Cat-6 Ethernet Cable

[Snake Doctor]

I am making another attempt to clean up the wiring behind the scenes, one of the things I want to do is replace a 10 -12 foot network (Patch) cable that is going from one unit to another a distance of about 2-3 feet. My house is wired with Cat-5 does anyone one know if the Cat-6 is backward compatible?

A lot of the Cat-6 cables are flat, but I doubt if that matters. I could go with Cat-5, but I believe if you replace something it should be replaced with something better.

 

[Flint]

Yes, it is backwards compatible. Cat-6 has much higher tolerances on the insulation, twist-rate, leakage, and other such critical properties to ensure the ability to deliver high bandwidth for data with less noise and other issues.

Cat-8 cable will start showing up on the shelves in a year, but it is overkill for simple data applications as the main changes are associated with the future need to provide high power over the cable in addition to data.

 

[Snake Doctor]

Thank you Flint.

 

[Towen7]

If you've got money with nothing better to do with then go with cat6. At that distance there will be no performance improvement unless your speeds are over a gig.

It won't hurt. It just won't help.

 

[Snake Doctor]

If you've got money with nothing better to do with then go with cat6. At that distance there will be no performance improvement unless your speeds are over a gig.

It won't hurt. It just won't help.

Actually, the Cat-6 cables I am looking at on Amazon do not cost any more then the Cat-5 and they have very high reviews. When I looked at Blue Jeans (where I buy most of my cable) they wanted a little under $15 for a 3 foot cable. I understand they have what I consider to be a superior product, but I can get 5 Cat-6 for around $10.00. Guess which I am going with and I bet I could never tell the deference.

 

[Flint]

Really, CAT-5e is better than any home user will need over the next few years.

If you were installing permanent cables in the walls, I would spend more on the spool of CAT-6 or even wait for CAT-8. which will support powering larger devices plugged in to the network. But for pre-terminated patch cables, get CAT-5e and have fun, unless there is literally no price difference.

 

[Snake Doctor]

Really, CAT-5e is better than any home user will need over the next few years.

If you were installing permanent cables in the walls, I would spend more on the spool of CAT-6 or even wait for CAT-8. which will support powering larger devices plugged in to the network. But for pre-terminated patch cables, get CAT-5e and have fun, unless there is literally no price difference.

I agree, if I was going to rewire the house I would get CAT-6 from Blue Jeans,that is where I got the CAT-5, but for a two foot run, I will go with the price point.