100 Foot Cable from Router to Desktop ... ???

Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
132
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro 2.93 GHz - 10.6.8
My son is having serious problems with his computer when he is gaming. His latency is so high that he can't play his games much of the time.

He is connected wireless to our D-Links 524.

I was wondering if we could use a 100 foot cable to hard-wire his computer to the router? Would that be too long of a cable ... ???
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
1,272
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
-->
My son is having serious problems with his computer when he is gaming. His latency is so high that he can't play his games much of the time.

He is connected wireless to our D-Links 524.

I was wondering if we could use a 100 foot cable to hard-wire his computer to the router? Would that be too long of a cable ... ???

The theoretical CAT5 limit is around 330ft., so you will be OK with a 100' run. You need to have quality termination on the longer lengths and keep the kinks to a minimum. Store termination does not always mean better, I have made cables myself and had less loss than one that comes out of a package.
 
OP
vja4Him
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
132
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro 2.93 GHz - 10.6.8
The theoretical CAT5 limit is around 330ft., so you will be OK with a 100' run. You need to have quality termination on the longer lengths and keep the kinks to a minimum. Store termination does not always mean better, I have made cables myself and had less loss than one that comes out of a package.

We would have at least ten kinks total, running the 100 foot cable to my son's room. If we run the cable to the living room instead, we should be able to get by with only 50 feet of cable and at least eight kinks. We could make some of the kinks more rounded.
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Blackburn, UK.
Before wireless became prevalent, I wired network ports into several rooms in my house. I'd guess that at least one of them was a run of over 100ft, and I had no problems at all with it.

As JohnCL has said, make sure you put the connectors on properly. :Smirk:
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
1,272
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
-->
We would have at least ten kinks total, running the 100 foot cable to my son's room. If we run the cable to the living room instead, we should be able to get by with only 50 feet of cable and at least eight kinks. We could make some of the kinks more rounded.

I mean serious kinks or twists in the cable. Going arounds corners and such is no problem. When pulling cable from a box kinks and twists can happen and go unnoticed which can result in loss. Have fun!
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
707
Reaction score
13
Points
18
You will be fine with a 100 foot cable and store bought should be fine for this application. The kinks, as stated, would have to be serious to mess with the signal.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
If you're going to run a cable, use CAT5E or CAT6 at this stage in the game at a minimum, not just CAT5. I have a CAT5E 100' run and have achieved network transfer speeds up to 90 MBps, just shy of full gigabit speeds. With a CAT5, you'll be limited to 10 MBps.
 
Joined
Jun 2, 2008
Messages
707
Reaction score
13
Points
18
Can you even find Cat5 in a store anymore? I think that most, if not all is 5E or 6.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
1,272
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
-->
Can you even find Cat5 in a store anymore? I think that most, if not all is 5E or 6.

You would have to look really hard, and would be looking at some really old stock.
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2009
Messages
1,272
Reaction score
67
Points
48
Location
South Carolina
Your Mac's Specs
-->
If you're going to run a cable, use CAT5E or CAT6 at this stage in the game at a minimum, not just CAT5. I have a CAT5E 100' run and have achieved network transfer speeds up to 90 MBps, just shy of full gigabit speeds. With a CAT5, you'll be limited to 10 MBps.

Not exactly true. IEEE 802.3ab defines GigE transmission over UTP 5, 5e, or 6 cable.

While I agree to using the best cable currently in market, you certainly will not be limited to 10Mbps using standard CAT5.
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2010
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
DC
You can still find packaged Cat 5 in stores. Don't know if anyone here is from Southern California, but at this electronics mega-store called Fry's, you can find old Cat 5 for dirt cheap. If you do go to Fry's, just make sure that you know *exactly* what you are looking for. Their staff makes the people that work at Burger King or TSA look like Ph.Ds
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
15
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Blackburn, UK.
My wired home (see earlier post) was with CAT5 cable and easily got more than 10Mbps. It wasn't far off 100Mbps on the occasions when I bothered to check it.
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
9,383
Reaction score
417
Points
83
Location
Irvine, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
D-Links 524.

Here's your problem. I had that router a while back and while it was ok for simple tasks like browsing, when it came to gaming or heavy downloading it was pure garbage.

Another option for you might be to upgrade to a more capable router, perhaps of the 802.11n variety so that you get increased speed, range and far superior performance.
 

bobtomay

,
Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
Messages
26,561
Reaction score
677
Points
113
Location
Texas, where else?
Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I have had the issue using CAT5 cable on my own network and was limited to a max throughput of 11MBps. Didn't solve the problem for two days and after I had ordered a new NIC figuring it had to be the card.

What I found is that CAT5 is affected by file size. And if you're moving GB and larger files around your network, you don't want it.
 
OP
vja4Him
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
132
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro 2.93 GHz - 10.6.8
DIR-825 Router ....

Here's your problem. I had that router a while back and while it was ok for simple tasks like browsing, when it came to gaming or heavy downloading it was pure garbage.

Another option for you might be to upgrade to a more capable router, perhaps of the 802.11n variety so that you get increased speed, range and far superior performance.

I'm considering on getting the DIR-825 router.
 
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
9,383
Reaction score
417
Points
83
Location
Irvine, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Black Macbook C2D 2GHz 3GB RAM 250GB HD iPhone 4 iPad 3G
While the DIR-825 is certainly a good router, I would suggest going with the cheaper and more robust DIR-655. It's perhaps the best 802.11n router you can buy.
 
OP
vja4Him
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
132
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro 2.93 GHz - 10.6.8
While the DIR-825 is certainly a good router, I would suggest going with the cheaper and more robust DIR-655. It's perhaps the best 802.11n router you can buy.

What are the advantages with the DIR-655, compared with the DIR-825, or other routers ... ???
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
I don't know about any Advances but I have found when many people who I respect have a router that is dead stable and reliable, that says a lot about it.

I have seen different Linksys routers for example. Some were VERY stable but other models that were very similar were not.

Since the DIR-655 is one of those routers that really works well and does not go crashing, that would make me want to own it just for that!
 
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
2,073
Reaction score
68
Points
48
Location
Ithaca NY
Your Mac's Specs
13 inch alMacBook 2GHz C2D 4G DDR3, 1.25GHz G4 eMac
Bite the bullet and get an Airport Extreme Base Station! You'll be glad you did, especially if you get the Windows people on your network to install the correct software for printer and Airport Disk sharing. I'm still customizing my setup, and am having so much fun. :) This is how I entertain myself, haha.

Anyway, yea. A lot of people really like their D-Link stuff, but you have to order it online now from Best Buy. The stores stopped carrying it for whatever reason. Guess they weren't selling enough units, probably because D-link routers were actually pretty reliable. Now people are in for new routers almost every 3 weeks it seems. It's ridiculous. That's why I bit the bullet and got the AEBS. Dual band N router, network attached print server and storage... Rated for up to 50 devices... The apple guarantee of excellence... I like it.
 

dtravis7


Retired Staff
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
30,133
Reaction score
703
Points
113
Location
Modesto, Ca.
Your Mac's Specs
MacMini M-1 MacOS Monterey, iMac 2010 27"Quad I7 , MBPLate2011, iPad Pro10.5", iPhoneSE
Anyway, yea. A lot of people really like their D-Link stuff, but you have to order it online now from Best Buy. The stores stopped carrying it for whatever reason.

That totally shocked me. I went to BB like I told you in another message and no Dlink and only 1/2 the normal Linksys. All moved online only. I came close to asking this one dood why even have the store with no products? :D

At first I thought it was just my local store but it's that way all over at Best Buy. Says it right on their page. Sometimes when I really need something, it's nice to be able to drive a few miles and just bring it home.

Do you know what they are up to BTW DR?
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top