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I'm looking at upgrading to Gigabit Internet and had some questions for the even more intensive tech. people here, at least in terms of networking. So Piper and others..
First, is CAT5e cable backwards compatible with CAT5 devices if they don't support 1 gb. ethernet? I'm looking at my PS3 and on the Wiki page it says that it supposedly supports 1 Gigabit internet but it's Wiki. I'd just use CAT6 to futureproof it all but I get the impression it wouldn't hash with non-gigabit ports.
Additionally has anyone here used an Xbox one with 1Gbps and what has your experience been?
Lastly, two questions. If I had a choice between a device with N-wireless but only 100Base-T wired which would you recommend using? Also, this dovetails into my last question which is what router would you suggest buying? I'm looking at not just connecting in some consoles but there are tablets and phones around too. I'm thinking AC but some of the devices I think are g and below so will splitting the signal and sending those to the 240 MHz be fine or will it effect the speed adversely instead of proportionately?
Sorry for the mouthful Piper and others.
Comments
Gigabit...
Hi Sarang...
Firstly, a cable is a cable is a cable. Cat6 cable works just fine with devices that don't need Gig-speed connections. The CAT5/CAT5e is mostly specifications for what the cable is certified to, regarding technical specifications, cross talk between wires, etc. As long as it is either CAT5e, or CAT6 certified, you should have no problems with it on any of your devices.
Now, as far as routers go, I use a Netgear R6300 for the home network. It has four LAN side 1 Gbit ports that downshift all the way to 10 MBits per second if need be. It has one WAN port that supports up to 1 Gbit link speed. The wireless is 802.11ac with both a 2.5GHZ radio link, and a 5 GHZ radio link. I've had no problem connecting everything from my Kindle Fire, Ipad, Wi-Fi phones, or any other wireless device, no matter how old.
My son plays SKYRIM over the wireless link with an older laptop and does fairly well with it. But like most geeks, he's always looking for "more power, faster connections". Aren't we all.
Hope this helps your decision making.
Found a Netgear R6700 for a good price.
So I'll probably be getting that. It's $130 and has a $10 rebate on it expiring soon.
One thing I have heard
You get nearly Gigabit speeds... but still the same cap on free bandwidth. For example you can download movies in the time it takes to eat a cookie... but the same number of movies as before so the extra speed becomes very limiting because you just reach your BW limit faster.
Be careful when shopping to make sure you have that extra band width size before signing up.
Dayna.
edit: Also make sure there aren't any history of 'throttling' where the more you transfer the slower your connection gets... Search the web for feedback.
No cap. for ISP.
I made sure the 1 gig. has no cap.
FOr a router what features are you looking for?
I tend to like Apple routers for everyday people because they are one of the easiest to setup and do firmware updates. AC is the best wireless standard to go with right now if you need wireless speed to match your connection speed. It also works great for steaming video and other bandwidth intensive content. As long as the wire you use is CAT5e or better it will do gigabit connection speed. the advantage for CAT6 is it is rated to carry POE (power over Ethernet) and gigabit. The other reason I like to recommend Apple routers is that they will let you know if there is a Security update or other update they need to for best security.
"Cortana is watching you!"
Long and short, it depends on what you value in a router
It is my understanding that, for wifi, apple airport extremes (apple routers) are not the fastest in AC mode.
They were dinged in PC magazine for not having a web interface based management facility. To me that is a plus as web interfaces get hacked.
Speed issues
Are you a heavy gamer? I did not know that there were <1 G internet speeds any more. Mine is just a regular internet and it hovers between 5 and 8 Gb. Hmmmm
If you are not a gamer, there may be other issues. I have a laptop that had 2 GB memory and was so slow that it was almost not usable. On a hunch, I put in 2 more GB and now the machine is like new.
The only people with greater than 1 Gbps connections
The only people who usually have better than a 1Gbps connection are big business and the government. The reason for that is that networking for consumers is limited to 1 Gigabit, where as government and big business can afford fiber networking capable of much greater speed.
"Cortana is watching you!"
Broadband speeds
Will, obviously, depend on country and specific location.
In the UK I don't think 1Gbps is available to any domestic premises. In the Far East, though, matters are somewhat different.
Penny
Internet Speeds
"I did not know that there were <1 G internet speeds any more." I don't know where you live, but I have AT&T DSL (formerly SBC, formerly PacTel) and I get maximum (not guaranteed) speeds of 1536 Kbps (downstream) and 384 Kbps (upstream).
I would also add.
Until a year or two ago, due to certain competition, the ISP speed here was pathetic. I mean the speed was easily like 50 Mbps at best on Cable and the price was outrageous.
Under $100 for a Gig is more like what it should cost, especially when you consider what some Europeans and Asians are paying for their internet.
But I hope I elaborated for the person above who assumes everyone has a Gig. option as a minimum then above that as a premium. No places around here, far as I know, have a 5-8 gig. option.
Would I like a 10 gig. option? Yes, if there was a service around that would stream 1080p Lossless video and I had a display that could actually display 4:4:4. But this is not the case so 1 gig. will do me perfectly well, especially if Xtreme HD comes back with a buffet package.
wifi ac?
What type of devices support wifi ac? From what I have seen, at least Android phones and tablets (though I might be a year behind or so, I think I haven't checked what's around since early 2014), most laptops and wifi printers seem to be solidly in the wifi bgn direction... And I know b enabling drops a bgn router if using the same antenna in speed considerably (peak speeds by about 50%), and g support enabled drops a gn router not so much in speed as in range.