[Insthink]

At a local computer shop, they sell the usual 1000 feet spool of cat5e cable for 60$ Canadian
then they have another spool of 1000 feet cat5 on liquidation for 50$ Canadian.

The most expensive is written 24AWG

the other one is written to be 180MB-sec




so uhh, wtf? I dont really wanna ask they cause they don't know crap I remember they told me the 5400rpm HDD was just as good as 7200rpm

[xtrmeocr]

cat5e can support gigabit normal cat5 cant.

[su root]

Originally posted by Insthink
The most expensive is written 24AWG

the other one is written to be 180MB-sec

so uhh, wtf? I dont really wanna ask they cause they don't know crap I remember they told me the 5400rpm HDD was just as good as 7200rpm

I would go for the CAT5e cable, even though it is a little more expensive.

All CAT5/CAT5e cable is 24AWG.

If they told me that a 5400RPM HDD was 'just as good as a 7200rpm', I wouldn't be going there anymore.

[Insthink]

errr sorry guys, they are both cat5e

[Super Nintendo]

then there is something more different between the too. Get more info of each for use instead of just cat5e and its 1000 feet spool

[nahmus]

Originally posted by Insthink
errr sorry guys, they are both cat5e

CAT5 wire comes in 2 different types. Plenum and non-plenum. Plenum CAT5 (it will say so on the box) is legal to run in drop celings and between floors in buildings. Its covering is different than the non-plenum and will not give off toxic fumes if its burning. This is code in most buildings in most states. Because of the different coating its more expensive. If you already have cable and you're not sure if its plenum or not, plenum cat5 has a thin "pull string" that can be seen when cutting the outside case for crimping.

Non-plenum can be run in warehouses and across floors (wall mounted) and patch cables. There is no difference in performance between the two. Also this cable does not have the "pull string".

[Ddruid_SMP]

One may be stranded and the other solid.. Stranded is good for patch cables otherwise use solid..

I wouldn't go by wether or not there is a 'string' located in the cable to determine if it is plenum or not, I have plenty of non-plenum rated cable with the string..

[nahmus]

Originally posted by Ddruid_SMP
One may be stranded and the other solid.. Stranded is good for patch cables otherwise use solid..

I wouldn't go by wether or not there is a 'string' located in the cable to determine if it is plenum or not, I have plenty of non-plenum rated cable with the string..

hmm I've not seen the string in non plenum but then again I get my cable from the same place all the time If it has to be plenumn I'd get a new box. I've seen people have to rede whole runs because they ran the wrong cable in the drop celiengs and the fire inspector actually knew the difference.

I thought that they were moving away from solid CAT5. I rememeber when i used to have to keep solid rj45 connectors along with stranded because I never knew what I was walking into!!

But i think its almost always the case that Plenum is always more expensive than non-plenum.

love this place I always learn something new....

[Ddruid_SMP]

Might just be the particular manufacturer..

I don't know about you, but I hate stranded cat5, I never can seem to get it to crimp correctly..

Plenum is almost always more expensive than non-plenum, but the prices he is looking at are not plenum prices.. $10 in difference is usually what I see when looking at stranded and solid with stranded being cheaper..

[nahmus]

I must have missed that. ya 10.00 would be the difference between solid and stranded. I've never really had a problem crimping stranded. I had my old boss buy me a nice set of crimpers from blackbox. Maybe your crimpers need a new die? (my crimpers have removable dies for RJ11 and RJ45).

I have a greybar warehouse store right around the corner and they don't usually stock solid. The only CAT5 that i usually have them order is shielded CAT5.

[Insthink]

Damn Im confused with this stranded and solid.

What's the most versatile cable for both patch and cross? I need diffrent heads for each type?

[Insthink]

Noticed the expensive one has 24WG grade wires, what's 24WG?

[nahmus]

Originally posted by Insthink
Damn Im confused with this stranded and solid.

What's the most versatile cable for both patch and cross? I need diffrent heads for each type?

No you can just buy regular RJ45 connectors. Stranded cat5 are easier to bend and loop. The solid ones tend to be stiffer. There good for long runs and warehouse runs. I don't really use solid anymore. the last 10 or so jobs have all been stranded. The only difference was that 4 were plenum (ran in office drop celieng) and the rest were warehouse runs.

[su root]

Originally posted by Insthink
Noticed the expensive one has 24WG grade wires, what's 24WG?

AWG= American Wire Guage
It's a measurement of wire size. Lower AWG = bigger wire cores.

The smaller the AWG (bigger the wire), the less resistance it yields for electricity flowing over the wire. (compared to a wire of same composition, but higher AWG(smaller wire)).

They are both the same, standard 24AWG.

[Insthink]

meh then I dont know what makes the price diffrence. Ill call them tomorow and see what they say, I guess the box was damaged or something, but it has been on liquidation for a LONG time.

[eab]

Boy, didn't know cat5 wireing was this complucated, have to go check what I have. I just picked up the bigest roll of cat5e cable at the home supply store and went with that.

[Daemonfly]

Glad to know that my 1000' of solid Cat5 was the right thing to get at the time. When I bought it a few years ago, I could never find info on solid vs stranded.