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flat vs round RJ45 cable

Hi,

this might be a dumb question, but I will ask it just to be sure.

I am considering buying an ethernet cable for my home network (haven't decided cat6 or cat7) 

I was looking it prices on ebay and it seems the flat cables are considerably cheaper than then the round ones.

I am looking to buy about 15-20m of cable.

I am going to run the cable through the wall. 

 

My questions are:

1. Is there a difference between the flat or rounded cables if they are the same cat?

(saw different forms where some said could cause problems)

2. Is one cable weaker then the other physically?

3. Is the price difference because of the physical size it takes or is there a different reason?

4. Is there a technique to run flat cables on walls?  

Thanks in advance to anyone who will answer

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1. no

2. depends on the build quailty of each

3. again depends on quality of each

4. its a bitch

 

 

 

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I thought the cables were rounded because the wires inside were twisted which reduced interference from the other wires, doesn't a flat cable defeat that?

.

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Hi,

this might be a dumb question, but I will ask it just to be sure.

I am considering buying an ethernet cable for my home network (haven't decided cat6 or cat7) 

I was looking it prices on ebay and it seems the flat cables are considerably cheaper than then the round ones.

I am looking to buy about 15-20m of cable.

I am going to run the cable through the wall. 

 

My questions are:

1. Is there a difference between the flat or rounded cables if they are the same cat?

(saw different forms where some said could cause problems)

2. Is one cable weaker then the other physically?

3. Is the price difference because of the physical size it takes or is there a different reason?

4. Is there a technique to run flat cables on walls?  

Thanks in advance to anyone who will answer

 

1. No.

2. It really depends on the quality of the cable, if one uses cheap materials and another uses expensive materials, the cheap one will probably be weaker.

3. Quality of parts.

4. Ehh... probably could staple them down or something. (Using staples wider than the cable so you don't stab it ofc)

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- Both flat and round can be each cat

- Generally a round will be stronger, but it differs from brand to brand

- People charge whatever the hell they want for Ethernet, there's no real standard price.

- It's a lot easier to go wrong with flat. Use rounded cables and those nail-in hooks.

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I thought the cables were rounded because the wires inside were twisted which reduced interference from the other wires, doesn't a flat cable defeat that?

 

I'm pretty sure that the flat cables still have twisted pairs, but the entire thing isn't twisted, which probably means that they are more susceptible to interference.

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I thought the cables were rounded because the wires inside were twisted which reduced interference from the other wires, doesn't a flat cable defeat that?

Well, they're all next to each other anyway. It can affect it with Cat6 and 7 though, as they have a cross section to keep the twisted pairs separate, flat cables probably don't have that. 

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I'm pretty sure that the flat cables still have twisted pairs, but the entire thing isn't twisted, which probably means that they are more susceptible to interference.

#fibre

 

 

 

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Flat is weaker, get cat 6 and the round cable for easiest wire management. I believe Cat 6 support 10 Gigabit, If you want 10 Gigabit for sure get Cat 7. Be sure to get good connections as poor connections can cripple the speed. The speed goes down by a factor of 10.

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1. No.

2. It really depends on the quality of the cable, if one uses cheap materials and another uses expensive materials, the cheap one will probably be weaker.

3. Quality of parts.

4. Ehh... probably could staple them down or something. (Using staples wider than the cable so you don't stab it ofc)

 

1. no

2. depends on the build quailty of each

3. again depends on quality of each

4. its a bitch

 

1. no

2. depends on the build quailty of each

3. again depends on quality of each

4. its a bitch

 

let's say between these two cables 

link1

link 2

the difference is about twice the price between rounded and flat but is there a difference in quality (how do I detect the difference)? 

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let's say between these two cables 

link1

link 2

the difference is about twice the price between rounded and flat but is there a difference in quality (how do I detect the difference)? 

Well first off what your showing here are patch cables not what you run thru the wall (not that you cant do it but the ends ar going to be your night-mare to deal with). Run your cable then fit on your own connectors.

 

Go buy something like this; (these are examples, buy what fits your need as these are bulk purchase)

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Stranded-Ethernet-Cable-Shielded/dp/B008OYNX3K - flat

http://www.amazon.com/Sunnytech-1000ft-S-STP-10GBase-T-Certified/dp/B00712TLM8 - round

 

*edit 

As for flat vs round it doesn't matter as long its a good quality and they are properly shielded the brands I use in the example are decent brands to use.

You can tell quality by the type of shielding is used and how much. Look at this;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twisted_pair 

Scroll down to the part it talks about the shielding and read it. Use this as a quality guide of sorts.

Edited by SansVarnic

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As others have said the quality depends on the quality and little else. But as a general rule of thumb I'd only buy flat stuff if it's something I want to maybe carry around with me. Or for something that's going over a desk, under a carpet or something. It's easier to carry and just generally nicer. For through the walls? Rounded cables all the way. They're less fragile and it's much easier to permanently fix them. Also generally they're cheaper for the same quality.

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