CAT5a vs CAT6a vs CAT7?

[ashthekid]

Which cabling quality to use for new conversion problem and networking the whole property up. I’ve designed it so pretty much every room will have 2x CAT6a cabling run to them with 4x to main TV points where we’ll have TV, SKY, games consoles etc.

 

Is it worth the extra expense to CAT6a?

And is it as reliable as the old standard CAT5a?

 

Any tips?

[TonyT]

In 2004/5 I put in cat 6 cause I was using it on a job and it was leftover.

cat 6 has a larger bending radius so needs deeper boxes than cat 5 so that may be a consideration.

 

im not doing anything fancy computer wise, just streaming films, kids playing xboxes and general internet surfing

[Dan F]

 

1 hour ago, ashthekid said:

Is it worth the extra expense to CAT6a?

And is it as reliable as the old standard CAT5a?

 

It's not about reliability (that's more to do with where you get it from), it's about speed and what you want to use it for:

- How long are the runs?

- Do you want/need 1Gb or 10Gb?

- Will you (or might you in the future) be using it for HDBaseT?

[ashthekid]

I suppose it’s more to do with future proofing the property but within a reasonable budget. I wouldn’t go for say CAT7 as I know it’s quite expensive and for just a residential property I doubt I’ll ever need it’s potential. 
That’s why I thought CAT6a made sense and was a logical option. 
 

No crazy long runs, I suppose the most is maybe 30-40m and possibly a couple longer runs to the end of the garden where the entrance gates are going as well as the air source heat pump and electric car charging point. They may need some kind of CAT cable connection in the future. 
 

I’d like the idea of being able to do HDBaseT in the future, it makes sense to future proof for that.

 

Other than that it’s just for general use like streaming, gaming and home office working.

[gravelrash]

Why run multiple cables to each room, just use a passive switch..

[Dan F]

Just now, gravelrash said:

Why run multiple cables to each room, just use a passive switch..

- In case you want full bandwith e.g. for HDBaseT

- Insurance policy in case the the only cable you put in has a screw threw it.

- Avoid need for passive switch, given cable is relatively cheap

- PoE devices can be powered directly from central switch without local injectors or additional PoE switches.

[Dan F]

53 minutes ago, ashthekid said:

That’s why I thought CAT6a made sense and was a logical option. 

 

It is the logical option for residential property.  This is what I used and is default for most people in new builds I think.

 

But, if you want to save money CAT5e would be perfectly fine in this scenario with fairly short runs too, and and you can even get a HDBaseT approved CAT5e for 30p/m (less than half the price of CAT6a).  Just make sure you get something decent from a reputable supplier and stear clear of CCA (copper coated alumunium).  Over 300m you'd only save £120 though, which probably isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

[gravelrash]

Aint nobody running uncompressed UHD video in a household at 18Gbits/s...even 4K/8k has got a new super duper compression codec for low transmission overhead...

the thing with audiovideo technology is the capacity of coders/mathematicians (mainly BBC!) to constantly improve lossless compression enabling higher value products to customers with slow internet connections.    Ill give you the other points...