darkzar99 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Is the only difference between CAT-6 cable and CAT-5/CAT-5e cable the speed? Also would standard Cat-5e connectors work with Cat-6 cable and still have the same speed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I think the difference lies in the tolerances of the CAT6 cable. Because the CAT6 cable is of better quality, you can either run higher bandwidth over it, or more reliable or whatever. Connectors and the way the inside of the cable looks etc is still the same. I'm sure Metatron will correct me here, but I haven't found much of a difference between the two. Might have something to do with the fact that I've only used short lengths (less than 25 meters). Back when I was wiring up my house (2 years or so ago) I could get a great deal on CAT-5E cable, so I got that. If the price is relatively close these days, it wouldn't hurt to get CAT-6, but I haven't found a great need for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rFayjW98ciLoNQLDZmFRKD Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 yes, Cat6 is better shielded an can handel GB ethernet, you can yse Cat 6 for Cat 5, it actuly recomeded to furure proof your self when you upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkzar99 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 ok, so are the ends, rj45 connectors, the same for both, like will the ends for cat5 cables work with cat6? same with the connections on switches and NICs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Yes. RJ45 is the intended connector for both types of cable. Basically you can swap the one for the other. No harm, no foul. CAT6 is better suited for gigabit ethernet, but both are capable of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rFayjW98ciLoNQLDZmFRKD Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Yes. RJ45 is the intended connector for both types of cable. Basically you can swap the one for the other. No harm, no foul.CAT6 is better suited for gigabit ethernet, but both are capable of it. You can actuly use cat5 for gigabit? Does it have any probloms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I've got an Asus GigaX whatever 8-port gigabit switch. It's a cheap piece of shit, but does the job nicely so far. I was getting 20 MB/s transferring a big file with a scp. 20 mb/s was the maximum speed the old, slow-ass harddisk in the source machine was able to cough up its data. Need to do some decent tests once my RAID is complete, as theoretically 100 MB/s should be possible. At that point the cable might come into play of course. P.S.: I checked and CAT6 cable costs just under twice as much as CAT5e. But we're talking 35 euros for 100 meters, so it shouldn't really break the bank to get CAT6 anyways. I remember from reading somewhere that CAT6 doesn't like sharp bends as much as CAT5e does, but that might be bullcrap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkzar99 Posted July 30, 2006 Author Share Posted July 30, 2006 Yes. RJ45 is the intended connector for both types of cable. Basically you can swap the one for the other. No harm, no foul.CAT6 is better suited for gigabit ethernet, but both are capable of it. ok, thanks Cooper, just wanted to be sure before i bought anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 I use Cat6 or Fibre(10Gbps), the other guys have answered your question fairly well so I can’t add much to it, but if your planning on sending any Video or audio down the cable using one of those converters you should go with Cat6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingwray Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Cat6 standands a lot stricter than Cat5e if you want to be able to certify your network Cat6. I've had some Cat6 from ebay and looked at it closely and they have made the length up wrong and thus defying the point of it being Cat6. You have to make sure you twist the pairs right up to the end of the socket almost and things like that. But to really answer you question like most people are here you can use it on any ethernet network together with Cat5e and on the same hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkzar99 Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 ok well it really doesnt need to be certified cat6, its just for my home, i currently have a mix of cat5 and cat5e installed and i dont know if it would be better to got to cat6 or just buy more cat5e (i need to run some more cabling because i am running more computers now then i did when i first put it all in) as for transferring data from one computer to another, i rarely do anything extremely big, maybe once every two months i will copy my entire hard drive from one computer to another for backup but usually i just copy small programs or drivers and backing up pictures, so would you recommend getting cat6 or just stick with cat5e? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingwray Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 If they are close in price and your getting it from a reliable source then go with the Cat6, it'll probably last you longer. If you want cheapness then Cat5e can be found stupidly cheap. I'd go with Cat6 if you have Gigabit hardware or going to get gigabit soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Zaius Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 http://www.tiaonline.org/standards/technology/cat6/faq.cfm Using gigabit speeds through cat5e is really starting to push it to it's limits, it's inevitable that we will keep increasing the bandwidth availible and the bandwidth needed on our networks in future. So it is a good idea to go with cat6 over cat5e. As for cat6 not being as good with sharp bends, I think some of the early cat6 cables had a spline in them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Much better then Cat6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparda Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Much very expencive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Indeed, it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingwray Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I always found the NICs for fibre to be quite a good price. Its the switch that is the real killer on price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 The price can add up quickly when you start adding up the equipment you need. But if you are future proofing your home fibre is the way to go. You can pick up a QLogic SANbox 5200 8 ports switch for £1,586.10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingwray Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 The price can add up quickly when you start adding up the equipment you need. But if you are future proofing your home fibre is the way to go. You can pick up a QLogic SANbox 5200 8 ports switch for £1,586.10. I don't doubt that, but when thats twice the price of your main computer and you only paid £70 for your last 8 - port gigabit switch its a little out of most peoples price range. I'll stick to Gigabit for the moment, it does the job fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 I wouldn’t recommend it unless you need more then a Gigabit or you have some money you want to spend. http://www.fibercablesdirect.com/ this company has some good deals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkzar99 Posted July 31, 2006 Author Share Posted July 31, 2006 well then i will probably stick with cat5e, most of my network cards are support gigabit ethernet but about 5 of my computers dont, and my network switch/hub is only 10/100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 What really sucks about fiber is that it's next to impossible to put it in yourself. With CAT5/6 you can just go out, buy one of those cramping things some cable and a few RJ45 plugs and you can go on your merry ways. That's mighty useful when you want to pull your own wire through the house via pipes that are about 15 mm (0.6 inch) in diameter. Fiber cables tend to be thinner and more flexible, but you can't pull it through the pipe with the connector attached, and it's next to impossible to apply your own connector to the bare cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 What really sucks about fiber is that it's next to impossible to put it in yourself. With CAT5/6 you can just go out, buy one of those cramping things some cable and a few RJ45 plugs and you can go on your merry ways. That's mighty useful when you want to pull your own wire through the house via pipes that are about 15 mm (0.6 inch) in diameter.Fiber cables tend to be thinner and more flexible, but you can't pull it through the pipe with the connector attached, and it's next to impossible to apply your own connector to the bare cable. I have all the kit needed and it’s not that hard to make your own cables, but you have to spend some time to make sure you get the best results. Universal 200x-400x inspection scope Loctite Anaerobic Adhesive Kit (with syringes and needles) Crimp ALL crimper with Universal Crimp Die Tube Stripper & Slitter Pro Fibre Cutter Cable Slitter / Ringing Tool Connector Cleaning Cartridge Diamond Fibre Scribe Alcohol Dispenser Polishing Paper Universal polishing puck Polishing Plate Polishing compound Sunglasses Wipes You can buy a complete kits that will handle 200 connectors for around £480 or you can save some money if you shop around a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooper Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Truly _EVERYTHING_ is expensive with Fiber, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metatron Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yep, but if you want more then a gigabit you don’t really have many other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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