Cat5e vs cat6

I already have my home wired up with cat5e ethernet cabling (14 lengths) and plan to add more network points as part of an upcoming build to convert a kitchen and dining room into one large kitchen-diner. I'm wondering if it's worth installing cat6 cable for the additional (up to 10) network points? It'd mean replacing my patch panel with a cat6 one and re-terminating 14 existing cat5e cables, which I'm happy to do if the existing patch panel needs to be moved a few feet, but is cat6 worth it for a home network and for the extra expense of a new patch panel?

Also, if I do go cat6 for the new cabling, will there be any issues terminating the existing cat5e in a cat6 patch panel?

Will you ever install 10Gbps ethernet kit? If not, you don't need Cat 6. However, there is no harm in laying down Cat 6 cable with your existing equipment.

Will you ever need the additional bandwidth? Most of mine here is Cat5e and all work at 1Gbps. I do have some Cat6 installed too - as it was available when I needed additional locations however that is terminated in a Cat5e patch panel and works fine.

So, you could, for a small extra cost install Cat6 to the old patch panel and leave it at that . Extra cost of a panel, time to remove, retrim reinsert and test existing ... not worth it.

In reply to a post by MHC:

Will you ever need the additional bandwidth? Most of mine here is Cat5e and all work at 1Gbps. I do have some Cat6 installed too - as it was available when I needed additional locations however that is terminated in a Cat5e patch panel and works fine.

So, you could, for a small extra cost install Cat6 to the old patch panel and leave it at that . Extra cost of a panel, time to remove, retrim reinsert and test existing ... not worth it.

Sound advice. Is cat6 that much harder to work with compared with cat 5e?

It is a little harder to work with.

Cat5e is either 24 AWG - there are some 26 AWG cables which technically are not Cat5e. Cat6 is either 23 or 24 AWG so check that your patch panel can work with 23 AWG which is the most common although with the difference being 0.51 to 0.57 mm it is a rather small difference at 0.06mm and most will cope. I have not had problems.

Cat6 has an internal separator to keep the twisted pairs apart which makes it slightly more difficult to bend and the bend radius is a little larger and that is what makes it that little but more difficult. Cat5e tends to be around 5.2mm diameter and Cat6 around 6.3mm

After some thought and a fair bit of Google research, I'm thinking that I'll stick with cat5e as it'll be a very long time before the bandwidth capability of gigabit Ethernet will be exceeded by home AV gear, broadband and the computer equipment I have around the house, and by then I'll have moved on to live elsewhere.

If I do need to cut and re-terminate the existing cat5e cables, I was thinking I might use Keystone jack modules which seem pretty easy to work with and are tool less; I guess I'd also need to invest in one of these to replace my patch panel? Maybe get an angled panel to better protect unused jacks from dust ingress?

I realise this will all cost me more but I do remember terminating all those cables at the patch panel being a major faff and the terminating posts are relatively exposed compared with the keystone jacks which are shielded, and much easier to work with. Also thinking that shielded terminations will be more reliable and better performing?

Have I missed anything?

Edited by joconnell (Wed 07-Jun-17 07:54:18)

It will be fine ... Just stay with the existing patch panel - how many millions are already installed without problem?

A few years ago I bought a 16 port switch. I bought the 100Mbps version as it was cheaper, at that time my broadband ran at about 1500Kbps . Now I wish that I had bought to 1Gbps version as I have a 1Gbps broadband connection.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

A few years ago I bought a 16 port switch. I bought the 100Mbps version as it was cheaper, at that time my broadband ran at about 1500Kbps . Now I wish that I had bought to 1Gbps version as I have a 1Gbps broadband connection.

Is your ISP HyoerOptic ?

Gigaclear. Perhaps because I signed up early, I have the original contract which allows up to nearly 1Gbps.