Cat5 or Cat6?

HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
edited December 2004 in Science & Tech
Ok, Here's what I'm doing-- I have 2 pcs networked in the living room and everything is run with Cat5 network wire. Even the line going to the box outside. I'm adding one more there which is no problem- it's right at the router, so a short wire will work. But I want to run a 30ft network cable to my office for a 4th pc. Now, I've found a place where I can get the wire & connectors, but they have Cat5, Cat6 and Cat7 cables? I would think that Cat5 to match with the rest of the cabling is the choice. Then again, I've gone over to the ultra high speed DSL, and was wondering if I should change out all the cable to higher Cat6 or Cat 7? Would I get better speeds if I upgraded it? It seems logical that I would, but I don't know that much about network cables and speed. Here's the link to the page that I'm looking at-- mycableshop.com. Can anyone give me suggestions on which should be used? Thnx all. :scratch:

Comments

  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    I'm pretty sure it would only be beneficial to go to cat6 or higher if you were moving to any speeds above 100mbps. Gigabit for instance would require cat6 to function as expected.
  • ArmoArmo Mr. Nice Guy Is Dead,Only Aqua Remains Member
    edited December 2004
    you really only need Cat5E ( enchanced cat 5 ) cable to run gigabit, thats what i use. Cat6 is esentially the same thing, the only reason its a new catagory ( Cat ) is because the wires are twisted more times per inch than Cat5. The rule of thumb is the more twists in the wires the less noise will get into the wire and corupt the data. Cat7 doenst even have a standard as far as i know.

    also the more twists in the cable the more copper you will be paying for.

    so unless you plan on running the cable past any florcent lights, or generators, Cat5E will be perfectly fine ( Cat5 cannot transfer at gigabit speeds, but Cat5E can )
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Cool, Thnx guys. I checked and I have Cat5E throughout. So, I just have to get 50ft of Cat5E to go to the office and a short cable for the 3rd pc in the living room. Appreciate your input. Thnx again. :D
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited December 2004
    10Ge requires Cat6. No reason to get it. Cat5e is fine.
  • HawkHawk Fla Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    Thnx mmonnin, Ordered 50ft the Cat5E = $9.50, and a 7Ft Cat5E = $2.25. Had to order molex connector plug for MB w/ soldering iron and solder remover, so I ordered cables with it. So, I don't have to pay shipping from diff stores.
Sign In or Register to comment.