What is Cat 5 and Cat 8 wiring.

H

hayabusa

Registered User
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Folks,
Will be wiring my new build in the next few months.
My plan is to go with standard wiring throughout the house.
Sockets/alarm/lighting/thermostats/aerial for TV.
However I have heard a lot about cat 5 wiring etc etc.
What exactly is this???
I am not into gadgets, so I do not think I need this, however I would like you input before I decide ig I need it or not.

Please explain what the basic concept is??

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
AFAIK it's used to connect computers and related equipment routers/switches etc round a network. In larger buildings I think it's recommended not to run CAT 5 alongside mains wiring.

For your home I imagine it's probably not essential since wireless networking is generally enough for the average user (unless you have particularly thick concrete walls or a very spread-out series of rooms).

HTH
 
hayabusa said:
Folks,
Will be wiring my new build in the next few months.
My plan is to go with standard wiring throughout the house.
Sockets/alarm/lighting/thermostats/aerial for TV.
However I have heard a lot about cat 5 wiring etc etc.
What exactly is this???
I am not into gadgets, so I do not think I need this, however I would like you input before I decide ig I need it or not.

Please explain what the basic concept is??

Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...
I believe that one (cat 5 wiring your house) is an old scam (or at least waste of time) and the other (cat 8 wiring your house) is a new scam (or at least waste of time).

What they are from wikipedia:
"Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is a twisted pair cable type designed for high signal integrity. Many such cables are unshielded but some are shielded. Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e specification. This type of cable is often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet, and is also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services, token ring, and ATM (at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances)."

Cat 8 is the same stuff but can carry up to a gigabit (1000Mbit/s).

If you are not into gadgets, you will not need it. If you want to network your home computers, you can do it wirelessly, providing you haven't tin-foil insulated your internal walls or your house is not L shape with the wireless transmitter in one corner and the computer in the other.

There's a wireless solution you can use for most things that you might want (e.g. streaming music and films, home networks, voip phones) that is cheaper, easier to install, and doesn't leave dust-gathering sockets all round your house and have an industrial scale patch-board under the stairs.

Oh yeah, there'll be another top end standard out in a years time anyway. So if you do install cat 8, you can feel smug for about 12 months until the NBT comes along.

Roll on the flames.
(Tensions run high between those suckered with cat 5, those with cat 8 who don't yet realise they've been suckered and the wireless crowd - probably because the wireless crowd have their brains fried by ambient EM emissions!).
 
up to about five years ago you might have considered wiring your house with CAT 5 or 6 cable. Typically 1 or 2 outlets in each room going back to a wiring closet. This was to give you flexibilty for computer networking and telephone positioning.

With the availability and low cost of wireless technology I would consider an unneccessary cost these days.
 
Is wireless networking really able to deliver an equivalent speed and quality as CAT 5 or 8?

I didn't think that even Wifi Super G would have the capacity in normal operating range to stream broadcast quality video.

I agree that cabling is now probably redundant for normal use internet connectivity but if one wanted to put in a distributed home entertainment system would cabling be a better option?
 
yoganmahew said:
There's a wireless solution you can use for most things that you might want (e.g. streaming music and films, home networks, voip phones) that is cheaper, easier to install, and doesn't leave dust-gathering sockets all round your house and have an industrial scale patch-board under the stairs.

Oh yeah, there'll be another top end standard out in a years time anyway. So if you do install cat 8, you can feel smug for about 12 months until the NBT comes along.

Roll on the flames.
(Tensions run high between those suckered with cat 5, those with cat 8 who don't yet realise they've been suckered and the wireless crowd - probably because the wireless crowd have their brains fried by ambient EM emissions!).
Click to expand...

to be honest, streaming video over any wireless network is flaky at best. if you're streaming low bandwidth rubbish you've downloaded over the web it may work okay. try streaming anything of decent quality over a wireless network and see how it goes. cat5e wil run gigabit ethernet over the cable run distances for most houses, which is multiples faster than any wireless network. read an independent review for any wireless video client and see the woes people have getting them to reliably stream video.

and at a guess i'd say there have been more wireless standards in the last 10 years than wired...a/b/g/n/pre-n/every manufacturers version of pre-n

and i'm not a wired fan...i ahve both wireless and wired running in my house, however i knew enough about networking for a wired network to only cost me the price of a rooll of cable.

pros of wired.
reliable
low cost(materials)
higher speeds than wireless
greater range
handy for thing like htpcs that won't be moving
greater support among end devices

cons
needs installation
can't roam the house.
will get dated


pros of wireless
easy installation
not tied to one point.
can add clients wherever you want

cons
slower then wired
can be problematic (various different types of security)
will get dated


make up your own mind, but in fairness yoganmahew your post is pretty biased without telling all the story.
 
While the above posts contain valid points, i maintain wireless if the way to go IN THE CONTEXT set by the op.

hayabusa said:
I am not into gadgets, so I do not think I need this, however I would like you input before I decide ig I need it or not.
Click to expand...

Why should he go through the expense of wiring a complete house if he is never going to use it... Wireless can be retrofitted very easily if and when the OP needs it.

Hayabusa,
May be you could clarified what you would use your network for if you were to install one?
 
thats a fair point, if streaming audio/video/data around your house is not and will not be important, then go wireless...
 
mossym said:
make up your own mind, but in fairness yoganmahew your post is pretty biased without telling all the story.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is isn't it?

Did anyone else notice that the business of wiring your home with a 155 mbit network (and now a gigabit) started to happen after the dotcom boom collapsed? When there were a lot of network companies with miles of cable and nothing to do?

No wireless is not able to deliver equivalent quality to wired. But then, why would you want to have the same video streamed in every room? Where would you be streaming it from?

mossym, it's more than a cable required. A switch and a patch board at least is also required if you are going to wire your house (as opposed to one room).

Anyway, the OP has already stated that he is not gadget mad.
 
If you have the time and purely on a cost basis I would go with at least some some wired. From your phone point in the hall to your TV location, office space and kitchen.

Cost depends on where you buy the cable but it can be got for around €60 euro for a 100m roll.

Plates and boxes will cost you about €40 euro.

Wireless cards/access points cost about €50 euro each and it's not every user can handle wireless or more important wireless issues.

Examples of use are my heating stats are low voltage and they use only one CAT5 type cable for power and comms. My Eircom modem in the hall has wired and wireless. While wireless is fine, having the wired connection to office connects quicker on startup and is not subject to interference. The TV is connected to a D Link media streamer from the pc (not used that much) and while that has wireless it is poor when playing video from the computer so the wired connection takes care of that.
 
yoganmahew said:
Did anyone else notice that the business of wiring your home with a 155 mbit network (and now a gigabit) started to happen after the dotcom boom collapsed? When there were a lot of network companies with miles of cable and nothing to do?
Click to expand...

There has certainly been an upsurge of companies offering so-called 'smart home' wiring in the last two or three years. I think that has a lot to do with property prices of the period and the developers' need to offer some perceived added value - looks good in the brochure.
 
yoganmahew said:
Yes, it is isn't it?

Did anyone else notice that the business of wiring your home with a 155 mbit network (and now a gigabit) started to happen after the dotcom boom collapsed? When there were a lot of network companies with miles of cable and nothing to do?
Click to expand...

fair point, but i'd also say that roughly the same time came the proliferation of mp3 and pc storage of video. at the time wireless networks didn't support any straming of video, so wired was the only option.
yoganmahew said:
No wireless is not able to deliver equivalent quality to wired. But then, why would you want to have the same video streamed in every room? Where would you be streaming it from?
Click to expand...

?? what do you mean? i have all my video stored on a harddrive. clients in different rooms can stream anything they want from it, at the same time. i can have 5* dvd streams going on in the house, so each room can have different video, if i wanted. 90% of wireless network i know would cave at that load
yoganmahew said:
mossym, it's more than a cable required. A switch and a patch board at least is also required if you are going to wire your house (as opposed to one room).
Click to expand...
true, you do need a switch, although a patch board not required if you run everything directly to the switch. costs are nothing more than a wireless though. but that is a fair point
yoganmahew said:
Anyway, the OP has already stated that he is not gadget mad.
Click to expand...

aye, wireless will workfine for him..
 
Wireless is all very well - but would you choose to live next door to a mobile phone mast? If not, do you really want to have a mini system in your house. Personally I don't have a problem with it - but I just wonder in the future will evidence be found to show its not ideal - especially in the confines of a home with a baby in it etc.
 
Wireless is not all it's cracked up to be,there's serious health implications that haven't being covered by anybody.In some schools in England there actually removing wireless networks due to study that showed high radiation levels which can damage unformed childrens skulls which are especially prone to this.It all go's back to convience versus potenial health risk you decide!
 
hivas9 said:
In some schools in England there actually removing wireless networks due to study that showed high radiation levels.
Click to expand...

I believe these are being removed due to parents unfouded paranoia rather that any scientific study.
 
Folks,

Thanks for all your input on the above.
It is now clear that I do not need it.
However one thermostat control unit that I am to use, uses cat 5 cable.
I may use for this but no need for anywhere else.

Thanks again
 
I wired our new extension and rooms adjacent to the extension with Cat 5e when I was laying cable for Sat Tv as it only cost the price of the cable . Now (for reasons of broadband speed) I want to use it to connect the router to PC's , but don't even know the vocabulary .
What are the wall 'sockets' called ? , where can I buy them ?
Can I buy the 'ends' that are inserted into the router , what are they called , do I need a tool to attach the end to the cable ?
PJQ
 
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