Ethernet Switch Recommendations?

[RhinoBW]

Hey guys,

I was recently gifted a Steam Link and Steam controller ... which, by the way, I love. My man cave is in the basement and, fortunately, my entertainment center is in close proximity to my office/gaming rig/router .. the Steam Link works far better directly wired in to the router (no surprise there). As of now, I have a 50ft Ethernet cable strung from the router, in the office, to the entertainment center; I do need a cable that is a bit longer, that I will then hide under the baseboard.

In my entertainment center sits the Steam Link along with my Wii U, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Roku, and an internet capable receiver (eight devices requiring eight ports). These work well with Wireless-N; but, as we know, nothing beats a direct connection. I figure that if I am going to string an Ethernet cable to the Steam Link then I may as well connect that to a switch and directly connect all of these devices. I am not so sure that I need a managed switch, but I am also not certain on what features I do need for my uses. None of these devices would be running simultaneously.

I was hoping for some recommendations. My current choices are narrowed down to, but not limited to:

• 
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A121WN6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_2&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
  
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EVGIYG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
  
  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QUA6RA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
  
  http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-Unmanaged-Gigabit-GREENnet-TEG-S82g/dp/B00C2H0YFU

Also, would there be any benefit in me running a 50ft+ long cat6 cable over cat5e? Would there be benefit in replacing any cat5e cables on the shorter run to my computer, or to the modem? Would I benefit from using 3ft long cat6 cables from the switch to my devices, over cat5e?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[coreydwillis2]

I have the 16-port version of that TRENDnet switch and it has worked great for LAN parties. As far as Cat5e vs Cat6, I think the big thing is that Cat6 supports 10Gbit, which none of those switches have. You could future proof if you bought Cat6 though.

 

[kanewolf]

8 port unmanaged switches are all basically the same. The TP-Link with the metal case may run cooler than the plastic case versions. It may come down to a decision of whether you WANT to see the LEDs or not...

A 50 or 100 ft cable of cat5e vs cat6 will make no difference in performance at gigabit speeds or below.

 

[RhinoBW]

Thanks guys.

Corey, which of the two TRENDnet switches do you own?

Kane, that is a good point on the metal casing ... As for the LEDs, I am really torn on the idea of having lights on the unit. I can see the benefit in it, but my theater setup is already riddled in lights from all of the consoles idle/active lighting, two subwoofers active lights, the cable box, and the receiver. On a side note, you should see the rats nest of cable behind this thing and now I plan to add even more with Ethernet cables (haha)!

I did read a note on the sale page for the TRENDnet S82g in which someone had said the S80g is identical in every way other than a memory (?) buffer and a new, cheaper chipset (bringing the cost of the unit down, slightly). I also read from one person who owned both of those units and claimed the S80g provided better speeds. I am not sure what to make of it.

Lastly, and I could be wrong about this, but I believe the only switch in my list with QoS is the metallic TP-LINK. Should this even be a selling point for my uses?

 

[coreydwillis2]

Thanks guys.

Corey, which of the two TRENDnet switches do you own?

Kane, that is a good point on the metal casing ... As for the LEDs, I am really torn on the idea of having lights on the unit. I can see the benefit in it, but my theater setup is already riddled in lights from all of the consoles idle/active lighting, two subwoofers active lights, the cable box, and the receiver. On a side note, you should see the rats nest of cable behind this thing and now I plan to add even more with Ethernet cables (haha)!

I did read a note on the sale page for the TRENDnet S82g in which someone had said the S80g is identical in every way other than a memory (?) buffer and a new, cheaper chipset (bringing the cost of the unit down, slightly). I also read from one person who owned both of those units and claimed the S80g provided better speeds. I am not sure what to make of it.

Lastly, and I could be wrong about this, but I believe the only switch in my list with QoS is the metallic TP-LINK. Should this even be a selling point for my uses?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044GJ516/ref=twister_B00TGU260C?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bill001g]

I have not dug into the specs but I strongly suspect all the switches are wirespeed switches. This means every port can send 1g and receive 1g all at the same time. Most switches state backbone speeds and you want 2x the number of ports in gig.

What this means is the switch does not delay the traffic so no switch will be faster.

You should never need QoS in a switch unless you have a poor design. Pretty much in a home network it would be that you had multiple ports sending data to a end machine and exceeded the 1g capacity of the port and need QoS to decide what to drop. QoS does not make the traffic run faster it just decided when there is a bottleneck what to discard.