New home Mixing Cat5E with Cat6?

[sswilson]

So honestly, cat6 isn't currently a benefit for consumer products (or even most business applications), and from the looks of it isn't going to be so anytime in the near future.?

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by sswilson

So honestly, cat6 isn't currently a benefit for consumer products (or even most business applications), and from the looks of it isn't going to be so anytime in the near future.?

LOL precisely. Sometimes home builders or home owners can get a good deal on a box of cat6 and use t.

[Caldezar]

Originally Posted by sswilson

So honestly, cat6 isn't currently a benefit for consumer products (or even most business applications), and from the looks of it isn't going to be so anytime in the near future.?

It's benefit, as mentioned earlier, is more in noise reduction and crosstalk reduction more than anything else. And it's usually priced almost exactly the same as CAT5e if you're shopping correctly. Although it does have it's uses. (Windows Storage Spaces JBOD arrays and data center environments that require heavy internal transfers.) Although, to be honest, any commercial application that I saw true value in heavily increased speeds, I would likely make a case for fiber instead. If reliable speed is that critical, then the extra money is worth it.

*EDIT*
To get the train back on the tracks... OP will have no issues interchanging CAT5e and CAT6 on his home network. There's no reason to return any cabling that has already been purchased. Just be aware that you're network is only as fast as it's weakest link. Providing that he has a gigabit switch/router (with a backbone capable of handling the traffic), then he's gigabit capable at home. That's a very respectable home network option.

[ZZLEE]

If you have even 6 inches of CAT 5E on your router the whole router runs at CAT 5 E.

And yes it does make a difference.

If the connected router detects CAT5E anywhere the whole switch runs at that speed. Most routers,

Run speed test CAT6 vs CAT5E.

I have tested this on my router.

ASUS RT-N16

[bastone7]

Great info people.
So it looks like I'm going to install Cat5E keystones for Cat5E wire and Cat6 ketstones for Cat6 wire.
The runs to the main floor locations are much shorter and it looks like Cat6 will be fine.

Next question

What about of type of patch panel do I need? One that's Cat6 and Cat5e compatible? Or do I need to purchase two patch panels, one for Cat6 and one for Cat5e.

I need Help!

[BlueByte]

Grab a CAT6 Panel cables2go and tripplite both make decent panels at a good price. You can mix your keystones as well... the biggest thing to look for is solid vs stranded keystone/patch panel. Get solid, I heard of one person buying stranded keystones from home depot and they had huge issues.

You will only be rated for the lowest cable grade in the chain. ie CAT 5e with CAT 6 Keystones is still only rated for CAT 5e.... wont make a difference to you, more of a just so you know.

[bastone7]

This is great in for.

SO I should purchase a patch panel that's compatible for Cat6 then which it's compatible to run Cat5E cable.

That sounds easy........

Another question

I sorta read about purchasing something that can clean the internet signal before it comes into your home.
Does anyone know the name of this product?
Is it worth purchasing?

[KaptCrunch]

SugarJ got it right your limited to hardware(wire speed)

other what type of cable using

UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) or STP cable (Shielded Twisted Pair)

STP being the best option

if cat6 is same price as cat5 I would run the cat6 to future proof

[BlueByte]

CAT6 also has cable with a solid core or not... there are a lot of different kinds. Honestly unless you live in an industrial complex just get the CAT 6 non solid core if its the same as CAT5e. You don't need shielding unless its some special use case. The solid core will be better for long runs, but in a normal house you are probably hard pressed to get 100' runs and even then thats not "long".

Because I have boxes the stuff when I ran my house I have 3 going to each room, CAT5e, CAT6 and CAT6 solid core.... there is 0 difference between them.

Originally Posted by KaptCrunch

SugarJ got it right your limited to hardware(wire speed)

other what type of cable using

UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) or STP cable (Shielded Twisted Pair)

STP being the best option

if cat6 is same price as cat5 I would run the cat6 to future proof

[enaberif]

Solid wiring vs strand wiring.. I'll go with solid any day.

I hate trying to crimp strand wiring just never works well.