Newbie question about cable run through attic in Indiana

S

SoCalIP

n3wb
Sep 23, 2023
5
5
Indiana
Should I look into getting outdoor rated cable due to weather? Or will standard Cat 5e work? Should I consider running Cat 6 instead of 5? Longest run is about 80 feet so I'll get a 100 foot cable.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flintstone61 and mat200
cat5e should be sufficient, just make sure it's solid copper and not the fake stuff. cat6 will work too but is thicker so harder to work with.

I use cat5e in attic and have no issues.

I also have cat5e going outside. So when I buy a 1000' roll, I just buy the outdoor rated one to use for both environments.

P.S. If security cameras becomes an addictive hobby, better to buy a roll rather than just a 100 foot cable because you'll probably end up running more lines than you initially planned.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: fergenheimer, Flintstone61, mat200 and 5 others
Cat5e will work but it's old school and you're better off using Cat6 if you haven't bought the cable yet.

Is Cat6 really better than Cat5e?

Compared to Cat5/5e cables, Cat6 cables have stricter performance specifications and significantly higher data transfer speeds at greater distances. They are more tightly wound than Cat5 cables, and the cable conductors and cable sheath are thicker as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Flintstone61, mat200 and dmcIPCAM
I am just north of Indianapolis and have ran a mix of these two. I started with the Monoprice cable, but it was out of stock when I needed more. My last couple orders have been the Truecable cable.


www.truecable.com

Cat5e Riser Ethernet Cable｜Unshielded

Unshielded Cat5e riser cable is available at trueCABLE in bulk quantities. For great performance day in and day out, buy your supplies from trueCABLE.
www.truecable.com www.truecable.com
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
  • Like
Reactions: Flintstone61, mat200 and SoCalIP
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
  • Like
Reactions: Flintstone61
I don't know about attics in Indiana, but here in Texas you do not need outdoor rated cable for attics. Cat5e is plenty good enough for IP cams. Yes Cat6 has better specs and can run faster, but your cams will never be running at speeds that are beyond Cat5e.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CanCuba, fergenheimer, f1restarter and 5 others
If you have a cable fail inexplicably, ( like me- Varmint Cong maybe) You'be glad you have extra. You can get the direct burial in 500 ft lengths if you think 1000 ft. is over kill.
I have a 1000 ft roll, of Direct burial Cat5e and Ive used it at the Condo along side FASTCAT on triple pulls up 3 stories Behind the ye olde Galvanized Garbage Chute that runs from the roof to the Basement....
Stuff is still going strong.....


1698388598151.png
1698388642197.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: actran, mat200 and samplenhold
For all of my cams I ran cat5e external rated cable, even for internal runs. Really didn’t see the point of running cat6 at all given that the cams only run at 100mbs.

In fact you can call me old school, my entire house is cabled in cat5e as when this was done cat6 either wasn’t around, wasn’t popular or maybe just too expensive, can’t remember
 
  • Haha
Reactions: mat200 and Starglow
IAmATeaf said:
For all of my cams I ran cat5e external rated cable, even for internal runs. Really didn’t see the point of running cat6 at all given that the cams only run at 100mbs.

In fact you can call me old school, my entire house is cabled in cat5e as when this was done cat6 either wasn’t around, wasn’t popular or maybe just too expensive, can’t remember
Click to expand...

I call it future proofing your network infrastructure and to me running Cat6 is just a no brainer because it's a much better quality cable than Cat5e. I work in commercial A/V and we don't use Cat5e for anything, so everything I run is either Cat6 and up or fiber optic.

1698409285046.png
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: mat200
I agree with pretty much all the advice so far.....
  • outdoor rated is not needed for attic. The primary benefit to outdoor rated is better UV protection which isn't a factor in the attic.
  • cat5e is fine for CCTV use, but running cat6 or better isn't wrong either. I would absolutely run cat6 or better if any of these conditions apply: 1) you are pulling cable to a location where it might end up bring used for a different network device/purpose in the future 2) you will have limited access to run more wire in the future (then you should run the best wire you can) 3) the cost between cat5e and cat6 wire isn't that big.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim I., mat200, Starglow and 1 other person
The Automation Guy said:
cat5e is fine for CCTV use, but running cat6 or better isn't wrong either.
Click to expand...
Exactly.

Here we have a newbie asking the question. And others will someday see this thread. I liken this to the questions around getting a PC for BI. Most folks say get a used business machine on ebay. But many have built a high-end, high-cost machine for this use. Neither are wrong. Sure the cost of Cat6 is not that much more than Cat5e. But we have folks here that fret about a $20 difference in cams or whine about $36 yearly BI maintenance cost. So some folks may really need to be frugal in their systems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jim I., mat200, looney2ns and 1 other person
samplenhold said:
Exactly.

Here we have a newbie asking the question. And others will someday see this thread. I liken this to the questions around getting a PC for BI. Most folks say get a used business machine on ebay. But many have built a high-end, high-cost machine for this use. Neither are wrong. Sure the cost of Cat6 is not that much more than Cat5e. But we have folks here that fret about a $20 difference in cams or whine about $36 yearly BI maintenance cost. So some folks may really need to be frugal in their systems.
Click to expand...

Running cheaper and less capable LAN cable is not where you want to be frugal because it is the backbone of the entire system. If you want to have lower bandwidth capacity and higher risks for crosstalk interference to save a few bucks then run Cat5e. If you want higher bandwidth capacity with less risk of crosstalk interference and don't like the idea of having to replace all of your now inadequate Cat5e cables when technology advances beyond Cat5e 100MHz bandwidth limitations then run Cat6 and rest easy. :)
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: mat200 and samplenhold
Ford vs Chevy arguments.

Hey, if I was running ethernet cables in a home right now for anything other than an IP cam, I would go with the current technology. But if I am running cables for IP cams, Cat5e is just fine, and I would rest very easy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200 and actran
FYI - I use both cat5e and cat6 ...

cat5e when I need to run thinner cables .. or special cat6 without the thick spline .. example when running cables within thinner conduits ..

I try to use cat6 for most of the LAN ports .. and just cat5e for cameras or IoT devices ..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Starglow and samplenhold
Starglow said:
I call it future proofing your network infrastructure and to me running Cat6 is just a no brainer because it's a much better quality cable than Cat5e. I work in commercial A/V and we don't use Cat5e for anything, so everything I run is either Cat6 and up or fiber optic.

View attachment 176211
Click to expand...
If you want to future-proof your cable plant, then skip Cat6 and go straight to Cat6a. As the table above shows, both Cat5e and Cat6 will certify to carry 1000BaseT when properly installed and terminated. In fact regular ol', unshielded Cat5 will carry 1000BaseT up to 100m. None of these 3 is rated to run 10GBaseT.

Cat 6a and above are rated to run 10GBaseT.

But the typical IP Cam runs <<<<<< 10 MBit/sec, so unless this run is the backhaul for a switch that's running many cameras, it won't matter anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mat200, Flintstone61 and samplenhold
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom