Noob Question About Cables

[Questi4110]

I want to network my home with a wired router. I currently have a cable connection. Which type of cable should I get. I know I have to get a RJ-45 cable, but i have seen so many different types such as 5, 5e, 6 that i am confused and i dont know the difference. What type of cable is ideal for home networking. I play a lot of multiplayer games and I dont know if i will be transferring that many files. What price should I get on a 50ft or 100ft cable?

Another question I have is whether or not I should go with a wireless setup. Will i need to buy 2 wireless cards for my 2 computers and what are the advantages/disadvantages to using a wireless setup as compared to a wired setup on a home network with 2 desktops (i may move one around but not too frequently)?

THANKS

 

[cmetz]

5e is the cheapest you should use these days. It should be fine for your needs. Go down to Home Depot and you can get a 500' spool of cat5e riser cable for like $40 -- it's probably not worth it to buy less, you might be surprised how handy it is to have a spool around, and shorter cables are going to cost you more per foot. You'll also need either to put RJ45 ends on the cables (in which case you need a good crimp tool) or to put RJ45<->110 jacks on (in which case you need a punch-down tool).

If you use a wireless setup, you should get wireless cards for all. The two downsides to wireless are that it is much slower than a 100Mb/s wired network (in practice, maybe 2-5 Mb/s), and that there's far more opportunities for reliability problems with wireless - just more to go wrong. The upside to wireless, though, is that it's easy to install - no running cables all over.

 

[Questi4110]

well, is a 5e cable only supposed to be used for computer to computer connections.
Doesn't one computer have to always be on for the other to use the internet.
Can it also be used with a router setup?
Where can i get the RJ-45 ends?


THANKS

 

[tenoc]

Don't confuse 5e with a cross-over cable, where the primary comp does have to be on to access the internet with the secondary.

 

[tenoc]

btw, you should be able to get ends at any electrical supply store, probably Radio Shack as well.

 

[ScottMac]

The concept of structured cabling ("In the wall" stuff) is that it can handle almost ANY kind of connection (Data, voice, serial, video, RF, etc...) with the proper "adapters" or BALUNs.

Cat(anything) was designed with that in mind. There is no such thing as "data only" cabling.

In-the-wall stuff should be solid conductor, patch cables should ALWAYS be stranded core cables.

FWIW

Scott

 

[Questi4110]

ok thanks, i'm probably going to go with a router and a wired setup with a cheap cat5 cable. I dont know if i will buy it without the jacks because i heard they are hard to put on.

Is this the correct cable:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3032634085&category=20312


Also, i have a cable that says
CAT 5e Crossover
Patch Cable
RJ45
Male/Male

Its only 7 ft so i was thinking of using this one to hook up the router my closest computer and then hook out the other computer with the 100' one that i listed above in ebay.

And, does the WAN port take the ethernet cable that usually goes from the modem to the ethernet card or will i have to replace it with another cat cable from the modem to the WAN port of the router?

Would I lose speed if i choose a longer cable or does the length of the cable not affect it?


THANKS

 

[IceNineJon]

Questi4110, I think this discussion has gotten way to complex for what it's worth. Here's my two cents (and hopefully this will clarify things).

CAT5, CAT5e, and CAT6 are all just ratings for the same type of cable, they describe the frequency response of the copper, etc. Any of them will work fine for your needs (CAT5e is the standard right now, CAT6 allows for higher bitrates such as gigabit ethernet).

Additionally, you want patch cable, not cross-over cable. Cross-over cable lets you connect two computers directly without the use of a hub/switch/router. Cross-over cable also lets you connect a hub to a router but you don't need to do that either.

If you haven't already bought a router, I would buy a wireless one. They are't much more expensive than a wired one and have the bonus of being able to add wireless devices to your wired network so if sometime down the line, you buy a laptop and want to carry it around your house and browse the internet, you won't have to buy any new equipment except for the wireless NIC in the laptop. With most wireless routers, you can plug a DSL/cable modem into an internet input (via a patch cable) and then usually around 4 CAT5 connections directly into the back of the wireless router. I personally use the NetGear MR814 which you can buy in stores or only for about $40 after rebate. Once again, even if you aren't planning on having a wireless setup, you can use this as a wired router and then use the wireless functions later in the event you want to buy some wireless devices.

As for the length of the cable, yes, the length can affect the speed but usually not dramatically. I tend to make sure I have enough slack incase things move around rather than get that 1 bit speed boost of having a shorter cable.

Hope this clears some stuff up .

Let me know if you have any questions!

~Jon