DIY Running Cat 6 Cables on a new house

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#1075557 27-Jun-2014 14:57

305M Dynamix CAT6 from cables direct is ~$220 inc gst. That's probably better than you'll get from any electrical place. I think?

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mdooher

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#1075559 27-Jun-2014 14:57

Some may disagree on my next point...but if you are thinking 1Gb/s is fast enough you could always just use cat 5e...I know its only rated to 200Mb or whatever but if you run it properly, don't kink it and terminate it properly it will easily handle 1Gb/s up to its max run length of 100m.

I have done this in quite a few cases as to be honest its mostly only the government contracts that specify Cat 6

This is a decision for you, but it will save you quite a bit of money and is far easier to run and terminate. I would however still use cat 6 RJ45s and patch panels.

Matthew

mcraenz

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#1075562 27-Jun-2014 15:01

CAT5e is Fine for 1Gbps. CAT6 will do 10Gbps on the length of runs you find in most houses. For the small amount of saving I wouldn't run CAT5e.

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MattR

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#1075567 27-Jun-2014 15:05

mdooher: Some may disagree on my next point...but if you are thinking 1Gb/s is fast enough you could always just use cat 5e...I know its only rated to 200Mb or whatever but if you run it properly, don't kink it and terminate it properly it will easily handle 1Gb/s up to its max run length of 100m

You mean 200MHz, which is perfectly fine for gigabit, as 1000base-T runs at 125MHz.

Jaxson

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#1075568 27-Jun-2014 15:05

mdooher: (I normally end up with "General Cable" brand) I watched it getting made in CHCH a few years ago...very interesting

Yep lots of wholesalers offer that brand, it's generally quite well regarded.

Chorus guy used LS Cable Cat 6, UTP-G-C6G-E1VN-M, which is apparently the new name of LG Cable.

mdooher

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#1075570 27-Jun-2014 15:06

mcraenz: CAT5e is Fine for 1Gbps. CAT6 will do 10Gbps on the length of runs you find in most houses. For the small amount of saving I wouldn't run CAT5e.

Ha, he is building a new house, by the time he's finished he will be wondering how he is going to afford to drive the car to mitre 10 :)

Matthew

mdooher

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#1075571 27-Jun-2014 15:08

MattR:
mdooher: Some may disagree on my next point...but if you are thinking 1Gb/s is fast enough you could always just use cat 5e...I know its only rated to 200Mb or whatever but if you run it properly, don't kink it and terminate it properly it will easily handle 1Gb/s up to its max run length of 100m

You mean 200MHz, which is perfectly fine for gigabit, as 1000base-T runs at 125MHz.

dead right I did mean that

Matthew

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nickb800

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#1075574 27-Jun-2014 15:16

mdooher: Some may disagree on my next point...but if you are thinking 1Gb/s is fast enough you could always just use cat 5e...I know its only rated to 200Mb or whatever but if you run it properly, don't kink it and terminate it properly it will easily handle 1Gb/s up to its max run length of 100m.

I have done this in quite a few cases as to be honest its mostly only the government contracts that specify Cat 6

This is a decision for you, but it will save you quite a bit of money and is far easier to run and terminate. I would however still use cat 6 RJ45s and patch panels.

I agree with you - I did this in my structured cabling in a new build. Cheaper cable, outlets and patch panel. Easier to handle, run and terminate.

IF 10g is the future consumer standard, how many consumer devices are going to have 10G interfaces, given the shift to wireless and mobile devices? Perhaps wireless access points and set top boxes linking back to a switch/fiber router. If that need does arrive then you use the Cat5e as a draw wire.

dolsen

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#1075575 27-Jun-2014 15:16

I used this cheap stuff in my house. 2x 305M cat6e cable for $169.00.

Unfortunately, I don't have any equipment to test the bandwidth of the cable however, it seems fine for what I use it for. No issues with Gigabit Ethernet that I've seen. Probably not as good as the more expensive cables, but, it's not like it's copper clad aluminium or anything like that.

mdooher

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#1075577 27-Jun-2014 15:24

isis: Hi,
Update - have picked up a nice cabinet for an awesome price.
Now sourcing cables - does anyone know if i should be using solid or stranded cat 6? online research is a mix!

cheers

Some more advice...Buy a basic cable tester and test each one as your terminate the patch panel, trust me re-terminating a cable that has the two on either side already done is not easy.

Matthew

Jaxson

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#1075597 27-Jun-2014 15:28

nickb800: Easier to handle, run and terminate.

Could you elaborate a bit on that please?

I'm likely to be doing this soon for a family member and thoughts and experiences on the physical install of Cat 5e vs 6 would be appreciated.

nickb800

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#1075624 27-Jun-2014 15:51

Jaxson:
nickb800: Easier to handle, run and terminate.

Could you elaborate a bit on that please?

I'm likely to be doing this soon for a family member and thoughts and experiences on the physical install of Cat 5e vs 6 would be appreciated.

Cat6 is stiffer and thicker, and has a plastic core that needs to be cut when terminating. I just find cat5e easier all round

MattR

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Master Geek

#1075645 27-Jun-2014 16:08

dolsen: I used this cheap stuff in my house. 2x 305M cat6e cable for $169.00

Cat6e doesn't exist. It's a made up term by people selling dodgy cable.

Cat5e is good for gigabit.
Cat6 is good for gigabit.
Cat6A is good for 10gig.

Cat6 can do 10gig only if your cable is short enough and you're very very good at installing it.

chevrolux

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#1075650 27-Jun-2014 16:30

PoHq: It's a days work in my opinion and 3 to 5k is way to much. As I say just my opinion.

It's a day's work to run the cables provided the house is of a 'standard' nature.

1-2 days to terminate depending on work quality.

All the parts. A decent installer wont buy chinese faceplates and will use PDL so that's $15 per faceplate for starters. Around $10 for a RJ45 module.

Cabinet, patch panel, jumper bars etc.

I would say $3k easy.

dolsen

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#1075695 27-Jun-2014 17:56

MattR:
dolsen: I used this cheap stuff in my house. 2x 305M cat6e cable for $169.00

Cat6e doesn't exist. It's a made up term by people selling dodgy cable.

Yes, I agree.
Having said that, for $95 for 305M, $169 for two boxes, I'm happy with the quality of this cable and it doesn't seem dodgy to me.
The cable does have the centre divider and the cables do seem thicker than the cat5e I also have (it's 23awg so it should be).

I'd really like to know if it really is rated to 500Mhz as stated.

Here's some info about the connections currently in use. The maximum length of the cable runs is probably only about 30M.

and

Note - port 24 is my input from the router to the switch and doesn't go through the structured cable. I think I will swap that patch lead based on the errors.

When I set up my network I used cheap cat 6 keystone jacks from trademe (5 for < $10) along with pdl adapters & faceplates from electrical direct as this seemed to be the cheapest.

As far as the difference between the difficulty of terminating cat 6 and cat 5e - for your own home I don't really think there's any reason not to use cat6 over cat 5e. Yes, you might have a little bit of extra work to do (cutting the centre separator), however, it's not like you are doing this day in day out. You can afford a bit more time to get this right - just my opinion.

Disclaimer - I do not have any assoiation with the person running the auction, just a satisfied customer. I was a bit worried that the price seemed too cheap, however, I haven't had any issues with the cable and have recommended it to others.

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