Which cable should I use for 100Base-Tx?

joe7dust · 06-11-2009, 01:36 AM

I'm sure the answer is right here but I am apparently too sleepy to find it after 10 minutes of reading excruciating details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair

My guess is 5e but I'll probably just get 6 or 6a for the noise reduction features. More just curious than anything, price difference between 100ft of 6a or 6 is only like 4$.

Another thing that confuses me and I couldn't find a clear Google answer on, is what does 250MHz cable vs. 500 MHz cable really mean? I know 500 MHz can hold more data per second since it is higher frequency, but how does this relate to anything useful in terms of bits per second or which networking standards need which?

johnwill · 06-11-2009, 09:28 AM

Well, if you have gigabit or slower, anything from CAT5e up will work fine. If you plan on stringing the cables in an electrically noisy environment, or running them a really long distance (200-300 feet), I'd consider CAT6.

I bought a 1000 feet of CAT5e, and I've never run across an installation that it didn't work fine for.

06-11-2009, 01:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
joe7dust Registered User Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 83 OS: xp sp3	Which cable should I use for 100Base-Tx? I'm sure the answer is right here but I am apparently too sleepy to find it after 10 minutes of reading excruciating details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_over_twisted_pair My guess is 5e but I'll probably just get 6 or 6a for the noise reduction features. More just curious than anything, price difference between 100ft of 6a or 6 is only like 4$. Another thing that confuses me and I couldn't find a clear Google answer on, is what does 250MHz cable vs. 500 MHz cable really mean? I know 500 MHz can hold more data per second since it is higher frequency, but how does this relate to anything useful in terms of bits per second or which networking standards need which? __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] Again, from the top!

06-11-2009, 09:28 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,078 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Which cable should I use for 100Base-Tx? Well, if you have gigabit or slower, anything from CAT5e up will work fine. If you plan on stringing the cables in an electrically noisy environment, or running them a really long distance (200-300 feet), I'd consider CAT6. I bought a 1000 feet of CAT5e, and I've never run across an installation that it didn't work fine for. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience