Ethernet Cable Question

Hi, i dont know if this should go here but its for networking.

my school says its recommended i bring an ethernet cable Cat5 with RJ45 connector for the dorm

my question is on newegg, there are some ethernet cables like the belkin one that says RJ45 in the name. But there are those generic ones that is Cat5 too but it doesnt say anywhere about RJ45 (<-- i dont know what that is) so i was wondering is it basically the same ?
and i see that there are Cat6 cables (i see that they are faster? with liek 500mhz than cat5 with 350mhz, i was wondering if those would work for the dorm as well

thx

 

I'm not sure as to which cable you need, but I can assure you that whichever cable you get, the dorm internet is fast enough for you to not really have to worry. Most campus computer bandwidth is REALLY HIGH, so you can like download FEAR, the game in like 20 mins, and its 2.7 GB.

 

You'll need an RJ-45 to hook-up to the network I'm sure,cat5/cat6 will do just fine in either case.The RJ-45 is the end of the cable,looks like a standard telephone jack.

 

Actually, RJ-45 does not look like a standard telephone jack, and won't fit into a phone jack. You're thinking about the RJ-11 connector.

Izint, you can go to any department store (Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, etc), go to the computer section, and buy a LAN patch cable for a few bucks.

 

Just trying to give a visual reference,notice I said looks, not is.

 

the two jacks are very similar in appearance same shape, look, etc. the diff is the number of wires in em. the RJ-11 is smaller and is for phone, and the RJ-45 is basically its big brother. they look really similar, but the RJ-45 has more wires in it, and is about twice the size or so.

Cat5e and Cat6 both use the RJ-45, so whichever cable you have you are ok. do you have cable at home? or subscribe to cable? if so, go to the local cable company's office and tell em, " my cat 5 cable for my modem isnt working, can i have another?" usually they will run back and get you one for free. i know we used to when i worked for the company. we used to keep hundreds in our trucks at any time so we had plenty for internet installs.

ev

 

the number of wires in RJ11 is 2-pair vs RJ45 is 4-pair. Not all patch cable is the same. Be sure to specify that you need a passthrough and DO NOT get a Crossover. GL