help with buying a new ethernet lead

rhodyate

i need to buy a longer ethernet lead 10metres will be ok. ive had a look on play.com, but there are all different types of ethernet leads.the lead will go from my bt home hub to my laptop, lots on the site say there ok for hubs etc. but i would not know which is the best for what i need, any help would be great.thanks

fwor

If you're using it for 10/100Mb/s Ethernet, pretty much any lead will do Ok over 10 metres - just make sure it's not a crossover cable.

If you're running Gig Ethernet (i.e. 1000Mb/s) then you should look for one that conforms to Cat5e.

Some people like to go for established names like Belkin, but I've never noticed any problems with "no name" Ethernet cables.

DatabaseError

...or cat6

-TangleFoot-

The cheapest cable suitable for the purpose on Play.com appears to be this one, but you'd probably be better off with this slightly longer alternative with moulded* plugs, which are less easily broken.

*Apparently, those rubbery things behind the plugs are called snagless boots. Y'can buy them in bulk if you like making your own cables.

rhodyate

ok many thanks ill order the lead with moulded plugs.

tomsolomon

tonyhague wrote: »

...or cat6

Some how I dont see rhodyate using 1G+ ethernet :rolleyes:

Cricri

fwor wrote: »

just make sure it's not a crossover cable

Yup, and it should be called "patch cable".

I agree with the moulded boots, all my cables also have little ears on each side of the locking tab, so that if you pull the cable through a lot of other cables, you don't break off the tab.
You can indeed get a CAT6 instead of CAT5e cable, but unless all your hardware is Gigabit, ity won't make a difference. I still have CAT6 cables because I got them cheap on eBay