my needs and posting for advise.

Thanks all

 

[RedBull]

Unless you're running 10 Gig Ethernet there's no need whatsoever to choose Cat 6 over Cat 5e. Especially not in the home.

You'll only find 10/100/1000 network ports on 99% of equipment you'll buy, and as Cat 5e is rated up to gigabit anyway you're gaining nothing by using Cat 6. Like mickevh said, making sure your network is entirely Cat 6 isn't just about running the cables through the house, there are all sorts of standards to follow that don't matter as much with Cat 5e. Wikipedia has a good section on what needs to be done for Cat 6 to work correctly.

Go with Cat 5e and buy some beers with your change

 

[Trollslayer]

For Gigabit Ethernet Cat5e is fine.
It would also work for lower speed use such as USB extenders, telephone etc..

 

[Kristian]

Cat5e is rated for Gigabit up to 90 metres.

You keep saying this Trollslayer and I know what you mean but it's possibly misleading for others. Cat5E/6/6a will run Gigabit Ethernet to 100m. That 100m is split to mean 90m on the runout with 5m patch leads at each end.