Network Cable...Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 etc...

[Spazmogen]

I'm setting up a computer for my 3 year old to play with. (Yeah, a geek in training. or Kindergeek). I plan on locking down the internet (via firewall) on this, but I may wish to file transfer between the 2 systems.

The distance between the computer & router will be about 18'.

The router is a USR8000 10/100.

So, are the Cat6 cables backward compatible ?
Do I need a Cat6, Cat5 or Cat5e ?

Thanks for the help.

[hoxlund]

frankly i never bought into the cat5,5e,6 hype

i just bought a 1000' or less spool of cat5e and just use that to make network cable

[Zeke]

For that short of a run, CAT3 would work.

[Shredder]

frankly i never bought into the cat5,5e,6 hype

It really matters, but depends greatly on environment, coverage (length, distance) and most importantly your needs for speed, specially at gigabit network setup. So most people won't see any advantage or disadvantage of using one or another.