House Installation - Purchasing CAT6

[Falkor]

Hi all

I’m currently installing Ethernet in a bungalow and I’m at the purchasing stage for materials. I’ve done a bit of cabling in the past but it’s just been with random lengths of CAT5 and this has only been up to 100mbps, so not a big deal regarding cable brand/type etc.

The cabling will be via drops from the loft to various network points and I have a fair bit of access everywhere up there.

I can see there is quite a bit of variation in prices for a 305M box and I’m considering the offerings below. At first sight I’m drawn to the TLC price of £105 and the cable looks OK, but as I understand it, Connectix is a known manufacturer so I might go with the £124 they are asking.

I was just wondering if you had any thoughts regarding what to avoid, look out for or suggest etc Table attached

Cheers

[pip08456]

You don't want CAT 5 as that is not capable if 1Gb at 100tms, CAT 5e is but to future proof go for CAT6 or 8 don't bother with 7. TLC would be fine.

[Falkor]

Originally Posted by pip08456

You don't want CAT 5 as that is not capable if 1Gb at 100tms, CAT 5e is but to future proof go for CAT6 or 8 don't bother with 7. TLC would be fine.

Hi Pip

Thanks for chipping in. Yes CAT6 was what I thought would do the job as all the runs aren’t super long. Regarding the CAT8, I may do a few runs of this to the TV (bandwidth hungry stuff) to give a bit of future proofing. Given what you said about the TLC, at that price it seems like the way to go unless anyone else knows of any bargains currently?

Cheers

[Ms NTL]

Consider CAT6a. Double bandwidth up to 500Mhz than CAT6.

[Falkor]

Originally Posted by Ms NTL

Consider CAT6a. Double bandwidth up to 500Mhz than CAT6.

Valid point Ms NTL, I must admit I'm still wavering. Thank for your input.

[DKenn]

Hello... I'm new here.

Forget the TLC option as it has a thinner core (e.g. conductor diameter). Ultimately, the cables itself is only limited by the surface area of the conductor core. The other major factors would be distance, power, and junction points connections.

Generally speaking, better cables are normally thicker overall.

[Falkor]

Originally Posted by DKenn

Hello... I'm new here.

Forget the TLC option as it has a thinner core (e.g. conductor diameter). Ultimately, the cables itself is only limited by the surface area of the conductor core. The other major factors would be distance, power, and junction points connections.

Generally speaking, better cables are normally thicker overall.

Thanks for that, I was considering PoE devices too so, more the merrier current handling wise. Who knows what the future holds for what devices we dangle on the LAN. I'm keeping an ear to the ground on what cable is avalable pricewise vs future proofing, but I'm not one to cut my nose off to spite my face. A year ago, here, the only viable ISP that had scope for a good speed was Virgin ££££ where I am. Today I can get 150mbps up/down for £20 odd quid a month with 3gbps available, hence the landscape changes fast... Still pondering on this : - )

[pip08456]

Originally Posted by Falkor

Thanks for that, I was considering PoE devices too so, more the merrier current handling wise. Who knows what the future holds for what devices we dangle on the LAN. I'm keeping an ear to the ground on what cable is avalable pricewise vs future proofing, but I'm not one to cut my nose off to spite my face. A year ago, here, the only viable ISP that had scope for a good speed was Virgin ££££ where I am. Today I can get 150mbps up/down for £20 odd quid a month with 3gbps available, hence the landscape changes fast... Still pondering on this : - )

Perhaps if you stated all your requiremants in the beginning you may have recieved different advice. You never mentioned PoE.

[livelysprite]

Originally Posted by Falkor

Thanks for that, I was considering PoE devices too so, more the merrier current handling wise. Who knows what the future holds for what devices we dangle on the LAN. I'm keeping an ear to the ground on what cable is avalable pricewise vs future proofing, but I'm not one to cut my nose off to spite my face. A year ago, here, the only viable ISP that had scope for a good speed was Virgin ££££ where I am. Today I can get 150mbps up/down for £20 odd quid a month with 3gbps available, hence the landscape changes fast... Still pondering on this : - )

StarTech.com 1000 ft Bulk Roll of Gray CMR Cat6 Solid UTP Riser Cable - Cat 6 Riser Cable - Cat.6 CMR Ethernet Cable - 23 AWG - Gray (WIR6CMRGR)

I bought this in 2022 for £138.43 but the price has since gone up by £100-200.

I bought it with POE in mind and it has solid copper cores. My POE cameras work fine with it.

[Falkor]

Pip

So sorry, I should have mentioned about the PoE. My original thoughts were along the lines of using just one category of cable for most of the network points and some heavier gauge for a few PoE devices, but for the right price I was hoping to use the same for both (maybe even faster stuff for where the TV/AV media net points are going to be).

Livelysprite

Thanks for the tip, I’ll take a look at that. With 23 AWG the current draw will be catered for and I’m not planning to use mad 8K IP cameras, so CAT6 seems OK for the security part.