Hello all, I don't know much about cables and am getting a CAT 6A Ethernet Cable about 25', I have the Mini with the capabilities for this. Does anyone have any brand recommendations ? Thank you for your help and time.
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CAT 6A Ethernet Cable recommendation please.
- Thread starter fishingfromakay
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Doesn’t really matter honestly unless you are looking for something specific
I concur with the post above. The brand does not really matter here. Just don't buy a cheapo cable from some obscure webshop.
Just a screenshot from a random site. You can see here that the brand or price does not say much about the quality:
As said: Unless you need a cable for very specialized purposes, any normal CAT 6A cable will do.
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You don't need CAT6a for 10GBASE-T for only 25 feet. CAT6 should be fine. CAT5e likely will carry this if it's quality cable. I've read of others doing this for 30-40m.
Monoprice has been my go-to for just about any kind of cable for maybe 20 years.
"Cheapo", yes, but definitely not "some obscure webshop".
Monoprice Cat6A 1ft Blue Patch Cable, Double Shielded (S/FTP), 26AWG, 10G, Pure Bare Copper, Snagless RJ45, Fullboot Series Ethernet Cable - Monoprice.com
Save the time and hassle of building Ethernet cables by using fixed length STP Cat6A Ethernet Network Cables from Monoprice™!Features: Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Category 6A Ethernet cable26AWG
www.monoprice.com
"Cheapo", yes, but definitely not "some obscure webshop".
Cheap is not the same as 'cheapo'
. I agree completely with the Monoprice cables. They are cheap but good quality 😁
An issue with buying from Amazon is that there are cables listed with specifications that don't actually meet those specs.
That said, like @southerndoc mentioned, even CAT5e can achieve 10Gbps link speeds in short runs, so it probably doesn't really matter that much for a 25' run.
That said, like @southerndoc mentioned, even CAT5e can achieve 10Gbps link speeds in short runs, so it probably doesn't really matter that much for a 25' run.
Thank you ALL for the great info. After reading everyones post I ordered the Monoprice 6A in a lovely shade of green
@BeatCrazy I am just replacing and older cable that is past its time for connecting my Mini to a new modem.
To everyone, Thank you for our time and help
@BeatCrazy I am just replacing and older cable that is past its time for connecting my Mini to a new modem.
To everyone, Thank you for our time and help
If you're just connecting you Mac mini to your modem (router), you're not going to get >1Gbps speed, so replacing the cable shouldn't make any difference.. Unless you're in the rare situation of having multi-gig internet service.
OP:
You said "about 25 feet".
In my experience, if you think you need 25 feet -- then you'd better buy one 30 feet long, just to be sure.
I'd go with the Monoprice cable that another poster documented above...
You said "about 25 feet".
In my experience, if you think you need 25 feet -- then you'd better buy one 30 feet long, just to be sure.
I'd go with the Monoprice cable that another poster documented above...
@BeatCrazy you are probably right, thnx
@Fishrrman well I'm going to find out soon, Ill let you know if I'm short
@Fishrrman well I'm going to find out soon, Ill let you know if I'm short
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I wanted to say thank you all for your help with picking a cable. I got the cable ( Monoprice ) and thought I would post the results. I used the Att speed test for this. I did 3 test. The first group across the top with the old CAT 5 cable, "CAT 5". I replaced the cable with the CAT 6A cable and restarted the computer. Results are posted in the middle "CAT6A". I then did the same using WiFi and posted those across the bottom. Appreciate the help ![:)]( "Smile :)")
Thanks for posting this. More often than not, we never know how things work out for people asking advice.
By the results, it looks like it is pretty much a tie between what you call "CAT 5" (probably CAT5e?), and the CAT 6a. If anything, it looks like the CAT 5 performed better than the newer CAT 6a cable if you average everything.
I wouldn't expect a difference for such a short run, though.
Even CAT5e can be reliably used for 10Gbps for short runs.
I have ethernet run throughout my house. It was here when I bought it (built 5 years ago). I really have no idea what kind of cable the builders installed to be honest. The jacket is blue but I don't see any markings on it at all that would indicate what it is.
Anyway, I've got a 1 gigabit switch tying everything together, and every outlet in the house that I've tried (many I don't need/use) all get upwards of or over 900Mbit/sec, so it seems whatever cheap cable they installed is good enough for gigabit ethernet in the short runs from wall to basement network cabinet.
Anyway, I've got a 1 gigabit switch tying everything together, and every outlet in the house that I've tried (many I don't need/use) all get upwards of or over 900Mbit/sec, so it seems whatever cheap cable they installed is good enough for gigabit ethernet in the short runs from wall to basement network cabinet.
If you want a reasonably priced, reliable cable that is built and tested to specification (not all are, many are not) just get one from Blue Jeans Cables. They sell them on Amazon too.
Upgrading with Monoprice for the best cables! I would go with shielded cables because if electric interference walls! Shielded means the till fold in the cable to shield the cable from electric interference!
any chance of something concise for the first reply? respectfully?
It makes research take 10 times longer at best and impossible due to reliability of info.
we need these forums to cut through sponsors and endorsees.
from what I can gather the guy wants a ‘go-to‘ brand that doesn’t get knocked off and copied with stp and high bandwidth ‘mhz’. The latter can build up if you’re using a couple of 5g routers aggregating multiple carriers each.
The case could be made this question is more important for home users than enterprise users that find it cheaper to throw fibre at everything.
It makes research take 10 times longer at best and impossible due to reliability of info.
we need these forums to cut through sponsors and endorsees.
from what I can gather the guy wants a ‘go-to‘ brand that doesn’t get knocked off and copied with stp and high bandwidth ‘mhz’. The latter can build up if you’re using a couple of 5g routers aggregating multiple carriers each.
The case could be made this question is more important for home users than enterprise users that find it cheaper to throw fibre at everything.
Over such a short distance almost any decent quality 6a cable will offer 10gigE performance. If you want to get fancy and don't plan to move it around much you could get a solid core copper one instead of the thinner and more flexible patch cable.
monoprice/cablematters/belkin/generic it will be fine.
monoprice/cablematters/belkin/generic it will be fine.