Cat5e or Cat 6

[bp2411]

Hello everyone, I have a very quick question I am going to be running a ethernet cable from my virgin superhub to my pc and was wondering whether to use cat5e or cat6 to "future proof" myself, it will be roughly 25 metres?

thank you

 

[MarkE19]

If both are about the same price then go for the latest CAT6 spec cable. But IMO if the CAT6 is more than a few pennies more than a CAT5e then save the extra as it offers little or no advanatges currently.

Mark.

 

[bp2411]

Thank you for the reply I have seen 30m of cat6 on ebay for under £10 which I am happy paying as I want to get the right cable in now and not have to worry about upgrading later. Can you tell me if the rj45s are the same on cat5e & cat6? As I have some rj45s & a crimp tool and would like to cut the 30m cat6 to size & re-terminate it.

 

[MarkE19]

Yes an RJ45 plug is the same regardless of the cable used.

Mark.

 

[niall campbell]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ethernet-Ca...1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323194529&sr=8-2-fkmr0

shielded cable ?

 

[bp2411]

30M Ethernet Cable / CAT6 Network Lead / RJ45 Plugs: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

shielded cable ?

thanks for that but I need it to be white though.

 

[bp2411]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gigabit-C...t=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item5f7851c73a

is this any good?

 

[MarkE19]

Good feedback and a good price, so not bad IMO.

Mark.

 

[bp2411]

it says unshielded which is putting me off will that make a difference?

 

[mickevh]

Shielded cables are surrounded by a metal foil or braid (like co-ax aerial or sat tv cable) to aid interference rejection.

To work properly, the "shield" on each cable run needs to be wired to earth.

Unshielded cable, er, isn't shielded.

UTP cable (Unshielded Twisted Pair - UTP gettit?) was designed to reject interference by having the "pairs" in the cable twisted round each other. I won't get boring about why this works, but the twists help reject interference.

"Shielded" UTP (spot the oxymoron?) is for uber-paranoid, uber-sensative applications.

To me, for 10/100/1000 ethernet, S-UTP seems like overkill. In nearly 8 years, I've never yet had any problems running GBit ethernet over cat5/5e UTP. At work I have (literally) got thousands of UTP cables (cat5 and cat5e) some of which are over-length, run through electrically noisey spaces, along the same trunks as the mains, and all manner of other horrors and I've never had any problems with them. Dodgy termination in the plugs/faceplates is the biggest hassle.

Bear in mind that simply buying cat6 UTP doesn't mean you have achieved a "cat6" install. There's a lot more you have to do to be "certified" as catX (not least, get tested with cat6 test equipment/professionals.)

Save your money, cat5e UTP will more more than good enough for GBit ethernet unless you do a spectacularly bad job of installing it.

 

[MarkE19]

To me, for 10/100/1000 ethernet, S-UTP seems like overkill. In nearly 8 years, I've never yet had any problems running GBit ethernet over cat5/5e UTP. At work I have (literally) got thousands of UTP cables (cat5 and cat5e) some of which are over-length, run through electrically noisey spaces, along the same trunks as the mains, and all manner of other horrors and I've never had any problems with them. Dodgy termination in the plugs/faceplates is the biggest hassle.

100% agree - I've worked in many buildings that have a UPS protected power supply running up from the computer room to comms rooms on each floor side by side with CAT5e cabling without any issues. CAT6 is not too much more but when you are wiring a 500 desk office with each desk having 4 network ports the difference soon mounts up.

Save your money, cat5e UTP will more more than good enough for GBit ethernet unless you do a spectacularly bad job of installing it.

And it takes a highly skilled moron to really screw it up

Mark.

 

[blowy111]

Totally agree with Mark E hear, i have Cat 5e running Gigabit internal and external with speeds of 100+mb.

Save your money and go for some good cat5..

We have some Cat6 solid at work, borrowed some lengths, tried it, no difference whatsover.

 

[niall campbell]

whats the price difference between the two

 

[Synchro]

I'm currently filling my house walls with Cat5e. Not bothered by Cat6 at all. Multiple runs to each room, starting from rack mounted patch panel in server cabinet, in the garage. That'll do for my needs and most peoples I suspect.

 

[djdhrubs]

I hear what you guys are saying about no significant difference between Cat5e and Cat6. I saw a youtube video in which someone was explaining the difference and basically saying the same as you guys. Howver he did say that if you want to future proof for the next 15-20 years, you may as well get cat6 as there's not much price difference. He didn't go into any specifics at all about why.

What specific thing do you think he meant by this, as in what specifically might you be able to do with cat6 that you can't with cat5e in the next 15-20 years?

 

[Kristian]

What specific thing do you think he meant by this, as in what specifically might you be able to do with cat6 that you can't with cat5e in the next 15-20 years?

Cat5E = 10/100Mbps/1Gbps to 100m
Cat6 = 10/100Mbps/1Gbps to 100m and 10Gbps to 35m
Cat6a = 10/100Mbps/1/10Gbps to 100m

IMHO, in domestic usage 1Gb is available, cheap and more than enough for everyone; 10Gb is not widely available, very expensive and way ott. That will obviously change in the future but I don't think it will matter for a long time in the home.

 

[Synchro]

What you have to consider, as well as what cables are out there, are what requirements are there for them.

How many people have wired homes?
How many people have Cat5/Cat6/Cat7, of those people who do have wired homes?
What companies are going to make products for these markets?


Cat5e is more than enough for any domestic set-up, well into the future, unless the whole of the UK's telephony network is upgraded IMHO. You're not going to get more than 1Gbps, coming into your house, so why do you really need it around your house?

Syn

 

[bp2411]

I know alot of people have said to go for cat5e but for 30m it is only £2 dearer for cat6 and it will be going up walls, under floors etc so it is the sort of thing I want to do right first time.

Is this any good?

Gigabit Cat6 Network Ethernet RJ45 Cable Lead 50cm 1m 2m 3m 5m 10m 15 20m 25 30m | eBay

It is UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) will it be ok? It will be going from my virgin media super hub to my pc.

Also has anyone dealt with this seller before? Are the delivery times good?

thank you.

 

[Kristian]

1- Looks ok, yes
2 - Yes
3 - I haven't
4 - Depends on your needs but they look ok.