Network cable from NewEgg

[pc_noob]

I need to hook up two computers in this house using a router, but need an extra cable (long) to hook up my computer to the network, so I've looked at NewEgg and found this cable to suit my needs:

50 Ft. Cat. 5e Patch Cable, 350 Mhz for $7.99

My questions; is this the right cable for the home networking? Should I get the 500MHz one instead? How come this cable goes for up to $50 in Circuit City last time I checked? Could it be that this isn't the right cable?

Thanks,

[mbossman2]

$8 cable is good enough.

thought about wireless? more flexible, especially of you are going to grow.

[mark70]

I purchased one of these cables, its either 75 or 100 ft. long can't remember but it works like a charm. I actually spent a couple extra dollars and got the cat 6 version because i was concerned about the distance i had to strech it -don't think i really had to worry though. You should be fine!

[james8547]

Personally, I got the cat6 550mhz white 50ft cable. It has 50 micron gold plating for $8.99 plus shipping. Works like a charm. $1+ more for a better quality. Check:

http://www.cat5ecableguy.com/cat655patcab.html

I also bought a 15ft cat6 from the same site for my other PC. I get an average of 3.25mbps speed according to McAfee speedometer; as long as the other PC is not d/ling. I get 1mbps if both are uploading/dling something. I have a cable connection.

[pc_noob]

Yes we have, but went through so much trouble already going with cable that we decided to go with it after all. Although I was curious; can wireless be just as fast and reliable as cable?

[pc_noob]

Originally posted by james8547 Personally, I got the cat6 550mhz white 50ft cable. It has 50 micron gold plating for $8.99 plus shipping. Works like a charm. $1+ more for a better quality. Check: http://www.cat5ecableguy.com/cat655patcab.html I also bought a 15ft cat6 from the same site for my other PC. I get an average of 3.25mbps speed according to McAfee speedometer; as long as the other PC is not d/ling. I get 1mbps if both are uploading/dling something. I have a cable connection.

Thanks for the tip but I already ordered the cable I specified above.

[Byte 2.0]

A wired Network is going to be faster then wireless at this point in time.

I forget the speed of 802.11a
but 802.11B is like 11, 5.5 2 or 1 depending on distance
802.11G is like 54 mbit starting
while wired is either 100 or 10 depending.
right now my computers in my home are wired on 100
but I have 2 remote systems on wireless that are 10 mbit in one room and the other is faster away in my work building gets 1 mbit.

[glc]

Wired will be faster than wireless for local file/print sharing but you will never notice the difference with Internet connections unless you have a HUGE pipe.

[Byte 2.0]

Just to give another example

Most of your High Speed internet connections are about 1 to 3 mbits or 1000kbps to 3000kbps.
a 10 BaseT can handle both of those speeds just fine.

But if your entire network is on 10 BaseT you would notice the speed difference transfering files from PC to PC.

Wireless 802.11B falls in the 10 Base T area.

looking at the 100 on the 10/100 nics. I know I can get from PC to PC about 5 Megs a seconds where as the 10BaseT performs about 1 Meg a second. I don't have all this cruched into kbps the 802.11G falls about half way between 10BaseT and 100, at 54mbit.

I am using Cat 5 cable at home. Right now My longest cable is maybe 10 feet, but I am going to run about 30 foot of CAT 5 to another room, but planning for the future if the cost is not the concern get cat 6 and be ready for the future.

[R7044]

In Schools and Commercial Buildings they run CAT5 hundreds of feet from the switch to the user. I think stringing it around a house will not cause any problems as long as it is installed properly. It is pretty solid stuff.
I have it routed through 4 levels of my house, connecting 7 PCs and 2 network printers. I've never had any problems yet.

[azscary]

You should be fine with the cable you ordered. Schools, commercial buildings, etc. do have long runs on their cables, however depending on the type of network they have, there is a physical length barrier of 328 feet unless they have a bus network on coax cable.

[mbossman2]

Cat 5 ethernet spec allows for runs up to 100m, some people can get it to go farther than that, but 100m is the comfort level. based on that, unless you have a monsterously huge house, cat5 should be sufficient.

I see you wireless question has been answered. For a home network, where bandwidth utilization probably never goes above 3-5%, the difference you will see on a wired or wireless network will not really affect you unless you are moving large files around.

802.11a is 54mbps at 5gHz radio frequency.

[azscary]

Most wireless equipment has a range of 50 to 75 feet line of site so does not usually work well in a multi story environment.

100 meters = 328 feet

[gunrunnerjohn]

FWIW, I have three different wireless routers here, one installed, and two more in the closet. I would rate wireless as convenient, but not nearly as fast or as reliable as wired connections, that's just the way it is. I like it for the convenience, but when it has to work, and run at full speed, I pull a wire to connect it.

[glc]

I've run CAT5 longer than 100 meters by using a cheap hub in the run as a repeater. That's how we got Ethernet out into a huge warehouse.

[gunrunnerjohn]

I have discovered that after about three or four hops with hubs/switches, I sometimes run into throughput issues on the LAN. Never tracked it down, but I avoid stacking them more than two deep nowadays.