Does P7P55D motherboard support Cat5e or Cat6 cables? A few other questions.

[Timekeepsonslippin]

I'm thinking of going wired from wifi, but before I buy a cable was wondering what my old motherboard supports. Do I have to find the old regular Cat5 cables, or will Cat5e work too?

I'm guessing Cat6 cables won't work based on what little I've read, but I'm not sure.

I also read that 90-100 foot cables are the limit if you want a very good signal with Cat5 cables? Not sure about Cat5e and Cat6 in that regard. I play games online and would prefer a length that limits issues as much as possible.

I've 3 options in front of me that I could buy:
1. 100 foot Cat5e
2. 50 foot Cat5e
3. 50 foot Cat6

I think 50 feet would probably work with my distance from the router.
What would be my best option in terms of signal quality/avoiding
interference when cable length is considered?

Another side question, does any standard staple gun work for installing cables?
Wouldn't want to accidentally wreck the cable. We have one but I haven't looked at it in years.

Here's the official motherboard page:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P7P55D/specifications/

I think it's the RJ45 port that needs to support the cable standard?

 

[kanewolf]

A commercial cat5e or better (cat6, cat6a, etc) will all work the same at 50 foot distance. At 300 ft there might be a difference, but there shouldn't be.
Your computer won't know the difference between a cat5e and a cat6 cable.

A standard staple gun is not appropriate for installing ethernet cable unless you have a special nose piece to keep from crushing the cable. This type cable holder is much better -- https://www.amazon.com/10Pcs-Coax-Cat5-Cable-Clips/dp/B0183KEXDS You can't crush the cable.

 

[Timekeepsonslippin]

[Edit: looks like I got an answer at the same time as I made this 2nd post.]

Looks like this guy had the same motherboard and was able to use a Cat5e cable:
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/could-my-motherboard-really-limit-my-internet-speed.18533910/

I might just go with the 50ft Cat5e unless someone tells me Cat6 will work too.
It's only a $6 price difference so either one would be fine in that sense.

 

[kanewolf]

Both commercially made cat6 and cat5e will work the same. You can buy which ever is cheaper with no difference in performance.

 

[Timekeepsonslippin]

So my 8 or so year old motherboard will in fact support Cat6 cables, it's all backwards compatible?
I just don't want to end up having to wait for shipping twice and pay for another cable so I'm making extra sure.

I read that the Cat5 standard (maybe not Cat5e though) can suffer from interference above 90-100 feet.
Sounds like this might not be an issue for Cat5e and Cat6 though, only Cat5?

I suppose there's no point in "future proofing" by getting the Cat6 cable is there?
It'll probably be quite a few years before I need the speeds it supports I imagine.
By then there might be new/better cable standards, and I can save the $6 by getting the Cat5e.

My cable connection is 150Mbps down and 15Mbps up I believe.

Thank you for the cable holder recommendation btw, and the rest of your help.

 

[boju]

Your mobo supports gigabit speeds which is needed if you want to receive your full isp service. The ancient Megabit nics much much older than your pc topped out at 12MB/s, the old 10/100. Your mobo is 10/100/1000 gigabit nic which over lan if you transferred between two pcs both with SSDs you see into the 100+MB/s range.

5/5e/6 can all handle gigabit using all 8 of the wires, your isp bandwidth is the bottleneck. The cable length and interference do vary, 5 isn't as well shielded but is still twisted pair to eliminate some interference. 5e and so on do better at shielding long as you not running along power cables you'll be fine with even 5.

Cat cables maximum length is upto 100meters, your aim for 100feet / 30 meters is well below max and will be fine with length.

Id go for 5e or 6, either one. Wires in 6 are a little thicker gauge wire which should handle 10gigabit speeds but all depends if you'll make use of it and hardware required like motherboard network nics, switches/routers and storage devices to handle the throughput.

 

[Timekeepsonslippin]

Thank you both for your help, I feel like I've peace of mind to make the purchase now.

I think that since kanewolf came first, provided several answers and turned out to be correct, I should probably pick one of their answers as the solution?

It was boju's comment that helped me feel like I got enough information to make a decision, I'm a little torn on who's answer I should pick.

I'll decide at some point soon who's answer to pick as the solution.

 

[boju]

Glad to help.

All good no pressure, i wont be upset if you pick kanewolf

 

[Timekeepsonslippin]

Oh looks like I was mixing up feet with meters all along for the max Cat5/5e/6 cable length? Whoopsie.
Thank you both.

 

[boju]

Hehe correct. 328foot there abouts is max but wouldn't trust the idea of signal strength at that distance without some sort of powered repeater