Ethernet Cable

[thenry]

anyoe know of any decent ethernet cables? I've ordered a new one from virgin, they said it should be here next week. i've had my one for about 5years now, thinks its about time i changed it, its condition doesn't look the best. are the ones virgin giving out any good or are there better out there which are at a reasonable price?

[Peter_]

You can get ethernet cables from Tesco and ASDA for under £3, the cable sent out will be of similar quality, even some pound stores sell them.

If you really want to you can go to PC World and be charged a very silly price.

[thenry]

i don't like pc world mate, i only allow myself to be raped by gov/tax which i have to allow. is there any online, decent ones about? i don't have a clue whats good and not, tesco, asda, i'd rather use the one virgins going to send out.

[Peter_]

The supermarket ones are fine but you can get some good deals at Screwfix such as a 10mtr lead for £4.99 click HERE (http://www.screwfix.com/cats/A331844/Electrical-Supplies/Data-Networking/Patch-Leads)

[thenry]

nice1, thanks mate

im not going to be foolish enough to buy this but i came across this when googling :nono::eek::spin::shocking:

http://apcmag.com/denon_creates_500_ethernetcableforsuckers.htm

[Peter_]

Denon says it all, any cable should be ok for your connection.

[jamiefrost]

No what you really need is this

http://hometheaterreview.com/wireworlds-new-1000-hdmi-cable-delivers-on-performance-promise-of-new-hd-sources/


$1000 HDMI cable. guaranteed to improve performance :rofl:

I'm sure someone will buy one.

But really as with all digital cables as long as it doesn't fall apart as you plug it in pretty much any cable will do. Cheaper the better

JJ

[Tech_Boy]

I normally get my patch cables from poundland, if I need a longer one, I make it to the required length.

[pip08456]

anyoe know of any decent ethernet cables? I've ordered a new one from virgin, they said it should be here next week. i've had my one for about 5years now, thinks its about time i changed it, its condition doesn't look the best. are the ones virgin giving out any good or are there better out there which are at a reasonable price?

Old adagee

"If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it!"

[BloodyL]

In response to the strangely on-yet-off-topic matter of overpriced cables:

YouTube - EEVblog #29 - Audiophile Audiophoolery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7ERMu825m4)

[thenry]

thats true pip08456, it is still working but the connectors are abit loose, the wiring must be abit worn out by now so i thought getting a new one wouldn't hurt and as i just had a new modem installed i would of though virgin would of replaced everything, power cable, ethernet the lot but all he done was swap the modem, pops back in the power lead and ethernet and off he went, didn't even give me a manual/box nothing. i called virgin anyway, they said they would send me out a new one :)

[pip08456]

thats true pip08456, it is still working but the connectors are abit loose, the wiring must be abit worn out by now so i thought getting a new one wouldn't hurt and as i just had a new modem installed i would of though virgin would of replaced everything, power cable, ethernet the lot but all he done was swap the modem, pops back in the power lead and ethernet and off he went, didn't even give me a manual/box nothing. i called virgin anyway, they said they would send me out a new one :)

So why go and buy one? Just wait for the replacement. BTW there is no manual supplied with the modem and a new power supply won't make any difference, it just means the engineer has a spare now if he receives a call where the power is at fault.

[thenry]

just a random question mate, i thought there was a better ethernet cable out there but it seems like all are pretty much the same.

[Peter_]

just a random question mate, i thought there was a better ethernet cable out there but it seems like all are pretty much the same.
You can pay more but virtually any ethernet cable will do on a standard connection, why pay more.;)

[Stuart]

just a random question mate, i thought there was a better ethernet cable out there but it seems like all are pretty much the same.

There are different "categories" of cable that are rated for different speeds of data transfer.

Cat. 5 can handle up to 100 MBps (which is still more than your connection to the internet).

Cat. 5e and 6 can hande 1GBps (1000MBps) which is as much as most network hardware can handle.

It's also worth remembering that data (unlike audio or video) has to be recieved as near to perfectly as possible. TCP/IP (the method of transmitting data of the Internet) specifies that data that is incorrect must be re-transmitted but to keep the speed up, re-transmissions must be kept to a minimum.

With Audio/video, you can actually lose a fair amount of the data before the average person notices the change.

It's worth noting that cheap ethernet cables can do those things as well as more expensive cables. The fact they are used for data means that the reliable transmission *has* to be there.

it's also worth noting that there are a *lot* of companies willing to capitalise on the fact that a lot of people want to buy hardware (particularly home cinema systems), but have little or no knowledge of it.