Cat5 cabling for dummies??

nicknackgtb

Hi guys,

We are buying a new house and want to know what are the advantages of having cat5 cabling installed? Have been told that we should have it put in but what exactly is it gonna do for us that it that we wouldn't have already?

Without facts and figures, just plain English, what can you do/use with this installed?

Cheers

P

indie armada

its usefull if you plan to run a network in the house instead of doing everything wireless. its a multicore cable and has many uses but in a domestic situation its really only usefull to provide broadband/ phonelines around the house.

also.......username....??????.......isdc?

2011

First of all you would be better off with CAT6 cabling.
It can transfer data at a higher speed.

CAT5 or CAT6 cabling will enable you to have a few devices connected together so that they can "talk" to each other.

I have this in my home. My network printer and network drive are installed in my office upstairs. I can access and use these devices from several computers throughout my home. As my connections with these devices are "hardwired" I do not have to worry about my wifi signal strength. My computers can also "see" each other and file share.

I hope this makes it a little clearer for you.

There are other advantages too.

brophis

It's useful for digital video streaming on your tv also as its more stable than wireless.

nicknackgtb

indie armada wrote: »

its usefull if you plan to run a network in the house instead of doing everything wireless. its a multicore cable and has many uses but in a domestic situation its really only usefull to provide broadband/ phonelines around the house.

also.......username....??????.......isdc?

Yeah that's me although beena while since isdc!! What was your name?


Thinking about setting up hard drive/ stereo and DVD player etc somewhere and thinking the cat5 gets it around the house. Is there something about using cat5 for a speaker system also in the house or better off using speaker cable? Not sure??

indie armada

nicknackgtb wrote: »

Yeah that's me although beena while since isdc!! What was your name?


Thinking about setting up hard drive/ stereo and DVD player etc somewhere and thinking the cat5 gets it around the house. Is there something about using cat5 for a speaker system also in the house or better off using speaker cable? Not sure??

jesus its ages since i was on it, cant remember my username/log on.
did a group buy for the cbs for japfest.

proper speaker cable is best for audio, its dear enough to buy and comes in 42 and 79 strand.

nicknackgtb

indie armada wrote: »

jesus its ages since i was on it, cant remember my username/log on.
did a group buy for the cbs for japfest.

proper speaker cable is best for audio, its dear enough to buy and comes in 42 and 79 strand.

Ha remember now alright!! North something!!

That's great about the sound thank you, was thinking of getting a system that could be run on an iPad, ie lights and sound etc, anyone know where does this kinda stuff at all or what systems are good for making your home a smart home?

leeomurchu

nicknackgtb wrote: »

thinking of getting a system that could be run on an iPad, ie lights and sound etc, anyone know where does this kinda stuff at all or what systems are good for making your home a smart home?

Hope you've got deep pockets

dingding

An Airport extreme from Apple could be used for streaming the sound.

2011

dingding wrote: »

An Airport extreme from Apple could be used for streaming the sound.

+1
That is exactly what I use.

sosingle

Getting my house renovated The plans say to put in TV points and cat5 points around the house. Do I need cat5 ??
I use wireless for browsing etc House will have two laptops one printer and various tablets etc.. Wont be doing anything like surround sound.

Any advice welcome so I have some idea before talking to builder and electrician

Also lighting - should I be going the led route?

DublinDilbert

Yes and no is the answer.

You don't actually need it, but it is very handy for some applications.

It all depends on what you want to do. Wifi is grand for basic Internet, but if you want to stream media or have a home network/office, hardwired Internet will always perform better.

Most people would not need cat5 in every room. But it is handy to have some available. It also depends on your broad band supplier etc.

I normally run one cat5 cable from the UPC modem up to the home office where I have 2 network printers, data storage, alarm monitoring, network switch and a few pcs.

If you don't get cat5 put in, not the end of the world, you can always use power line carrier adapters.

I guess if you have to ask "do I need Ethernet" then normally you don't, as wifi will do all you need.

56hb

Thanks DD will put some in -

paddy147

Allways run a spare Cat5e or Cat6 to each location that you are going to install it.

So if you are installing 1 cat5e/cat6 then install 2 of them to that location.




"better to be looking at it,than looking for it".

JOHNPT

Is that not an overkill and a waste of money - whats the benefit of installing 2 X Cat6 cables?

sosingle

For a light user like me would that be overkill?
and excuse the ignorance but whats the difference between 5 and 6 ? I assume 6 can deliver faster and better ? price wise difference?

paddy147

JOHNPT wrote: »

Is that not an overkill and a waste of money - whats the benefit of installing 2 X Cat6 cables?

Nope its not overkill and a waste of money.

You can convert 2 Cat5e/Cat6 cables to a HDMI lead via a Cat5e to HDMI adaptor/connection.
Various forms of multi media and streaming methods from the 1 location.

You can also have a spare cable there,incase anything should happen to your main cable.


"better to be looking at it than looking for it"

paddy147

sosingle wrote: »

For a light user like me would that be overkill?
and excuse the ignorance but whats the difference between 5 and 6 ? I assume 6 can deliver faster and better ? price wise difference?

More twists in the orange pair on Cat6 and Systimax Gigaspeed,and faster transfer speed and data handling.

Cat6 is also slighty thicker than Cat5/Cat5e



Belden,Systimax or Link are 3 very good brands