Cat6 cable? Cat6 vs. Cat5e

[oktane]

Hello,

I am retrofitting my home with a whole-house ethernet install. I trying to decide if I should use Cat5e or Cat6 cabling. Does anyone know if the final specs for Cat6 cable have been finalized? Or when they might be?

In my endless web searching I have had great difficulty finding an answer to this.

How many years do you think Cat5e will last me? Right now I am on a 100BT switched, but I will probably migrate to GE in the next 2 years.

Thanks.
-oktane

 

[subflava]

I believe CAT6 is already out on the market...I see some places selling it and I'm assuming these are genuine CAT6 cables. As for your 2nd question about longevity...I'm not sure I understand. CAT5E is valid for 1000BT networking (using all 4 pairs) so you would be able to use GigE in the future.

Now, as to whether GigE will be of any real use for home users...that's another thread.

 

[BigFatCow]

check this thread out it might have some information your looking for.

 

[Nutz]

<< CAT5E is valid for 1000BT networking (using all 4 pairs) so you would be able to use GigE in the future.
>>



This is true. 802.3ab specifies CAT-5e, or above, for use with GigE. CAT-6 (and 7) was made to perform better. Its performance gains are a result of its higher resilliance to Attenuation, Near End Crossalk (NEXT), Far End Crosstalk (FEXT), and Attenuation to Crosstalk Ratio (ACR). Or in other words: the cable is better.

Keep in mind that if you go with CAT-6, you need to hold true to that as your architecture. If you drop in some CAT-5 components you might have some unwanted results, and in some cases, combining the two actually lowers performance. From what I've read, its because of the differences in reactance between the plug and jack.

 

[DocDoo]

If you are going to rewire, why not use SpeedWrap since it contains:

2 - 4 pairs of CAT5e
2 - Quad Shield Coax (RG6)
2 - Fiber Optic

Do a "home-run" with that stuff on your critical areas and you are set for a very long time. Its not terribly expensive @ < $2 per/ft...

 

[oktane]

I was thinking about it, but the only place I really see it is Smarthome.com. And there I can only get 2 of the CAT5e's, but I want at least 3 per location.

I can get 1000' of CAT5e for < $70, and 1000' of RG-6 for < $170. I can run two RG-6 and two CAT5e's for $0.32/ft.

Or I can run up to 400' segments of the Speedwrap (2 RG-6, 2 CAT5e) for about $0.50/ft. It is more expensive to buy a larger spool. This seems reasonable, actually, but Smarthome is Out-of-Stock on the jacketed stuff.

If I used the Speedwrap I would still need to run another CAT5e and probably some nylon thread to pull any new strings through next time.

 

[DocDoo]

Is it me or does this stuff look like yummi candy

 

[oktane]

Haha yeah I want to eat some as well.