cat 5 or cat 6 for home and mixing them

[happyhero]

Hi I used to be an electrician so I have cable knowledge but not much about network cable so I have read up on it and can see that the "e" means that the cable is screened.

Seeing that cat 6 is better than cat 5 and not a great difference in cost, I am thinking always buy the best i.e. like you would with speaker cable for instance. I realise I do not need cat 6 full potential for home but then that is not the reason you buy the best, I am thinking slightly better cable will insure the maximum potential of my home system but please correct me if I am wrong as I am a bit amateur with this stuff.

It seems that mostly the systems cat5 and cat6 are conpatable i.e. all plug into each other, except I have read about the difference in the gauge of the wire so using the wrong connectors will not fit as tightly or too tightly I assume the other way round.

I think the screened may be a good idea as it may potentially get close to either power cables or aerial cables that are already run although I will try to avoid this but again correct me if I am wrong.

I thought I would go to one of my electrical wholesalers I used to use and get some cat 6e cable and some plates that fit straight on back boxes in the wall and then fit the clip in modules into them to give a neat finish with sockets ready to plug into, only problem is it seems harder to get all the stuff in cat6e cat5, cat5e and some cat6 cables and parts are available but they do not seem to stock a full range of cat6e items if any in the electrical wholesalers I tried. I know I could look elsewhere but i am more interested in what I can do so here are my questions.

Can I run cat6e everywhere and then just use cat5e modules in the sockets for instance, I mean surely the important part of achieving cat6e standard is that the cable is the right type so surely a change of a module type at the connection point wont make a great difference?

Also is it crazy of me to go for cat6e in the home or is a there a bit of benefit to doing this i.e a slight improvement and more future proof as a bonus?

I see network cables available on Ebay, apart from being conned, is cat6e cable cat6e cable or could they be cat6e cable but crappy quality?

I have noticed that nearly all the cables you get with pc equipment seems to be cat5 but I was still thinking cat6e would be good for the long runs, what do you think?

Any advice/help/info appreciated

 

[Monkeh]

I have read up on it and can see that the "e" means that the cable is screened.

No, it doesn't.

There is no such thing as cat6e.

Go somewhere like http://www.comms-express.com/ and have a look.

 

[happyhero]

Thanks for your reply and link, but I do not understand I keep seeing cat 6e. I'm still looking at your link but here is a link that shows one place that tells you about cat 6e and I found several others.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6521486_specifications-cat5_-cat6-cat6e-cables.html

I wouldn't swear on it as you have made me doubt myself but I was sure they used to use 6e where I used to work in a BT building, not that I knew what it was then, could be wrong, maybe it was only cat 6, not sure now.

Here this ad on Ebay is offering cat 6e too.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RJ45-Cat6...Domain_3&var=610047523537&hash=item48435ad2ab

 

[Monkeh]

Thanks for your reply and link, but I do not understand I keep seeing cat 6e. I'm still looking at your link but here is a link that shows one place that tells you about cat 6e and I found several others.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6521486_specifications-cat5_-cat6-cat6e-cables.html

It even mentions 6e on Wikipedia etc?????

They're wrong. Wikipedia does not mention a supposed 6e, and it does not exist. Category 6a exists, not e.

Here this ad on Ebay is offering cat 6e too.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RJ45-Cat6...Domain_3&var=610047523537&hash=item48435ad2ab

They don't know what they're selling, they just go 'oh, let's put an e on, there's cat5e so people will buy cat6e'.

 

[happyhero]

Cheers ok I took the Wikipedia link out but too late as you answered that as I found I could not get to it and I have seen some other comments like yours now.

I went looking on the net after your first reply and there are a few places saying it does not exist and may actually be 6a referred to as 6e etc. So Ok then, I accept that there is some dodgy miss-leading bits about the cables available but what about my initial questions about the best cable to use in the home?

 

[Monkeh]

Cheers ok I took the Wikipedia link out but too late as you answered that as I found I could not get to it and I have seen some other comments like yours now.

I went looking on the net after your first reply and there are a few places saying it does not exist and may actually be 6a referred to as 6e etc. So Ok then, I accept that there is some dodgy miss-leading bits about the cables available but what about my initial questions about the best cable to use in the home?

Just use cat6.

http://www.comms-express.com/products/cat6-utp-4-pair-cable-305mt-box/

Make sure to use cat6 faceplates, modules, and patch panel.

Ensure you keep to minimum bend radius specs, don't separate the pairs.

 

[happyhero]

Ok thanks but you don't worry about screened cable then, ie it isn't a problem, sorry if it is a silly question but I am a beginner with cat cables?

 

[Monkeh]

Ok thanks but you don't worry about screened cable then, ie it isn't a problem, sorry if it is a silly question but I am a beginner with cat cables?

No, you really don't need shielded cable.

 

[jcdutton]

In the home, there is really not much difference between cat 5e and cat6.
You can get 1GigEthernet with both. Cat 5e is slightly more flexible than cat6.
When I wired up my home to have network points in every room, the biggest thing to worry about was threading the cables through the walls and through joists under the floor.
Some cheap cabling out there has terribly week pvc covering, that splits easily. You need to get cabling that has good quality pvc covering.