CAT5 or CAT6 new network + network card

Automan

Im going to network some of the rooms in the house, it will mainly be used for my Media Center with 2 or 3 Xboxes in the future running video and live TV to them (currently have one that has not been networked or setup yet).

So which cable to get CAT5 or CAT6, is there a big difference? Would like to future proof as much as possible as I dont want to have to do the work again in 2 or 3 years time.

I will be running 3 cables to downstairs from my computer room (boxroom) upstarts and connecting it with either a hub or switch.

Is there a better way to do this (dont want to go wireless) which would be better for my setup hub or switch?

Also the media center does not have a network card so was looking on ebay so is there any real difference between network cards? There is some cards for 10 euros from Hong Kong and others for 30 euros from England, examples:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/10-100-1000M-Gigabit-Ethernet-PCI-LAN-Adaptor-Card-IEGB_W0QQitemZ180074145707QQihZ008QQcategoryZ51196QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ie/INTEL-PRO-10-100-1000-GIGABIT-NETWORK-CARD-PCI-NIC-UK_W0QQitemZ130069659460QQihZ003QQcategoryZ51196QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Static M.e.

Cat 6 is better than Cat 5 for speed, make sure you get Shielded Cable as well otherwise you will get interferance from other power sources

ob

Just remember, if using CAT 6, then all the components (cable, patch cables, connectors) need to be certified for CAT 6, otherwise it'll run at the rate of the lowest standard used.

Wether to go shielded or not depends on the length of cable, whether there is electrical cables running alonside it or not etc.

Personally, I'd go for unshielded CAT 5e, you'll get decent gigabit ethernet from it.

What length will each cable segment be?

ntlbell

If I had the chance again.

And you have the cash.

Go down the Fiber route.

beolight

curious how much dearer is the fibre option?

Automan

Cheers for the info lads, how much better is CAT6 over CAT5? How much dearer? Which network card + would a switch be better than a hub.

The longest wire will be roughly around 35 to 45 feet (will be ran under carpets and down stairs).

Also would I be better just to run 1 wire downstairs to a hub, switch then connect the other wires there?

I don't think I could get the xbox connected with fibre unfortunately.

Stephen

If i was installing a new network, as you are, I would definately go with CAT6 for future-proofing. A switch is always better than a hub also.

ob

beolight wrote:

curious how much dearer is the fibre option?

Buying pre-terminated fibre, wouldn't cost to much, but the hardware costs would be fairly high. Your best bet is getting a used fibre switch on eBay, it's still going to cost a few hundred at least. Then there's the fibre network cards...

This would be ideal, both fibre and copper ports on it. You wouldn't need to put fibre cards into everything.

Automan

Cheers again lads will have a look around for some prices, will just go with the cheap network card from ebay cant see to much of a differance between them.

adrianliang

Fiber Optic cable is the best choice~

BigEejit

uhmmm, you are 10 months late