Need some help with Cat 6

[Synergy]

I am running some Cat 6 for my home network and HT setup. I see the patch cables I bought from Fry's are 24 awg cat 6, the bulk cat 6 I got from HD is 23 awg. Does this matter?

Fry's stuff:
type cm 24 awg 4pr 75c (ul) e151955-a csa ll79189 cmg elt verified tia/eia-568-b 2-1 cat 6 utp 550mhz cable master

Home Despot:
comtran corp (04-22285) 23 awg cmr c(ul)us - etl verified to ansi/tia-368-c.2-1 category 6

[NoNOS67]

No problem at all. Any reason you chose CAT6 over 5 or 5e?

[SouperMan]

Not really, how long of a run are you trying to do?

[Synergy]

No problem at all. Any reason you chose CAT6 over 5 or 5e?

Tim Allen syndrome...More POWER! Its gigibit, I figured why not? Plus I plan to run HDMI over the cat 6 with some baluns for a 2nd zone.

Not really, how long of a run are you trying to do?

At most 50' Yes I know most things are WiFi capable, I just tend to prefer faster hard wire. I have a raised foundation and large attic to work from. Running cable is not that hard.

[jmlivingston]

You can run Gig just fine over Cat5e, I wouldn't go to Cat6 or greater until 10GbaseT is out and chances are you won't need that kind of speed on a home network for years. You can also run HDMI with baluns over Cat5e, though I've never done so.

[Synergy]

You can run Gig just fine over Cat5e, I wouldn't go to Cat6 or greater until 10GbaseT is out and chances are you won't need that kind of speed on a home network for years. You can also run HDMI with baluns over Cat5e, though I've never done so.

Thanks for the info. Why are some RJ-45 jacks marked Cat 5 and some Cat 6? Are they not the same?

[Akers]

Thanks for the info. Why are some RJ-45 jacks marked Cat 5 and some Cat 6? Are they not the same?

They do the same thing, but have different transmissions performance...however you will not see a difference for in home use with just a few systems. If your running it through the walls with rj-45 wall plates, run cat6, but honestly not much difference. And if you need a few cables let me know. I have about 500 left over from a data center move.

[SouperMan]

I agree, sometimes a hardwired line is far better than wireless one. Had to dig up my old networking book for this:

Cat6 = 10 Gigabit
Cat5e = 1 Gigabit
Cat5 = 10/100 Mbps

Make sure that when you do a punchdown to the wall plate that the cable twist remains twisted if at all possible up into the jack. Settle on a standard (T568B) and make sure you stay consistent on both ends of termination. It will save you a lot of frustration. Get a simple network cable tester to make sure the cables are wired up correctly.

[Synergy]

I have a tester and so far my test work has came out good. I only strip just enough the organize and trim the wire. My test samples are 568A, Nothing has been punched down or built yet.

[JDay]

Tim Allen syndrome...More POWER! Its gigibit, I figured why not?

Cat 5 and Cat 5e are both rated for gigabit ethernet, they're easier to route too since they're not as stiff.

[Paindoc]

And remember, just one tight bend around a corner turns expensive CAT6 back into CAT5e or even CAT5.