Thoughts on using "Flat" ethernet or need for CAT 7 CAt cables

nbstl68

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My neighborhood is supposed to be getting a BIG upgrade this year from our current 2-4 Mbps DSL to 1 Gig fiber. So there is a lot of talk around what will be needed in-home to maximize the use of potentially 1,000 Mbps bandwidth.
One topic was upgrading the home's cabling or at least from the ONT to your computer, router or switch to CAT 7 Ethernet since it is spec'd to handle way more than 1 Gig. But I'm reading that CAT 6 and even CAT 5e may be more than sufficient. Additional cost aside, would using CAT 7 for even short spans be considered overkill or good future-proofing? Thoughts on that?

Also, has anyone had any experience using the "FLAT" Ethernet cables like this?
Jadaol Cat 7 Ethernt Cable

There may be situations where some people would prefer not to pay to have new cable fished and this is sometimes marketed as an option for running along baseboards and walls as a less noticeable option.
I've never known anyone to use flat Ethernet and wonder if they would meet specification and actually offer the rated throughput.
 

nbstl68

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That's it. Sorry
So 30ga is thinner...will that equate to issues? It would be more flexible I'd imagine for turns but if the thickness directly effects performance that would be a problem. I guess they have to make it thinner to keep the flat design.

I have also read a lot of bad press about getting ANY CAT cable from wholesale\box stores\internet because the standards are not controlled and it sounds like anyone can take any cable and label it as any CAT level they want even if it is not.

But if I did find a reliable CAT7 mfg would it make sense to go 7?
 

mat200

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My neighborhood is supposed to be getting a BIG upgrade this year from our current 2-4 Mbps DSL to 1 Gig fiber. So there is a lot of talk around what will be needed in-home to maximize the use of potentially 1,000 Mbps bandwidth.
One topic was upgrading the home's cabling or at least from the ONT to your computer, router or switch to CAT 7 Ethernet since it is spec'd to handle way more than 1 Gig. But I'm reading that CAT 6 and even CAT 5e may be more than sufficient. Additional cost aside, would using CAT 7 for even short spans be considered overkill or good future-proofing? Thoughts on that?

Also, has anyone had any experience using the "FLAT" Ethernet cables like this?
Jadaol Cat 7 Ethernt Cable

There may be situations where some people would prefer not to pay to have new cable fished and this is sometimes marketed as an option for running along baseboards and walls as a less noticeable option.
I've never known anyone to use flat Ethernet and wonder if they would meet specification and actually offer the rated throughput.
Hi @nbstl68

Jadaol and the like on Amazon are deceptive scammers selling crappy products. ( similar to zmodo / funlux / meshare ) They are simply another example of a deceitful vendor making claims which do not hold if you know enough about cabling.

Their products do not really properly meet cat6/7 specs imho. They use super thin wires, which are horrible for PoE applications as resistance will be high, you will have significant power loss over the cable.

This is the diameter of the wire they use:
- Conductor Gauge: 30 AWG

Compare with ( copper )
23 AWG ( 0.0226 inch thick ) = 20 mΩ/ft | 64 mΩ/meter
24 AWG ( 0.0201 inch thick ) = 25 mΩ/ft | 80 mΩ/meter

30 AWG ( 0.0100 inch thick ) = 100 mΩ/ft | 320 mΩ/meter

That is 4-5x the resistance of a properly sized cat5e/6 wiring.

ref:
American wire gauge - Wikipedia
 

mat200

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That's it. Sorry
So 30ga is thinner...will that equate to issues? ..
Yes.

There are reasons why National Electric Code requires a certain gauge wire for different levels of power - the physics of power transfer also applies to PoE. Thinner wires = bad for power transfer. ( and also data.. )

Please do search the forum for vendors which members have used to buy quality bulk cat5e/6 cable from.
 
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Mike A.

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As mat200 said, those flat cables are junk. Useful if you're travelling since they wrap down smaller but other than that pass.

Gig FIOS ran fine for me over Cat5e. I later pulled 6 just because I was running other cable to the same location anyway. No difference. But if you're going to pull new cable might as well run 6/6a. Not much difference in cost versus time/cost of running it.
 

looney2ns

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My neighborhood is supposed to be getting a BIG upgrade this year from our current 2-4 Mbps DSL to 1 Gig fiber. So there is a lot of talk around what will be needed in-home to maximize the use of potentially 1,000 Mbps bandwidth.
One topic was upgrading the home's cabling or at least from the ONT to your computer, router or switch to CAT 7 Ethernet since it is spec'd to handle way more than 1 Gig. But I'm reading that CAT 6 and even CAT 5e may be more than sufficient. Additional cost aside, would using CAT 7 for even short spans be considered overkill or good future-proofing? Thoughts on that?

Also, has anyone had any experience using the "FLAT" Ethernet cables like this?
Jadaol Cat 7 Ethernt Cable

There may be situations where some people would prefer not to pay to have new cable fished and this is sometimes marketed as an option for running along baseboards and walls as a less noticeable option.
I've never known anyone to use flat Ethernet and wonder if they would meet specification and actually offer the rated throughput.
Good choice here: Monoprice Cat6 Ethernet Bulk Cable - Solid, 550MHz, UTP, CMR, Riser Rated, Pure Bare Copper Wire, 23AWG, 1000ft, Blue - Monoprice.com
 
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