Are CAT5e and CAT6 cables interchangeable

kevhed72

I have to run one of these behind walls / in attic for Netflix streaming and internet connections.

Does it just make more sense to run CAT6 while I am at it? The cost difference is negligible...

mantis

Yes they are , here is the deal.
1) Internet usage- most people have under 100m per second. Most websites don't even come close to being able to send or receive data that fast. Cat 5e cable can do 1000m per second.
2) Pier to Pier meaning a home network , sharing files from multiple computers , printing over IP , Shared Hard drive for storage , gaming or what have you all run under 1000m peer second. Most can survive on a 10-100 network without any slow downs or restrictions.

Cat 5e cabling is the ideal cable for runs up to 330 feet full bandwidth. Cat6 cabling can do the same exact thing. It's a thicker gauge wire , harder to terminate with no benefits of todays and tomorrows technology for many years to come.

So save yourself the time effort and money and buy good quality cat5e cable. Forget about cat6

CoolJazz

I'd agree that the typical usage today is not normally all that high. But I'd never bother to go to the effort of getting wire into walls, crawl spaces and attics, without getting the best thing available.

Who knows when you'll want to position a hub a different place or when a streaming app comes along that wants greater throughput. What if the next gen of Direct TV receiver can convert from coax to TP at the entry point and route to multiple receivers that way. You name it...you know it's going to want faster and faster!

If throwing a jumper wire along the wall in-room, then it doesn't matter so much. But when something is costing money and you're going to significant effort, then I'd do the best you can find! As you pointed out, the cost differences aren't all that great.

The higher speed cabling, to get better uniformity, kind of molds together the wires for lack of better term, and you do have to pull them apart a bit while terminating. But I didn't find it to be much of a deal...it's all a pain to do (!!) and if just doing a few runs, it wouldn't push me much one way or the other.

I built a house now about 10 years ago and did a couple thousand feet of the best Belden MediaTwist they had at the time. And while it might not be spec'd to the newest standard, if it was tested it might well meet it too. The types have changed a bit, and no longer made versions wouldn't be tested for newer emerging standards. I've never regretted the slight extra expense. It's run to every jack, even the ones intended to be regular phone lines and I know I future proofed as well as could be done! I couldn't really get to it to change it now if I wanted to!

BTW...the wire isn't the only thing needed for faster spec, it's also the jacks and the quality of the effort on the termination.

CJ