Cat6 or Cat5

Cameraguy

Cameraguy

Known around here
Feb 15, 2017
1,505
1,160
Is everyone using cat6 cable for camera runs nowadays or are some of you guys still using cat5? Solid copper obviously for Poe. Gonna buy a 1000ft soon.. I know it's only like a $50 difference so probably just go with cat6. Just wanna hear some feedback
 
Cameraguy:

Cat 6:
- stiffer, a consideration if you're pulling through a long or multi-turn conduit run.
- a tad trickier for crimping on an RJ45
- a wee bit more expensive
- 1Gb bandwidth cat 6 is overkill for ip cams

Cat 5e:
- flexible, crimping is a bit easier, etc.
- but the minor advantages dictate you keep things in perspective, to weigh pros and cons.

Consider:
1) Today's ip cams don't need 1Gb (cat6). But down the road, might the higher b/w have benefits?
2) Some folks add more cams later. And to avoid pulling more runs of cable, they use a 4 to 1 splitter. Excellent review here by legendary nayr:
1 to 4 PoE Extender
Using an extender on a Cat 6 cable MAY be better-able to handle 4 cams on one cable, especially multiple 8Mp cams....
3) When I pulled cat 5 many years ago during my home remodel, cat 5e was just coming out. Back then home networking was 10Mb. Times change. Technology advances exponentially faster every decade. Using cat6 seems prudent, from a future-proof perspective.

Me?
- I'd pull cat6, to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.
- I've learned the biggest investment (in labor) is pulling cable. Install good cable.
- Cams can and will be upgraded over time. Trivial compared to upgrading your already-pulled cable! And pull an extra cable on every run!

My two cents: Spend the $50

Fastb
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mike, TonyR, SouthernYankee and 2 others
Fastb said:
Cameraguy:

Cat 6:
- stiffer, a consideration if you're pulling through a long or multi-turn conduit run.
- a tad trickier for crimping on an RJ45
- a wee bit more expensive
- 1Gb bandwidth cat 6 is overkill for ip cams

Cat 5e:
- flexible, crimping is a bit easier, etc.
- but the minor advantages dictate you keep things in perspective, to weigh pros and cons.

Consider:
1) Today's ip cams don't need 1Gb (cat6). But down the road, might the higher b/w have benefits?
2) Some folks add more cams later. And to avoid pulling more runs of cable, they use a 4 to 1 splitter. Excellent review here by legendary nayr:
1 to 4 PoE Extender
Using an extender on a Cat 6 cable MAY be better-able to handle 4 cams on one cable, especially multiple 8Mp cams....
3) When I pulled cat 5 many years ago during my home remodel, cat 5e was just coming out. Back then home networking was 10Mb. Times change. Technology advances exponentially faster every decade. Using cat6 seems prudent, from a future-proof perspective.

Me?
- I'd pull cat6, to avoid being penny wise and pound foolish.
- I've learned the biggest investment (in labor) is pulling cable. Install good cable.
- Cams can and will be upgraded over time. Trivial compared to upgrading your already-pulled cable! And pull an extra cable on every run!

My two cents: Spend the $50

Fastb
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking.. I'll check out that splitter thanks
 
Always use the latest tech, yeah a few bucks extra but look at it this way, your cabling is the heart, soul and backbone of your system. Do it right and it will take care of you. Last thing you want is crawling around your attic chasing a bad cable or plug. Draw a schematic of your home with every outlet/device, plan your wire runs, straight as possible, no kinks, no 90's (if you can help) keep wire above attic floor which keeps cabling away from power issues. Never use staples :banghead: Design your wire pulls to tie onto and pull new wire in the future. I have two feeds to every outlet/device, all terminate to a patch panel rack in my home office closet. I cut the wifi cord when I fired Xfinity :winktongue: ....well...except for cell phone data use, I just couldn't find a cable long enough :rofl:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cameraguy
weigle2 said:
Cat5e no question, for cameras. Especially for outside runs that are not in conduit or just unprotected. Even a lot of the POE+ switches only have 10/100 ports, so why bother with Cat6. I will be long gone before Cat6/Gb interface Cams become the norm.
Click to expand...
Interesting point.. cat5e easier to fish and terminate. I guess either way the cameras will work fine. Just have to stick with solid copper
 
weigle2 said:
Cat5e no question, for cameras. Especially for outside runs that are not in conduit or just unprotected. Even a lot of the POE+ switches only have 10/100 ports, so why bother with Cat6. I will be long gone before Cat6/Gb interface Cams become the norm.
Click to expand...

honestly, i already bought direct bury outdoor cat6 (1000ft of it) and i'm just going to use it for the backbone stuff between switches. i was planning to run it outdoor to the 5 or 6 cameras (yet to be installed), but after working with it for a few connections it is so much stiffer and a PITA to make connections on while up in the air on a ladder. it literally bends the connectors in the switch because it is so rigid. (this is not as much of an issue on a straight connection to the flexible pigtail on the camera)

I'm just going to use outdoor rated 5e that is 30% thinner and much easier to work with. if i need to replace it in 10-15 years so be it. also note that if you are putting these in a conduit, as others have said, cat6 will be a lot harder to pull and the significant increase in diameter will translate to significantly larger conduit. for example six cat6 cables (my cable @7.5mm OD) need a 1.25" ID conduit which has an outer diameter of 1.66". thats a pretty significant and sightly conduit, junction box, and hole in your walls.

i am not concerned one bit about bandwidth ever being an issue, all my runs are <100ft and they way things are going with compression algos, bandwidth will not be growing exponentially.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: eagerbob, Kevin_Essiambre and Cameraguy
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
I went with Cat6 on my install as I've run it alongside rewiring (or rather correctly & neatly wiring :) ) my home network

I went for a 16-port gigabit ethernet POE switch (8 port normal, 8 ports POE) linking not just the CCTV camera's & Blue Iris PC but also my regular desktop PC, smart TV, satellite TV box, ISP router, media server, etc... etc ...

The Cat6 is noticeably stiffer than Cat5e but not problematically so. I got outdoor grade, waterproof & UV rated as the camera runs are secured of the outside of my home. No issues with crimping on connectors, just a bit stiff when feeding it into the back of my patch panel

I went with solid copper core Cat6 so that as long as I do a proper job it is more than capable of running anything data-intensive that may arise in the future
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cameraguy
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom