cheap but effective network switch

[Logicjunkie520]

So i'm looking to get a good network switch for my room to hookup all my stuff as i only have 1 cable run and i have to run a cable from the the room next to it for a second line.

i'm getting confused by these ones that are managed and unmanaged what would be the difference and be best for me

here is my specs and use's

I currently have 1Gb fiber to my home and 1 Ethernet cable run to the room(Cat 5E i know is not the proper spec for full speed but its been working but i can redo the run With 6A if needed)

My gaming pc so i don't want to inhibit its speed

old apple airport for a wifi net in this part of the house doesn't need much really only connects my phone and friends phones and a laptop or 2

Xbox one s so that wont utilize the full connection

and then my 3d printer that im hooking a raspi to for remote monitoring and control but i would like the printer and the pi both connect for redundancy

also might hook a 2nd pi up for adblocking

in the future i might be getting a small pc to act as a nas/vpn to for my network but thats down the road

Im interested in this if its a good option but i don't know much about networking so i will take all the help i can get

https://a.co/d/3K2uRLt

 

[manikyath]

if you're not looking for anything beyond gigabit speeds, just get the tp-link 8-port gigabit switch. those have served me well for a long time.

[LIGISTX]

A switch is a switch is a switch. There isn’t really a bad vs good switch. 
 

You don’t want a managed switch unless you know why you need one (vlans, special routing policy’s, etc), so get unmanaged. 
 

Tplink gigabit switches are perfect, and affordable. I have some that have been running for over a decade at this point. 

[johnt]

Yeah don't overthink it. They are really "dumb" devices. You don't need managed or POE or anything beyond $20. Get gigabit speed at least... that's the only requirement. TP-link makes functional ones, D-link makes fancy looking ones. They all work similarly. Avoid off brands from Amazon. Avoid Best Buy all together, they are all overpriced there.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Splitter-Optimization-Unmanaged-TL-SG108/dp/B00A121WN6

[voyager_]

TPLink as others have mentioned and just get the unmanaged version I have had a few of these switches running for as long as I can think of. The Cat 5e is fine and is rated for that speed, no need to rerun the cable.

[Alex Atkin UK]

19 hours ago, johnt said:

Avoid off brands from Amazon.

I've had plenty of off-brands over the years and honestly, they are no different to branded as like you said - a switch is a switch. 

 

There's only a few vendors I believe making switch silicon, so its going to be functionally the same.  The only potential gotcha with off-brand is if they are using junk capacitors (and perhaps more so the PSUs actually conforming to safety standards), but even ServeTheHome recommend off-brand names from Aliexpress, especially if you want to go 2.5Gbit rather than Gigabit.

I only started going to known brand switches when I started moving to managed switches, as once the switch starts dealing with IP, theres a small risk of malware in unknown Chinese brands.

[johnt]

2 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

I've had plenty of off-brands over the years and honestly, they are no different to branded as like you said - a switch is a switch

Agreed... the tp-link is so affordable that it's not even worth the risk