low attenuation, blah blah blah

[Master_Pain]

but anyways, I am going to run cat 6 tomorrow for my dsl line from my phone box outside to my router. I have somewhere between 100-150 feet of line between the two, so I think it would help out my internet connection some, being that I just have regular phone line running now. Should I get shielded or unshielded and is it ok to just get it at Menard's, or is their stuff crap?

Also, I need 14 feet of cable from my router to my desktop and I was just going to buy that with the tips preassembled off of newegg, are different brands better than others? And should I get shielded or unshielded?

 

[SpaceHonkey]

but anyways, I am going to run cat 6 tomorrow for my dsl line from my phone box outside to my router. I have somewhere between 100-150 feet of line between the two, so I think it would help out my internet connection some, being that I just have regular phone line running now. Should I get shielded or unshielded and is it ok to just get it at Menard's, or is their stuff crap?

Also, I need 14 feet of cable from my router to my desktop and I was just going to buy that with the tips preassembled off of newegg, are different brands better than others? And should I get shielded or unshielded?

I could be wrong, but in order for the shielding to do it's job both connections need to properly ground it. I suppose only one may be needed, but it for certain must be grounded. If you use RJ-45 connectors without metal on the outside, the shielding will be ineffective. And the devices (well maybe atleast one) must support it too.

No need to run shielded in the house. It just isn't necessary. Unless your run was 100m along a powerline.

Pre-assebled tips? I guess you don't have the crimping tool. If you build more than a couple of cables, it's worth buying one. Not certain on quality differences - you just want to make sure the pairs stay twisted as far as possible in the connector.

 

[Master_Pain]

I have a crimper for phone jacks. Just going to run cat 6 and put phone jacks on the end of it and run it instead of phone line.

As to my other question, is there any certain brand of cable that I should buy, or is cat 6, cat 6, and the manufacturer doesn't make any difference?

 

[Lugztaz]

I'v gotten my cable from menards, it's fine. I really don't think you will see any difference between cat5e and cat6 when running for phone/dsl modem.

 

[SpaceHonkey]

I'v gotten my cable from menards, it's fine. I really don't think you will see any difference between cat5e and cat6 when running for phone/dsl modem.

Probably right, but you'd need a Fluke tester to find out for sure. For the record, the tighter the twist, the more resistance to interference. Cat 6 is tighter.

 

[Lugztaz]

Probably right, but you'd need a Fluke tester to find out for sure. For the record, the tighter the twist, the more resistance to interference. Cat 6 is tighter.

Correct, but just think if he was using cat3, no twist and just like in most older homes it works fine unless it's REALLY bad and old.

 

[Master_Pain]

well, I am running either 150(might be 200, theres a lot of coil...) feet of phone line to my router right now, so I would think running cat 6 would be a definite improvement. Hopefully get my attenuation down some to stabilize my connection a bit more.

 

[Orinthical]

Shielded vs Unshielded makes little difference in most homes and since you're using this as a hearty phone line, I wouldn't worry about it. Your local home improvement store's brand is usually just fine but use solid core, not stranded. As for patch cables, since you only need one you may as well pick it up at a local store but for future reference, I'd recommend www.monoprice.com for all your cable needs. I've ordered a ton from him over the past year or so and have never been disappointed; purchased almost every cable type they carry.