I moved to a new apartment, I'm doing renovations and I want to immediately lay network cables in the rooms. The main goal is smooth Internet, games, streaming, sometimes working with large files. Now I'm looking at what type of cable to take - Cat5e, Cat6 or maybe something else? I don't want to overpay, but I don't want to change everything in a couple of years. The length of the routes is within 20-25 meters. What can you advise?
Posted by fada (Member # 38591) on :
Look, if you don't want to overpay, but need stable Internet for streaming and games, then Cat 5e is quite suitable. It supports up to 1 Gbps at a distance of up to 100 meters. This is what is usually called cat 5e speed . I laid one at home for myself - the speed is stable, no delays, even when used simultaneously by several devices. Of course, Cat 6 or 6a will give up to 10 Gbps, but at short distances (up to 55 m). It costs more, and you may not even notice the increase if your provider does not provide such speeds. So, if you do not plan to upgrade everything to 10G in the next couple of years, get Cat 5e - reliable and inexpensive.
Posted by Markkkk (Member # 38594) on :
I agree, choosing a cable is not as simple as it seems. I recently went through this too. It all depends on what devices and what speeds you actually use. At home, we just thought about how much equipment we have, how much we really need, and took an option with a little reserve. The main thing is to consider not only the length, but also where the cable will be located: if next to equipment or in the wall, it is better to take with protection. Expensive does not always mean better, but you should not save too much either. It is better to do it once and forget about it.
Posted by Mark John (Member # 38778) on :
For your setup, I recommend going with Cat6 cables. They provide better performance for gaming, streaming, and handling large files, especially over distances like 20-25 meters. It's worth investing in the future-proofing aspect, as technology continues to advance. By the way, while working on my renovations, I’ve enjoyed taking breaks by playing geoguessr free to explore new places virtually!
