Guides/Choosing a cable
Choosing the
right cable.
Five questions, in the order that actually decides it.
Bulk or terminated?
It is decided by the route and by the length you need, not by the network.
Bulk
Arrives on a reel with no connectors, so you cut each lead to the length the route really needs. Also what you want where a moulded connector will not fit through the opening.
Needs a crimping tool and connectors, and the seven steps in the Installation Guide.
Terminated
Router to console, switch to computer, a run along a skirting board. Ready to plug in, no tools — that is the terminated range.
Which category?
Start from the equipment you actually have. The category cannot make a connection faster than the line coming into the building, or faster than the ports at each end.
| If your connection is | Look at |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 Gbps — most home fibre and cable | Cat 5e or Cat 6 |
| 1 Gbps, with headroom for a busier network | Cat 6 |
| Above 1 Gbps, or a multi-gigabit switch | Cat 7 |
Buying a higher category to fix a slow connection. If the line into the building gives 600 Mbps, no cable makes it faster — a better cable only stops being the limit.
Where the category does earn its price is distance and headroom. The distances are compared in Speed and Performance.
How long?
Measure the route the cable will really take, not the straight line across the room — round corners, along the skirting, behind furniture — and add a margin. A cable pulled taut is a cable that will fail at a connector eventually.
The ceiling is 100 metres, and it applies to the whole path between the two devices. In a home you are nowhere near it; the reason to measure is neatness and slack, not the limit.
Sixteen lengths in all, drawn on two scales so the short ones stay readable. Between 25 and 100 metres both forms exist, and that is where the decision is actually made: a terminated cable saves you the tools, a reel gives you the exact metre.
Pre-made cables come in fixed lengths, so a 12-metre route means buying 15 and coiling three behind the furniture. Bulk cable and a crimping tool give you the exact length instead, which is usually why people move to a reel.
Which conductor?
Two metals are used in network cable, and the difference is worth understanding before you compare two prices.
Solid copper
The lowest resistance. What the cabling standards specify, and what any application that also carries power over the cable calls for.
Copper-clad aluminium
An aluminium core with a copper skin: lighter, more economical, and about 55 % higher in resistance. Carries data at gigabit rates over the distances found in a home.
Neither is a defect — they are different products at different prices. What matters is knowing which one you are buying, so the conductor of every Mr. Tronic range is stated on its product listing.
Which jacket?
The jacket decides where the cable can live, not how fast it goes.
PVC
The standard indoor jacket.
Polyethylene
Used on our outdoor range, for UV and moisture.
Flat
A low-profile jacket that follows a skirting board or a door frame. See the flat range.