Best place to get cheap but good quality Cat 5 cables for networking?

[JoeFoster]

I want to connect a few computers with belkin 10/100 nics to a belkin cable/dsl router w/4 10/100 ports. Where can I get some good rj45 connectors and a good crimp tool?

 

[Zim Hosein]

JoeFoster, have you tried www.newegg.com , hope this helps.

 

[neuralfx]

here .. also, if you have a crimper, places like home depot sell cat5 cheap ..
-neural

 

[minendo]

i buy all my 25 foot cables from one of the dorms here on campus. only $3.80 per 25 feet

 

[olds]

Try CyberGuys Item# 120 5210

 

[MrBaseball]

I picked up 1000ft of Cat 5e at Home Depot for around $40

-Ben

 

[JoeFoster]

The cheapest 1000ft cat5e on pricewatch is $35. I don't know much about how reliable cheap cables are, so someone sort of give me a link to the best priced quality 1000ft cat5e on pricewatch. Thanks all

 

[JackMDS]

RJ45 Crimp Plug Connectors.

 

[Garion]

No offense, but it's NOT recommended that the average user crimp their own cables. By the time you buy your crimping tool, the ends, and your cable you're usually spending well over what it would cost to buy pre-made cables.

Also, you've got about a 20% chance of getting something wrong with each cable - Nothing personal, but it's a very easy thing to mess up. It can cause serious havoc with your network. Maybe not today, but in three months when you jiggle the cable just wrong.

Lastly.. Most of the cable that Home Depot sells is SOLID CORE that is designed for runs within a wall, from patch panel to jack. This is not intended to be used for patch cables which get moved and adjusted more often - It's just too fragile. To make patch cables you need to use stranded cable where each conductor is made up of tiny stranded copper cables instead of one solid chunk of fiber).

- G

 

[miguel]

<< No offense, but it's NOT recommended that the average user crimp their own cables. >>



Aren't you being a little, errr, silly? How the heck can the "average user" become an expert like yourself without trying? Obviously, he would not have asked where to buy crimping tools, etc if he did not want to learn...

 

[JackMDS]

I provided a Link for RJ parts, as Joe asked.

However, I have to echo Mr. G sentiment.

It takes a lot of exercising, and spoiling good material to master the art of crimping.

I recommend that people will do it, because I believe that learning and possessing skills is important.

If a person is under obligation to produce, and he is not experience in CAT5 crimping, buy it.

However, if you want to learn and have the time, Why Not.

We must take into consideration the some guys want to wire their house, and if they learn how to do it, they can save a lot of money.

If you only need few patch cables, forget it you will not save any thing.

Here are instructions:

CAT 5 TWISTED-PAIR NETWORK CABLES

Here are the way of connecting:

CAT5 Straight, Crossover. What is CAT5, which one should I Use?

 

[Garion]

<< Aren't you being a little, errr, silly? How the heck can the "average user" become an expert like yourself without trying? Obviously, he would not have asked where to buy crimping tools, etc if he did not want to learn... >>



Actually, I have a gospel - Don't ever make your own cables, you will often live to regret it. I never make cables myself, nor allow any of my staff to use handmade cables on my network except in case of emergency. To quote spidey.. "Never mess with the phyical layer"

- G

 

[spidey07]

<< Actually, I have a gospel - Don't ever make your own cables, you will often live to regret it. I never make cables myself, nor allow any of my staff to use handmade cables on my network except in case of emergency. To quote spidey.. "Never mess with the phyical layer" >>



JackMDS and Garion really drove it home there. Solid core wire makes for bad patch cables - they WILL go bad on you. If you want to have a trouble free network then please purchase certified category 5 or higer patch cables. Just as an FYI - even purchased patched cables I've seen fail cat5 specs. (maybe about 1/500)

On the other hand if you want to make your own cables and learn something in the process then have at it. It really isn't hard - just takes a lot of screwing your cables up before you get it down. You must be absolutely anal about it. That's why there is a two week training/certication class for category5.

So the moral of the story is:
Want trouble a trouble free network? Purchase patch cables.
Want to learn and spend endless nights figuring out why performance is so bad and why your network just doesn't work - make 'em.

 

[chibimike]

I don't think making CAT-5 cables is particularly challenging.
I prefer to make them due the inherent advantages of custom lengths, for cabling our house for example.

I have messed up and miswired them, but I have never wired a cable correctly and then had problems with them.
Hell, I've even made runs for 100b with cat 3 and had no problems.
Solid core is fine for permanent installations, but I agree that wouldn't want to use it on an often moved system such as patch panels or a laptop.
I haven't had problems with it on desktop systems.


mike

 

[spidey07]

<< Hell, I've even made runs for 100b with cat 3 and had no problems. >>



Yes you have had problems, you just can't recognize them. If you cannot certify your cable to cat5 specs then please do not post saying things like "I use cat3 for 100 base-T with no problems".

I'm not trying to be a "jerk" but poor cabling is the singular most popular cause of network problems and posting stuff like that just perpetuates bad practice.

 

[chibimike]

I'm not saying I'm condoning using cat-3 in place of cat-5, just saying that you can hit cat-5 specs with cat-3 cable.
I've had to do it in a pinch, and I got lucky.
We did certify that they were up to cat-5 specs at my previous job, I forget which tester we had.
It was yellow, could test well past cat-5 specs.

Isn't the biggest difference between cat-3 and cat-5 the more strict rules on number of twists per foot to insure consistent lengths of all pairs?
So theoretically cat-3 can hit cat-5, just not guaranteed.

Anyways, it is all academic.
If you feel up to doing your cables, you are careful, and you buy good quality cable you should be able to create cables up to cat-5 specs.
I do agree that for often moved cables use store bought stranded cables.
If you are not a detail person, use store bought.
If you have doubts, use store bought.

But if you want to custom cable, it is not particularly hard to do.


mike

 

[miguel]

Wait a tick - "Don't make cables yourself"?? What kind of thinking is that? No offence here, but store-bought cables are not made by phDs, they are made by unskilled workers making $5/hour.

Following that way of thinking, I could assume: "If you need Exchange installed right, have a pro do it" or "If it's mission critical, don't do it yourself"

What value does one bring to a company if one cannot do quality work? I'd trust cables I or someone in MY staff made more than "store-bought" or "vendor-provided" cables ANY DAY.

Oh well. Differences in opinion, I guess.