What networking cable to get 1

[Stefaan100]

Was just looking to buy 50 Feet of cable to connect my computer to my router and got somewhat confused as to what cable I should get?

Should I get cat 5 or cat 5E or cat 6 cables? What is the difference between them?

And what is the difference between a straight through cable or a crossover cable?

Thanks

 

[johnodq]

Most cables in use now are CAT5E, CAT5E will work on CAT5 fine, CAT6 is new and not required for most installations.

To connect your PC to a Router you would use a straight-thru CAT5E cable.

A Crossover cable is normally used to connect 2 networking devices together, but most new devices do the crossover internally.

I know people are going to say the thats not 100% true, but this isn't a networking course just a quick reply to a question.


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[jpger]

Cat5 or Cat5e will suffice for the connecting your router to your PC. The main difference between 5 and 5e is the maximum transmission speed of Cat5 is 100 Mbps, while Cat5e is 1 Gbps. Cat6 is used for Gigabit Ethernet, but unless your router is capable of transmitting that fast, you won't need Cat6.

Straight-thru cables are used for the majority of your network cabling needs. Instances where you would use a crossover cable include connecting 2 PCs together through their network cards (Direct Cable Connection or DCC) or connecting routers to hubs.

Hope this helps you out.

Jpger