How to choose a good ethernet cable?

[richyman]

Hey, I just need to know what to look for when buying a cable, specially a long etherner cable. Thank you in advanced.

[Scatoogle]

"Quality" of cable doesn't really matter. If you are looking for good Cat 5e cables it is generally recommended you check out Monoprice. They have pretty much everything you could possible need at great prices. Why? How long of a cable are we talking about?

[DrMikeNZ]

What connection speed is required (Gigabit, 10 gigabit)?

Is the cable going to be placed in an environment with heavy EM interference, do you need shielded cables?

What length is required, do you require repeaters?

 

If you just need gigabit over <30 m, get whichever Cat 5e UTP cable is cheapest and you will be fine.

[Simon771]

Any ethernet cable can handle 1Gbps transfer speeds.

Even more probbably.

 

Just get chepeast one that you can find.

 

Unless you need it for some specific server connections ... but still, normal cables will do just fine.

[TheKDub]

16 minutes ago, richyman said:

Hey, I just need to know what to look for when buying a cable, specially a long etherner cable. Thank you in advanced.

 

Depends on how long it needs to be, the bandwidth it needs to be able to handle, and where it's going to be run.

 

I'd just go with cat5e if you need it to be cheap and are fine with gigabit, or if you want something a little nicer or need 10 gigabit, go for cat6.

[dalekphalm]

13 minutes ago, Simon771 said:

Any ethernet cable can handle 1Gbps transfer speeds.

Even more probbably.

 

Just get chepeast one that you can find.

 

Unless you need it for some specific server connections ... but still, normal cables will do just fine.

This is definitely not correct.

 

Any Ethernet Cable of the correct standard should handle GIgabit speeds without issue.

 

It's important to ensure the cable is Cat 5e or higher (Cat 6, 6a, 7, etc - also keep in mind "Cat 6e" doesn't exist, and if you see it, it's purely marketing and adheres to no industry standard). Cat 5 (not to be confused with Cat 5e) cables are designed for 100 Mbps speeds, and thus are not suitable for Gigabit speeds.

 

@richyman

For short patch cables (even up to 25-50 ft), regular UTP cable is totally fine.

 

If you need the cable run for something more specific (eg: longer distances, in wall, outside, buried, near powerlines, etc), then we'll need to know full details, since there are like a dozen different types of Ethernet Cables, such as Shielded, etc.

 

[richyman]

30 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

This is definitely not correct.

 

Any Ethernet Cable of the correct standard should handle GIgabit speeds without issue.

 

It's important to ensure the cable is Cat 5e or higher (Cat 6, 6a, 7, etc - also keep in mind "Cat 6e" doesn't exist, and if you see it, it's purely marketing and adheres to no industry standard). Cat 5 (not to be confused with Cat 5e) cables are designed for 100 Mbps speeds, and thus are not suitable for Gigabit speeds.

 

@richyman

For short patch cables (even up to 25-50 ft), regular UTP cable is totally fine.

 

If you need the cable run for something more specific (eg: longer distances, in wall, outside, buried, near powerlines, etc), then we'll need to know full details, since there are like a dozen different types of Ethernet Cables, such as Shielded, etc.

 

I need this cable to cover a large distance since the computer is far away from the router( aprox 57 ft) I would like for the cable to go along the wall and into the room where the computer is located what type of cable would you recommend?

[Revanssi]

If you can get cat 6 nearly same price go for it.

[dalekphalm]

7 hours ago, richyman said:

I need this cable to cover a large distance since the computer is far away from the router( aprox 57 ft) I would like for the cable to go along the wall and into the room where the computer is located what type of cable would you recommend?

57 ft is comparatively small for a Ethernet Cable, given that they are rated for 100m (Approximately 330 ft).

 

When you say along the wall, do you mean inside the wall, or do you mean running it along, say, the ceiling or the trim where the floor meets the wall, etc?

 

If it only needs to go through the wall briefly (eg, a straight shot to the otherside of the wall, a couple inches max), then you can generally get away with a regular standard Cat 5e UTP cable - nothing special.

 

With that in mind, I'd recommend springing for Cat 6, if the price is similar. Cat 6 has thicker shielding, and will hold up better to EMI/RF interference from powerlines in the walls, other cables, etc.

 

But for your usage scenario, Cat 5e is sufficient. Anything above that is GREAT, but only if it's at a similar price.