Ethernet Cable Help

[N64CUBE]

Okay, so I am going to switch from a wireless connection for my PC to a wired one, and I need help. I already did the measurements, I need a 150 ft cable. So, my two questions are, which CAT type should I use, (ie 5, 5e, 6, 7, etc...), and should I go shielded or unshielded. And yes, I need a 150 ft cable because I'm not allowed to drill a hole through the downstairs office to my computer, which is in my room upstairs, so no, I can't get a shorter cable. I wish I could. Thanks in advance!

[SleathX1]

I'm pretty sure most people run just Cat 5e, but I'm no IT guy, so don't take my word for it. I'm using monoprice Cat 5e and I get absolutely no slowdown in network speed. (50-55 down, 8-10 up)

[W-L]

Okay, so I am going to switch from a wireless connection for my PC to a wired one, and I need help. I already did the measurements, I need a 150 ft cable. So, my two questions are, which CAT type should I use, (ie 5, 5e, 6, 7, etc...), and should I go shielded of unshielded. And yes, I need a 150 ft cable because I'm not allowed to drill a hole through the downstairs office to my computer, which is in my room upstairs, so no, I can't get a shorter cable. I wish I could. Thanks in advance!

 

CAT 5e should be good since it's within it's 100m (328ft) limit for gigabit connections.

[Sn4tchBandicoot]

Okay, so I am going to switch from a wireless connection for my PC to a wired one, and I need help. I already did the measurements, I need a 150 ft cable. So, my two questions are, which CAT type should I use, (ie 5, 5e, 6, 7, etc...), and should I go shielded of unshielded. And yes, I need a 150 ft cable because I'm not allowed to drill a hole through the downstairs office to my computer, which is in my room upstairs, so no, I can't get a shorter cable. I wish I could. Thanks in advance!

The standards for Cat 5e and Cat 6 call for a maximum run length of 90 meters or 295 feet. While you may make a longer run and get it to work, this is not recommended.

[Leonard]

It really depends on your internet speed and type but a random CAT6 cable would be fine too. I Use CAT7 just because it was cheap when i purchased it and it seems to be faster than a CAT5. If you have Internet like Googles Fiber then a CAT7 for sure but if you have like 60mbps down then a CAT 6 will do nicely.

[thekeemo]

I use powerline and it is AWESOME

and jsut regular cat 5 is fine 

[N64CUBE]

I use powerline and it is AWESOME

and jsut regular cat 5 is fine 

I heard powerline is slower than wireless

[thekeemo]

I heard powerline is slower than wireless

nope unless you have AC and there arent many walls in between. I get 116% of the speed I pay for on powerline (I pay for 25 im getting 29)

[JefferyD90]

I heard powerline is slower than wireless

Truth, especially with current day wireless technology.

[JefferyD90]

nope unless you have AC and there arent many walls in between. I get 116% of the speed I pay for on powerline (I pay for 25 im getting 29)

You have no idea how dumb you just sounded.  Your ISP's internet speed has no, I REPEAT NO, impact on your local networks speed.

[thekeemo]

You have no idea how dumb you just sounded.  Your ISP's internet speed has no, I REPEAT NO, impact on your local networks speed.

ok I may have not said it clearly. I meant it didnt bottleneck my network speed sto the outside world which has much more impact on me.

[JefferyD90]

ok I may have not said it clearly. I meant it didnt bottleneck my network speed sto the outside world which has much more impact on me.

The whole point of a fast local network isn't so you can transfer at the same speeds as your ISP.  Your LAN should be lightning fast compared to your ISP.  Power line adapters simply don't offer that.  Wired connections are obviously the best option with current wireless options being damn near close.  Powerline is quite literally a jump away from Wireless AC.

[beavo451]

Get a cat 5e or 6 cable. Whichever one is cheaper/more convent for you to get.

 

Unshielded unless you are going to run it alongside a bunch of other wires or power lines.

 

Specified max length is 100 meters, not 90 meters. 

[Brenz]

Truth, especially with current day wireless technology.

 

That really depends on the distance and any obstructions.

 

I'm unable to connect to my routers wifi from my room but powerline allows me to use my internet connection to its full potential and stream HD video around my whole network.

 

Poweline will never beat a physical cable but against wifi its a much better option at longer distances

[Redportal]

Cat 5/e should be more than enough for any residential line. (Unless you intend to transfer from server > pc on a local network etc..)

 

If you have a number of bandwidth heavy devices I would suggest Cat 6 which is only slightly more expensive and would future proof your connection.

 

As for shielded cable, you always want this. If you go for un-shielded and place the wire near light or power outlets, it can result in interference and therefore  a lower quality connection.

[MeDownYou]

I go with cat 6a now, because it doesn't cost a lot more and is 1000mb standard.

 

Literally you pay for the extra few bucks and bam unless you get over 1gbit connection you'll be set. 

[beavo451]

Cat 5/e should be more than enough for any residential line. (Unless you intend to transfer from server > pc on a local network etc..)

If you have a number of bandwidth heavy devices I would suggest Cat 6 which is only slightly more expensive and would future proof your connection.

As for shielded cable, you always want this. If you go for un-shielded and place the wire near light or power outlets, it can result in interference and therefore a lower quality connection.

Lol. The vast majority of networks use unshielded cables. UTP is already fairly resistant to interference.

Future proof? He's buying a long patch cable. It's not going in the wall.

Forgot to add: Shielded cabling requires proper grounding. There isn't enough interference in residential applications to warrant the effort and expense of shielded cabling.

[Goose Legs]

You can use CAT5e (DO NOT use standard CAT5) but at this point I would go for CAT6 or CAT6a since the price difference is usually minimal and they are shielded better. Over longer runs, copper wire tends to have the characteristics of an antenna, so the extra shielding will prevent signalling interference.

 

Monoprice, Cable Matters, and Mediabridge are what I tend to use (in no specific order) and have all been excellent.

[KirbyTech]

You can use Cat5e but I would say go for Cat6 or Cat7. I am also not sure where you would find such a long cable.

[Redportal]

Lol. The vast majority of networks use unshielded cables. UTP is already fairly resistant to interference.

Future proof? He's buying a long patch cable. It's not going in the wall.

Forgot to add: Shielded cabling requires proper grounding. There isn't enough interference in residential applications to warrant the effort and expense of shielded cabling.

I guess I always assume to much  , I host around 4 rack servers and loads of network enabled devices from my address. It's important that I have a stable connection at all times, this is why I use fast Cat6 Shielded cables.

[dalekphalm]

Okay, so I am going to switch from a wireless connection for my PC to a wired one, and I need help. I already did the measurements, I need a 150 ft cable. So, my two questions are, which CAT type should I use, (ie 5, 5e, 6, 7, etc...), and should I go shielded or unshielded. And yes, I need a 150 ft cable because I'm not allowed to drill a hole through the downstairs office to my computer, which is in my room upstairs, so no, I can't get a shorter cable. I wish I could. Thanks in advance!

Short answer: For 150 Feet, it literally does not matter. (Note: Except Cat5. Never use Cat5. It's outdated and doesn't support Gigabit.)

 

The maximum cable runs for Cat5e all the way to Cat6a or Cat7, are 100 meters (approximately 330 feet). You're less than half of the maximum cable run.

 

In your case, you could use pretty much any variation of Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a, or Cat7. All support Gigabit over the distances you're running, and you shouldn't need to worry about shielding. Although, shielding and Solid Core are both useful for longer runs, so it wouldn't hurt.

 

(Please remember that Cat6e doesn't exist, and if someone is trying to sell it to you, it's not a real standard, so you have no idea what you're getting)

[dalekphalm]

It really depends on your internet speed and type but a random CAT6 cable would be fine too. I Use CAT7 just because it was cheap when i purchased it and it seems to be faster than a CAT5. If you have Internet like Googles Fiber then a CAT7 for sure but if you have like 60mbps down then a CAT 6 will do nicely.

Cat5 is limited to 100 Mbps (Gigabit is 1000 Mbps), so under no circumstances should anyone ever use Cat5 today. Also, the spec difference between Cat6 and Cat7 is almost negligible - Both are rated for Gigabit on 100 meter runs, and 10Gigabit for 55 meter runs (possibly longer). Though I would suggest Cat6a over Cat6, if price is similar. You will likely see no speed difference at all between Cat6 and Cat7.

 

I heard powerline is slower than wireless

It can be. Entirely dependent on the quality and age of your internal electrical wiring in the building. It also depends on the strength of your Wifi signal, amount of obstacles, etc.

 

nope unless you have AC and there arent many walls in between. I get 116% of the speed I pay for on powerline (I pay for 25 im getting 29)

See above - Powerline can DEFINITELY be slower than Wireless AC or even Wireless N. It simply depends on many factors. In ideal conditions for both, Wireless AC is straight up faster though, since Powerline rarely goes faster than 500 Mbps theoretical top speeds, and most have 100 Mbps ethernet jacks on them anyway.