Wiring my parents house, what Cat5 do I use???

[zveruga]

I am wiring my parents' two story house for internet. Its under construction now, so I am running the wire IN THE WALLS.

That to me looks like a good price:
http://www.compgeeks.com/detai...E-1000-30U&cat=CBL

It says that the copper wire is solid, not stranded, which is good from what I read in another discussion here. However, the description says: Not for wiring between floors.

Questions:
1) What do I use to wire between floors?
2) Is the shielding all standard, or if Im putting everything into a wall and I want it to last, is there a better cable that I can buy?
3) Would there be any advantage to using Cat 6 instead of Cat5e to wire the house? I am thinking long term + resale value here...
4) On a related topic, is there different shielding available for cat 3 cable for telefone wiring? What gauge and specs do I need to wire telephone cable between floors (and is there another cable I might consider besides the cat 3?)

All thoughtful replies, info and product links would be appreciated in this thread. And please take it easy on me, these may be dumb questions as I've never done a project like this before.

 

[M33kster]

i always heard rj45 cat5 was the best to use when networking.....but i would say sheilded cables are better....also make sure the wires don't extend over a hundred feet keep em below 90 cause u start to loose strength in sending data.......you might wanna consider wireless networking to....not as secure but hella easier to wire.....

 

[ScottMac]

DO NOT USE SHIELDED CABLING (or "screened UTP"). IF you don't do it right (you won't), it'll be worse than barbed wire fence. You have no need for shielded, regardless of the price.

Get Cat 5e - you aren't skilled enough to do Cat6 properly

The "Do Not Use Between Floors" means it's not "Riser" cable (which has an anti-stretch member in the sheath). It'll be OK for home use.

Gotta go

FWIW

Scott

 

[ktwebb]

Cat5E Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is all you need. Also, it's 100 meters, not 100 feet as mentioned in the first reply. 328 feet is the spec before you start to see signal degredation.

 

[Wizkid]

I actually used some of that exact same cable when wiring my house (and a few offices, etc.), it works just fine

 

[JackMDS]

Link to: Wiring - How to wire Networked Computers (Home Wiring).

:sun:

 

[zveruga]

You guys are awesome! THANK YOU!!!!

 

[madthumbs]

Get Cat 5e - you aren't skilled enough to do Cat6 properly

-What's meant by this? I use Cat6 exclusively since I noticed a speed improvement with it over several Cat5e cables.

 

[amdskip]

As far as I know, there is no such thing as a speed difference in real world applications with Cat 5e vs 6. Gig will run on 5e.

 

[ScottMac]

What I meant was: Cat 6 is much tougher to terminate properly & according to spec than Cat5 & 5e ... and many / most novice home networkers (and certainly one that's *brand new* to the concept) can't even terminate Cat5 properly (i.e., follow the rules & guidelines ... and actually, there's a big basketfull of "old timers" that can't terminate UTP properly).

So, if you're gonna do it wrong, do it wrong cheap, it's not gonna matter much in the end.

That was what I meant.


Scott

 

[madthumbs]

Sorry, didn't think of the possibility of building/crimping your own cables. Color code guide here; http://www.bordergatewayprotoc..._stuff/rj45%5B1%5D.gif . For a novice, it's probably cheaper to buy prebuilt cables as I was thinking, also as ScottMac pointed out; a novice can likely screw up the cables, not just the color arrangement either. Cat6 uses more twists per inch and that advantage would be defeated by untwisting near the ends, and not using the right colors at the right contacts.

there is no such thing as a speed difference in real world applications with Cat 5e vs 6. Gig will run on 5e.

-Yes, there's no direct speed difference. The extra twists in cat6, allow for better resistance to interference and in some applications this would make a difference. I think of it like using thin wires for speakers or nice fat ones. I hear a quality difference so I use the fat ones. I see a speed difference so I use cat6. I also tend to overachieve too.

 

[zveruga]

LOL alright, my hands dont entirely grow out of my ass.... But I think i'll stick with Cat5e, simply because it IS cheaper, and none of my pc's have gigabit ethernet... and even if they did, what am i going to do with that speed? Copy my entire "educational video" collection from one drive to the other?

Going to home depot to pick up the stuff. Wish me luck!

 

[ScottMac]

Good Luck!

BTW: Cat5e IS the spec for GigE. You'll be set for a while.


Happy Holidays

Scott