Which cables do I require?

GunRunner

GunRunner

GunRunner

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31 Jan 2007
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603
It is 6 years since I have been involved with networking and cabling and things have moved on since.

1. My current home setup is as follows:

a. Talktalk broadband connected at 20meg.
b. Netgear DG834G v4 adsl2+ modem router
c. 1 PC with Asus P5Q Pro motherboard with E8400 C2Duo and GBIT LAN . This is an occasional IL2 game server.
d. 1 PC with Gigabyte EX58-UD5 motherboard and overclocked i7 920 with 2 x GBIT LAN.
e. 2 x eConnect HomePlugs (85meg)

The PC (Item c) is in another room and connected to the router using homeplugs. As one would expect the speed when copying from one machine to another is limited by the lan speed of the router (not being Gigabit).

2. Proposed setup:

As above, + purchasing:

a. NETGEAR GS605 5-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch.
b. QNAP TS219P or QNAP TS239 NAS (not sure yet..cannot decide). With 2 x 1tb mirrored drives. This is to hold all my music and converted camcorder videos, converted to digital 35 mm slides and other photographic prints converted to digital.
c. Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000 or EVA9150.

3. All the above hardware will be configured as follows:

a. The Netgear Gigabit switch will be plugged directly into the Netgear DG834G router with the rest of the hardware being plugged into the new Gigabit switch.
b. The Netgear Entertainer is going to sit downstairs and will be connected to my Hi Fi system and 46" Sony LCD 1080p TV for me to listen to all the music and to view the video files and the photographs. I will be using a further Homeplug to transmit the data downstairs.

Just a quick question please before I waste my money :D:

I have been looking on the web for extra network cabling to link the system and was under the impression that Cat 5e was all that was needed. In fact I had never given it a thought until I noticed in several places that people had suggested you should use Cat 6 cable. So my question is do I use Cat 5e or Cat 6 Cable and will there be any difference in speed? Any suggestions would be gratefully received and also any comments on my proposed setup.
 
iaind said:
No difference - just use 5e
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Thanks! As I said, I had not given it a thought until I read this..

http://www.broadbandutopia.com/caandcaco.html

and this..

http://www.cat-5-cable-company.com/faq-cat6-v-cat5e.html

and this..

http://www.networkcablingdirectory.com/articles/structured-network-cabling-id_1151.htm

There are loads more using the google search!

I suppose if one can get Cat6 at Cat5e prices then it is a no brainer? I am only looking at 1 or 2 metre leads anyway.
 
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m4cc45 said:
http://www.broadbandutopia.com/caandcaco.html

There are lots of differences though if you are just a home user it's not really a problem.


M.
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err...thanks...I had already posted that link above if you see...thanks again anyway. Looks like Cat6 cables for me as I need new ones and as has already been stated they are more sturdy.

Has anybody any comments on the QNAP TS239 or the Netgear hub that I am going to use? Anybody got the TS239 or the gigabit hub or even the Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000 or EVA9150? If so I would like to hear from you!

Thanks
 
Conrad11 said:
He's saying that if you download a file from the internet, it won't download any faster just because you have a Gigabit LAN.
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Yes thanks! I realise I cannot download any faster...it goes without saying! I am already connected at 20meg and at 1.7km from the exchange that is good:D It is my internal lan and all the hardware on that lan that I wish to ensure is running as fast as is possible. Hence the gigabit switch and the higher spec cabling!
 
andrissoliz said:
The price difference is very small, so why risk having to change in a few years. Here is a lot more detailed answer: http://www.serverracksandcable.com/ArticleCat5eCat6DifferencesandBenefits.php
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1. Thanks for this information. I have already decided to go down the Cat6 route and need to source the following in the UK.

a. Approximately 200 feet of white cat6 cabling.
b. RJ45 Connectors.
c. The appropriate crimp tool.
d. Wall sockets and plates.

Note. I will not be using homeplugs at any stage, and will have a fully wired setup.

Does anyone know a supplier in the UK where I can get these?

Regards
 
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iaind said:
Nope, they dont but the competitor rules are a bit harsh IMO. I understand what they're getting at and I abide by the rules, but if theres any overlap in what they sell at all it would be considered a competitor
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Agreed! I have just found a site that sells an unusual coloured box!:D
 
Thanks for all the replies concerning cabling. I have now found a supplier for Cat6 and that is the route I will take for future proofing.

With regards to the NAS, I have still not made up my mind about which one to purchase be it a QNAP TS219P or QNAP TS239 NAS with 2 x 1tb mirrored drives, or a Synology Disk Station DS209+ NAS server, or even a NETGEAR ReadyNAS Duo RND2110 - Storage server. Has anyone here got any of these and what are their experiences with them? If so I would be grateful if you would let me know. It always holds true that you get what you pay for, but as a home user, arent some of these over the top?

The NAS will be used to hold all my music and converted camcorder videos converted mp4, 35 mm slides and other photographic prints converted to digital. It will eventually be linked to the new Popcorn hour C200 when it is generally available.
 
Ian_F said:
Here's a comparison of the QNAPs incase you've not come across it before.

For your current needs both are a bit OTT. Although obviously you'll have more scope for future needs the more powerful one you get.

Just a couple of points re your first post. Personally I'd get the Prosafe version of that switch, the GS105. Whilst it does cost a bit more it does come with a lifetime warranty.

And I'd go with the EVA9150 not the EVA8000.

Sorry, just one more thing, make sure you get cat6 RJ45s. The most common are the cat5/cat5e ones.

EDIT: When I said "just one more thing" I was lying. If you consider that streaming blu-ray rips peak at around the 50Mbps mark, and cat5e is rated to 1000Mbps then you've got more than enough headroom for now simply using cat5e.

By all means use cat6 for runs between a server and a switch but it seems pointless for a single "client".

Many streamers today (the EVA9150 included) only have 100Meg network interfaces in them. Even those with gigabit interfaces in them will choke WELL before they max out the network.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

I have moved on a little bit and now considering the Popcorn Hour C200 instead of the EVA****.

I had not looked at the GS105 thanks.

As far as network cabling, I am also going to put in a separate link from one tv downstairs to another upstairs for transferring sky HD (1080i) using 2 boxes from a specialist company who recommend Cat6 for the equipment. Therefore it makes sense to use the same cabling for the home network.
 
Just to make sure that I am clear to readers, the reason I am talking about Cat 6 being used on my network, is because a separate run of the cable is going to be used to send the HD signal from my Sky HD equipment downstairs to my HD TV upstairs. The interface equipment manufacturer advises that the frequency range of the cable should be from 1 to 250mhz and that is what Cat6 is. Cat5e cable is only specified up to 100mhz. Yes both will be fine for 1000Mbps.

Good information here if anyone is interested.

http://www.abccables.com/info-cat6.html

also some Cat5e patch cables can reach up to 350mhz see here..

http://www.abccables.com/networking-patch-cable.html

also cat6 patch to 550mhz....

http://www.abccables.com/networking-patch-cable-cat-6-shielded.html
 
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Ian_F

I will not go into the small details, as your setup may need different switches, extenders and the like, but here is the company that will advise you on everything.

http://ukhdmi.com/

Basically as there are only 2 of us (wife and me) in the house, and I just did not want to go to the additional expense of having another HD box upstairs on the other HD TV and paying for the extra for multi-room and HD sky plus. Rip off prices you know!

I found the above company were only 8 miles from me, so I payed them a visit and found they can supply me with boxes that go on the end of cable runs and, they also gave me the contact person at a company who supplies a lot of the kit and installs it on premises for the people who dont do DIY. See here...
http://www.tmfsolutions.co.uk/

One of the technical guys was telling me they are working on doing it all on lower standard wiring and that should be coming to fruition next year.

The only thing that the above 2 companies do not supply is the Sky magic eye box kit adaptor thingy that you would need upstairs to operate /change channels on your sky box that sits downstairs.

By the way, the solution I was looking at was to have the same signal going to both TVs, but with the one switched off downstairs because we were sitting in bed upstairs. Believe it or not, there is the ability (different hardware) to split the feeds in/out of the sky box so that you can have different channels on both TVs, however, if you do this, you will lose the ability to record on the box. Just depends on what suits your needs.

Note. The one thing you need to be aware of, is that sky does not send the 5.1 surround sound through the HDMI interface on the box, that is why the optical connection is there. You will need to consider this (the hardware solution in the form of different interface boxes can still be purchased from the first company). I dont need that because I am not interested in 5.1 upstairs. You of course may be. I think what I said is correct, but I was shown everything some time ago and as soon as I have the wiring installed (quite a way off yet) then I will just go and get the stuff from them.

If you do start a project before me, please reply on this thread, so that we can stay in touch and swap ideas.

You could do this..... if you have £399 to spare.

http://ukhdmi.com/Cablesson_InfinityHD_i90_Wireless_HDMI_QQ101729


I dont think there is any competitor stuff on those sites, but if there is overclockers, please edit it out.

I hope this helps.
 
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