Question for Semi and other network-saavy members

[kloh]

Does anyone know if an ethernet cable made with standard Cat-5 wiring that only has 4 of the 8 wires connected can take advantage of the speed of a 100 Base-T network? Or do all 8 wires need to be connected to do that?

I have computers and a home server that are capable of 100BT, but my hubs are only 10BT, and I've wired the network through my phone lines (hijacking 4 of the 8 Cat-5 wires -- and in one case 4 of the 6 Cat-3 wires). My question mainly is, if I upgrade my hubs to 100BT, will I be able to see an increase in speed performance? Or will the fact that the wires that connect them aren't "fully" dedicated to the network hamper this? And if it will work, how much speed increase should I expect to see? Will it be worth it to upgrade a router and 5 hubs?

BTW, I know it's generally not a great idea to use the phone line for this, but it was better than re-wiring my whole house - and it's worked great over the past 3 years. I just want better throughput if I can get it.

-Ken

[Semi On]

Sadly, I don't think that will work at all, but my attention to the networking arena is focused on high end equipment than typical ethernet, so I may be mistaken. I suppose you could always buy from a local place that it would be easy to return to.

[struan87]

I am by no means an expert on this, but I don't think you'll see much. I think the advantage of CAT5 cable is not just the wire count but the quality and shielding. Phone cable (CAT3, I think?) is of lower quality, so you are more prone to errors when sending high-speed digital signals.

You know what I drive. Pictures.

[kloh]

Oh well... that's kinda what I figured. Had to make sure though. Thanks for the input fellas.