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Thread: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

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    What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Hello,

    I'm looking at wiring my PC (currently on Wi-FI) to my router via ethernet cabling. All my hardware is capable of Gigabit transfer rates, I just need to make sure the cabling is capable of it too.

    The problem is, I'll be using approximately 20m of cabling, running under carpets, around door frames and corners etc. What kind of cabling would I have to purchase to ensure I can get stable Gigabit connections? Would cat. 5e suffice, or would I have to go for cat 6?

    It's also very likely I'd need to purchase flat cabling, due to the way I'd have to route the cable.

    I'd greatly appreciate any advice!

    Thanks,

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    5e or 6 will be fine tbh,

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Even cat 5 is in the Gigabit spec but as above, I'd go for 5e or 6.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Cat 6 offers some fairly substantial performance advantages over Cat 5e, but :-

    - is more expensive, and
    - is more demanding of the physical installation, and
    - is likely to offer you little improvement in performance.

    What it will do is give you more breathing space to take advantage of what might happen in the near and medium future. Cat 5e will handle just about anything you can conceive of throwing at it in a domestic environment .... and in most commercial ones too. But that may not be true in 5 years time. That's why a lot of businesses install Cat-6, including a major project I had some involvement in over a couple of years - if you've got to close branches, disrupt business, dig up floors and relay expensive tiling, and re-run cables through walls and between floors, the modest cost differential of Cat-6 installation makes sense just in case.

    Were it me, and I was just running a cable or two at home, I'd do Cat-5e. If I was building or extensively remodelling a home and running extensive cabling for possible future video distribution systems, etc, then I'd use Cat-6 to avoid having to rip up floors and channels in walls in a few years time.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Do NOT use flat ethernet cable. Flat cable would throw your requirement of "stable" out of the window. Use cable up to spec & and go under floorboards, drill holes etc. Use ducting with a pull wire if you're serious, but that might be overkill for most home users.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Cat 5e will be fine. I used cat5e for my home network, including a long run from an upstairs room, into the attic, down a cavity wall and out again on the ground floor - a good 16 metres or more - and that runs at 1Gb without difficulty.

    As said earlier, Cat6 is more expensive, more fragile, and harder to work with, especially if you are installing it 'free' - ie, not on a cable tray/cable plate or in ducting/trunking.

    Round Cat5e can be quite well hidden with a little creative thought - and taking an extra couple of metres to take advantage of features like skirting boards will make no difference.
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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by smargh View Post
    Do NOT use flat ethernet cable. Flat cable would throw your requirement of "stable" out of the window. Use cable up to spec & and go under floorboards, drill holes etc. Use ducting with a pull wire if you're serious, but that might be overkill for most home users.
    Agreed. And if you have to get through floor joists etc, do please drill holes, and don't cut notches into the joists. It weakens their load-bearing capability and, if the notch is too big, can cause serious problems.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    I didnt know that cat5e was capable of gigbit thats interesting.

    As pretty much everyone is said, if you go under floor etc it is very easy to hide, i have tried to wire without this before and it can be a pain.

    if you wanted to be very ghetto though... you can have cable that is weather proof and go out of the house with it through a hole and take it up to next floor and then small hole into house again, i know someone who did this.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Many thanks for all your helpful advice guys. I will probably end up using the cat 5e cable based on has been posted here.

    Unfortunately, I cannot think of any way to route the cable without having to use flat cabling. This is the product I was going to purchase:

    http://www.scan.co.uk/products/20m-c...r-under-carpet)

    I spoke to a sales rep from Scan and they told me they've used 30m of the came cable without issue.

    How would the flat cabling affect performance? Would it mean more connection issues or slower speeds?
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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by AD-15 View Post
    I spoke to a sales rep from Scan and they told me they've used 30m of the came cable without issue.

    How would the flat cabling affect performance? Would it mean more connection issues or slower speeds?
    That was meeeeeeee

    As I stated I use the 30m flat cable at gigabit speeds with no issues at all. The cables used 24/7 and runs at the faster Gb speed without any issues.

    I have a 20m that is reeled in and out when I want to go on the xbox 360 downstairs on the 40" TV

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by Cozwin View Post
    if you wanted to be very ghetto though... you can have cable that is weather proof and go out of the house with it through a hole and take it up to next floor and then small hole into house again, i know someone who did this.
    I did, with 5e cable and although it's not officially 'weatherproof' it's worked flawlessly for about 8 years

    Oh, I know - I should of used monster-oxygen-free-sub-zero-oceanic-gold-latinum cable but, meh! It works so ner!
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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by dangel View Post
    I did, with 5e cable and although it's not officially 'weatherproof' it's worked flawlessly for about 8 years
    My mate ran standard cat 5e cable down his washing line to his "man shed" so he had web access before he upgraded to wireless.

    It also worked fine until it got singed last bonfire night

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee @ SCAN View Post
    That was meeeeeeee

    As I stated I use the 30m flat cable at gigabit speeds with no issues at all. The cables used 24/7 and runs at the faster Gb speed without any issues.

    I have a 20m that is reeled in and out when I want to go on the xbox 360 downstairs on the 40" TV
    I do as well. If you're going to all the hassle of drilling into the floor, and you've got the opportunity, then I wouldn't use flat cable to save myself 10 minutes work. Or an hour's work, for that matter.

    If flat cable is the only option though, as it was for me, then I wouldn't hesitate - it will work.

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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee @ SCAN View Post
    It also worked fine until it got singed last bonfire night
    Sheesh - totally forgot I'd need it to be fireproof
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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lee @ SCAN
    That was meeeeeeee
    Greetings.

    It was my intention to buy that kind of cable, but considering what Saracen and Smargh have said (google has also thrown up posts about issues with this kind of cable), I'm not too sure anymore.

    Do you mind if I ask at all what kind of transfer rates you're getting on that connection?

    I realise the limit is officially 100m on Cat 5e cabling for a Gigabit connection, but from what I understand this is only a "theoretical" limit, and there are all kinds of things that can affect it (bends, quality of cabling, round vs flat etc).
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    mutantbass head Lee H's Avatar
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    Re: What cable type for a gigabit connection?

    I would run loads of tests and get you screenshots, but alas I can't... I'm not hardwired any longer

    My PC suddenly shut down a few hours ago while the little one was nearby and it now looks like my RJ45 port on my motherboard has given up the ghost so now I've fallen back to using the 802.11N PCI wireless card to even get simple web access.

    I suppose that's the excuse I need to get myself a new i7 rig

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