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1000' Category 5e Cable $49 - Home Depot

B

Barny

Member
I picked up 1000' of Cat 5e cable (rated 1GB) today for $49. Thats $.05/ft...pretty good.
They had 500' of Cat 5 cable for the same price. To buy it there by the foot would be $.14/ft so I'm thinking something is wrong. Wonder why 1000' of cat 5e is same price as 500' of cat 5.
Anyway, I know most people don't need this much but looked like a great deal.
Specs:
CommandLinx Category 5e
4 pair/24 gauge
Gray
UL type MPR/CMR
Riser Rated
 
Hm...
Never heard of the "e" version.

what's the difference between Cat5e and Cat5? Could it be that the 500ft roll is stranded cat 5? The 1000ft one is definately solid core as you stated above....
 
Cat 5 is rated for up to 100Mbits/sec speed. Cat 5e is rated at 1000 Mbits/sec (1GB). That's the only difference I know of.
 
With some of the wireless products that are slated to come out (from 3com & others) over the next few months, I would expect to see even more places dumping cat5.
 
As with so many other things in the HOT HOT HOT computer industry... Wireless still has a way to go... can you say Bluetooth!!! Hardly hear that at the moment, while every other company was ramping and raving about all the great things they are going to do with that.

For now... CAT5 is here to stay... for at least 3-5 years. I wouldn't expect to get a better solution then that till then.

[sidenote] This being writen by a guy sitting on the craper with the Laptop, connected via CAT5 to the house server and then to the Internet [/sidenote] 😉
 
cat5e is a specific standard of cabling. it works like cat5. through a tighter twist (still twisted pair) of the pairs, it can allow for a faster transfer speed.

you can compare it to ata66 and ata33 cables if you want.

cat5 cables are fine... cat5e is fine...
 
a specific note on the cables, you'll need plugs... www.pcccables.com (http://www.pccables.com/cgi-local/orders6.cgi?action=Showitem&id=ID207629&partno=02133&search=NETWORK&rsite=www.pccables.com&rcode=). i ordered a 100 pack from them. it was $9.00 when i got it.

and these are probably solid conductors which makes the cable less flexible, but is cheaper. this does not matter though...

it's probably a sale or something.

you'll also need a crimper for the plugs, or a punch down tool and terminals if you wanna do a socket...
 
No 1000'boxes in my area. Home Depot does have Cat5 (not 5e) in 500' boxes for $33.00 (UL Riser Rated) which isn't bad. So. Central PA.
 
Yeah, just make sure you get the crimpers. It is pretty simple, strip a little wire back, line up the colors, put on the connector, crimp, repeat. Without crimpers it is next to impossible.
 
Not terribly difficult without crimpers. Just wired my 3 computers in my house without them (Actually I have 2 pair but they are hiding from me)

The most difficult part is getting all eight wires flat, straight and even, then slowly thread them thru making sure they go into right holes. Then take a small flat blade screwdriver and slowly start pressing down the contacts until they are snug.(maybe a hard plastic tool of some sort would be better however)

Just for those who don't want to go out and pay $18- $40 for a decent crimper to do a few connections.

EDIT: Thanks Mday for good photos and description!
 
I'd say either purchase, or borrow, a crimper to do any cabling work. Pushing down connectors with screwdrivers leads to lots of frustration and non-work cables. Good job if you didn't mess anything up 🙂
 
i highly recommend against NOT USING a crimper for such a task.

well, if you do, remember you have to do it 9 times, 8 for each pin, and the 9th for that insulator clamping...
 
I picked up a spool of this cable this evening in northeastern Mississippi. Price for the 1000' spool was $52.50, while price for the "standard" Cat5 cable (with "deluxe" blue sheath) was 0.18 per foot or $162.95 for a 1000' spool. There was no pricing posted for the Cat5e cable, and I suspect this is a pricing error based upon the price of the other types of cable they had available.

As Barny stated above, the cable is manufactured by BICC General (General Cable Technoloies Corp., HIghland heights, KY) and is labeled as "COMMANDLINX CATEGORY 5e DATA COMMINCATIONS CABLE". The following is listed below on the label:

- Super High Speed - 1000 MBits/Sec
- 4 PAIR/24 GAUGE
- Internet Service
- Computer Networks
- Modems
- Multiple Phone Lines
- Fax Machines
Approved for Inside Riser Use

The UL label on the side of the box lists the following:

Underwriters Laboratory Inc. listed
COMMUNICATIONS CABLE
ALSO VERIFIED TO UL PERFORMANCE
CATEGORY PROGRAM
E-105765-S No. 1040
7/26/00

Below this is additional information including the following:

MPR/CMR (UL) VERIFIED CAT-5e

The cable is 24-gauge solid core wire. The UPC Bar Code is:

0 79407 70814 7

 
Cat5e is the new standard for cable twisted pair. It can transfer up to 1000Gbps. This is new technology and eventually will replace Cat5 as we see at store or at work place.
 
As stated above, Cat 5e is an updated version of Cat5. Whereas cat5 is rated for 100 MHz, cat5e is rated to 350 MHz.

Both types are suitable for gigabit ethernet (1000BaseTX), but cat5 is only just good enough. A bad crimp, an old corroded connection, or a kinked cable could put it out of spec. Cat5e is therefore recommended for new installations where upgrading to gigabit ethernet may be considered in the future.
 
This IS a pricing error. Got mine 1/2 hour ago.
Thanks for the post!
Make sure you match up the upc # on the box.


(In st. louis, none at bridgeton lindberg, 5 at manchester manchester as of 1:30)
 
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