Cat5, Cat5E or Cat6?

[Foredeck]

Which one would be best for structural wiring?

From what I read, Cat6 is 1000mb/s compared to 100mb/s for both Cat5 and Cat5E.

And, what would be the cost difference between the 3.

[mango man]

depends on the situation . 5e is more than adequate for current APPS . 5 years down the road who knows ?

I would use cat5e to each location but do it in conduit so If you where to need 6 or fiber at a future date the install would be no big deal

[ekammerzelt]

Cat6 is a scam and there is absolutely no reason to install it, especially for the price difference. I gave my staff permission to punch anyone in the face that recommends it.

5e is more than sufficient for 1000mb and we run Gig to the desktop for 550 users.

The cable geeks will disagree with me, this is just my real world oppinion.

[srj96]

When is shielded structural wiring beneficial vs. no shielding?

And what is plenum rated cable... is it shielded?

[classicsat]

Sheilded wire is not beneficial in residential apps.
Plenum rated wire has a low burning insulation that can be installed in air ducting.

[srj96]

for a residential application, should solid or stranded be used?

[mango man]

for a residential application, should solid or stranded be used?
solid patch panel to jack ,stranded factory made patch cords from patch panel to switch and from jack to workstaion

[campbelljr]

Cat5e will run 10GE (That's 10 gbit) at up to 45 meters. I'd say Cat5e is the sweet spot and will keep you in good shape for many years to come...

[campbelljr]

Also, unless this is a specific audio or video application that needs a fiber transport, copper (cat5e) is sufficient for any home ethernet networking application. Don't waste your time/money on fiber. Unless distance comes in to play, in which you could use fiber. But I don't know how many homes could exceed the ~ 100meter limit of copper.