Spec my network cable
Discussion
chasingracecars said:
Poorly installed or kinked Cat5 is quite likely to break.
Cat6 is thicker and equally should not be bent if you terminate correctly and use correctly then is far better to run.
To me cost difference is nothing for the added future usability.
If you treat Cat5 in the same way you describe poorly installed Cat6 I very much doubt the Cat5 would work at all.
You need to read up on things like FEXT and NEXT. CAT5e is much more forgiving to bad installation practices than CAT6/CAT6A. If you are worried about future proofing then you shouldn't be installing either, you should be installing CAT7! Cat6 is thicker and equally should not be bent if you terminate correctly and use correctly then is far better to run.
To me cost difference is nothing for the added future usability.
If you treat Cat5 in the same way you describe poorly installed Cat6 I very much doubt the Cat5 would work at all.
Dave_ST220 said:
You need to read up on things like FEXT and NEXT. CAT5e is much more forgiving to bad installation practices than CAT6/CAT6A. If you are worried about future proofing then you shouldn't be installing either, you should be installing CAT7!
I install Cat6a most of the time to get the full 10G for 4K 4:4:4 and am about to start putting in fibre connections. Bad installations don't happen.If you are doing something badly, you shouldn't be doing it at all.
For 10 years I didn't use a tester and never had a fail. Now because its my own company I have a Fluke DSX-5000 and still every time they pass.
I can't justify driving back across the country because one cable is faulty, I had to buy the Fluke when looking at someone else install. Turned out cables had been severed by another trade. Now I always carry it.
CAT5e Cable, between CAT5e keystone and CAT5e Patch
CAT6a Cable, between Screened CAT6a Keystone and CAT6a Patch.
Any optional snags on route when pulling are protected what ever i am pulling.
CAT6a is capabable of 4k 12Bit 4:4:4, Cat5e will do 1080i sometimes 1080p.
Fibre costs have dropped making is via option to pull in as well as CAT6a for future proof.
This explains it.
http://premiumwires.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/cat5e-v...
Yes it does say CAT6a is not needed in the home, however some of the systems I install cost more then most homes!
I can't justify driving back across the country because one cable is faulty, I had to buy the Fluke when looking at someone else install. Turned out cables had been severed by another trade. Now I always carry it.
CAT5e Cable, between CAT5e keystone and CAT5e Patch
CAT6a Cable, between Screened CAT6a Keystone and CAT6a Patch.
Any optional snags on route when pulling are protected what ever i am pulling.
CAT6a is capabable of 4k 12Bit 4:4:4, Cat5e will do 1080i sometimes 1080p.
Fibre costs have dropped making is via option to pull in as well as CAT6a for future proof.
This explains it.
http://premiumwires.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/cat5e-v...
Yes it does say CAT6a is not needed in the home, however some of the systems I install cost more then most homes!
chasingracecars said:
For 10 years I didn't use a tester and never had a fail.
You're missing the point. For a link to completely fail it basically needs a crossed pair or physical damage. I could bend a CAT6A cable that would fail a certification test yet would pass a continuity test or work as far as the EU was concerned. Or a link that was 120M that still "works" for the customer but won't pass any test on a certifier.My point is, for the average DIY'er CAT6 is much easier to get wrong (normally by untwisting the pairs and too much separation at the module ends) than CAT5e and for 99% of users CAT5e is more than enough.
Anyway, the OP has sorted their choice.
ps, 4K didn't even exist when CAT6 was ratified!
Cat6 -
2002 - Cat 6 standard - ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1
4K, First Camera -
NHK researchers built a UHDTV prototype which they demonstrated in 2003
Cat6a -
The standard for Category 6A is ANSI/TIA-568-C.1, defined by the TIA for enhanced performance standards for twisted pair cable systems. It was defined in 2009
2002 - Cat 6 standard - ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1
4K, First Camera -
NHK researchers built a UHDTV prototype which they demonstrated in 2003
Cat6a -
The standard for Category 6A is ANSI/TIA-568-C.1, defined by the TIA for enhanced performance standards for twisted pair cable systems. It was defined in 2009
I do find all this talk about the latest spec cable etc a bit over the top, what I will say is I put cat5e everywhere in my house and have never used most of it, twin data point by the side of every bed for eg, never used/never have a use for it.
Also when it was all wired and I got the internet put in I didn't have a patch panel wired yet so at the point it was going I found the two ends, one from my PC in the office and the other from the router, stripped them back, twisted them together and it worked flawlessly, granted if I had a 10 million gigabit file to transfer to my secure server on the other side of the planet every night then I may struggle a bit, but for copying the odd film to my NAS or warching a bit of telly it worked absolutely fine.
After all, on some of the older systems despite what jiggery pokery the router and switch do to the data signal most of its travel is on a Victorian piece of copper phone pair wire and it uses that ok, likewise for TV signals, all that HD tv you can get comes down a single co-ax cable after traveling many miles through the air. Is cat 7 cable really necessary for a house?
Also when it was all wired and I got the internet put in I didn't have a patch panel wired yet so at the point it was going I found the two ends, one from my PC in the office and the other from the router, stripped them back, twisted them together and it worked flawlessly, granted if I had a 10 million gigabit file to transfer to my secure server on the other side of the planet every night then I may struggle a bit, but for copying the odd film to my NAS or warching a bit of telly it worked absolutely fine.
After all, on some of the older systems despite what jiggery pokery the router and switch do to the data signal most of its travel is on a Victorian piece of copper phone pair wire and it uses that ok, likewise for TV signals, all that HD tv you can get comes down a single co-ax cable after traveling many miles through the air. Is cat 7 cable really necessary for a house?
mickmcpaddy said:
I do find all this talk about the latest spec cable etc a bit over the top, what I will say is I put cat5e everywhere in my house and have never used most of it, twin data point by the side of every bed for eg, never used/never have a use for it.
Also when it was all wired and I got the internet put in I didn't have a patch panel wired yet so at the point it was going I found the two ends, one from my PC in the office and the other from the router, stripped them back, twisted them together and it worked flawlessly, granted if I had a 10 million gigabit file to transfer to my secure server on the other side of the planet every night then I may struggle a bit, but for copying the odd film to my NAS or warching a bit of telly it worked absolutely fine.
After all, on some of the older systems despite what jiggery pokery the router and switch do to the data signal most of its travel is on a Victorian piece of copper phone pair wire and it uses that ok, likewise for TV signals, all that HD tv you can get comes down a single co-ax cable after traveling many miles through the air. Is cat 7 cable really necessary for a house?
Agree. Also when it was all wired and I got the internet put in I didn't have a patch panel wired yet so at the point it was going I found the two ends, one from my PC in the office and the other from the router, stripped them back, twisted them together and it worked flawlessly, granted if I had a 10 million gigabit file to transfer to my secure server on the other side of the planet every night then I may struggle a bit, but for copying the odd film to my NAS or warching a bit of telly it worked absolutely fine.
After all, on some of the older systems despite what jiggery pokery the router and switch do to the data signal most of its travel is on a Victorian piece of copper phone pair wire and it uses that ok, likewise for TV signals, all that HD tv you can get comes down a single co-ax cable after traveling many miles through the air. Is cat 7 cable really necessary for a house?
I love this put data points everywhere in your house, too many is not enough malarky. I rewired my place four years ago and CAT5E was the recomend from the Sparky, as he didnt rate CAT6 for install in an old house, he also told me that a lot of them will become US in a few years time as WIFI got better and better. He was right, most are not used, as I just WIFI it all. In the end only three are used, one for my office, and two for the two main rooms of the house for the TVs, everything else is WIFI so the data points arn't rarly used.
I'm making and installing AV cabinets here there and everywhere in renovated houses and each room as data points, yet the customers just dont or rarely use them either it seems. Make of that what you will.
Dave_ST220 said:
chasingracecars said:
Poorly installed or kinked Cat5 is quite likely to break.
Cat6 is thicker and equally should not be bent if you terminate correctly and use correctly then is far better to run.
To me cost difference is nothing for the added future usability.
If you treat Cat5 in the same way you describe poorly installed Cat6 I very much doubt the Cat5 would work at all.
You need to read up on things like FEXT and NEXT. CAT5e is much more forgiving to bad installation practices than CAT6/CAT6A. If you are worried about future proofing then you shouldn't be installing either, you should be installing CAT7! Cat6 is thicker and equally should not be bent if you terminate correctly and use correctly then is far better to run.
To me cost difference is nothing for the added future usability.
If you treat Cat5 in the same way you describe poorly installed Cat6 I very much doubt the Cat5 would work at all.
Real future proofing is to put good conduits in so you can pull it out and pop fibre or whatever in in future...
1) Make sure you buy proper good quality cable, not CCA (copper coated aluminium). 300m of cat5 will be about £50 and £85 for cat6. Cheap boxes on ebay are cca.
2) If you can, fit deep 48mm back boxes - makes fitting easier especially with cat6 (bend radius)
I have 52 points in my house, all cat6 diy installed. I use it for network, phone, temperature sensors and even my alarm control panel.
Some rooms could do with more cables;tv's use ethernet, along with games consoles and media streamers etc.
2) If you can, fit deep 48mm back boxes - makes fitting easier especially with cat6 (bend radius)
I have 52 points in my house, all cat6 diy installed. I use it for network, phone, temperature sensors and even my alarm control panel.
Some rooms could do with more cables;tv's use ethernet, along with games consoles and media streamers etc.
eliot said:
1) Make sure you buy proper good quality cable, not CCA (copper coated aluminium). 300m of cat5 will be about £50 and £85 for cat6. Cheap boxes on ebay are cca.
2) If you can, fit deep 48mm back boxes - makes fitting easier especially with cat6 (bend radius)
I have 52 points in my house, all cat6 diy installed. I use it for network, phone, temperature sensors and even my alarm control panel.
Some rooms could do with more cables;tv's use ethernet, along with games consoles and media streamers etc.
Am I missing something here.2) If you can, fit deep 48mm back boxes - makes fitting easier especially with cat6 (bend radius)
I have 52 points in my house, all cat6 diy installed. I use it for network, phone, temperature sensors and even my alarm control panel.
Some rooms could do with more cables;tv's use ethernet, along with games consoles and media streamers etc.
What's the point of running mulitple ethernet cables into each room when you can use a hub/switch IN each room instead ?
I put cat5 into my house like 18 years ago and it runs gig - plenty for what you need.
What's the justification for cat6 - are people really anticipating 10gige connected fridges ?
If you are using HD TV extenders you need a direct connection therefore can't use a switch.
For 4K it needs Cat6, I suspect Full 12bit 4:4:4 will need Cat6a.
There is coming the tech to do this with a switch but we are looking at Q2 this year.
Cat cable is very versatile so running it to each power socket allows you to extend wifi, send tv pictures, distribute audio, hard wire devices and add cctv to name a few.
For 4K it needs Cat6, I suspect Full 12bit 4:4:4 will need Cat6a.
There is coming the tech to do this with a switch but we are looking at Q2 this year.
Cat cable is very versatile so running it to each power socket allows you to extend wifi, send tv pictures, distribute audio, hard wire devices and add cctv to name a few.
For our recent house renovation we ran a few lengths of cat6 from the understairs cupboard where the router is to the extreme corners of the house. This has allowed a couple of wireless access points for good coverage.
Everything then runs on wireless. 3 x 4k Netflix streams alongside casual Web browsing is fine. We never have any problems.
10 years ago I would have made more use of multiple cables because TVs were dumb and PCs were more likely to be desktops. Only one of our current TVs is even connected to an aerial!
Everything then runs on wireless. 3 x 4k Netflix streams alongside casual Web browsing is fine. We never have any problems.
10 years ago I would have made more use of multiple cables because TVs were dumb and PCs were more likely to be desktops. Only one of our current TVs is even connected to an aerial!
ATG said:
eliot said:
gavsdavs said:
Am I missing something here.
What's the point of running mulitple ethernet cables into each room when you can use a hub/switch IN each room instead ?
?
Because thats a bodge job mate. What's the point of running mulitple ethernet cables into each room when you can use a hub/switch IN each room instead ?
?
eliot said:
gavsdavs said:
Am I missing something here.
What's the point of running mulitple ethernet cables into each room when you can use a hub/switch IN each room instead ?
Because thats a bodge job mate. What's the point of running mulitple ethernet cables into each room when you can use a hub/switch IN each room instead ?
A 5 port gigabit switch is cheap as chips which does a living/bedroom just fine.
If you're actually piping video from room to room i have to ask you why? Surely you'd want the box delivering your video to your display in the same room (so you can use the remote control, etc) ?
Everything can be delivered over IP that way and you don't really have to have more than 1 ethernet port per room, so long as it supports gig.
If you think it's a bodge job i have a very simple question for you.
Explain the difference between a switch and a hub.
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