Consider placing shielding around the Ethernet cable in the attic area.
Consider placing shielding around the Ethernet cable in the attic area.
You're considering the best cable type for your setup. For running Ethernet through walls and attics, shielded cables like Cat6a or Cat7 are recommended to reduce interference. Unshielded Cat6 can work if you're confident about the environment, but shielded will give you more reliability. Since you're planning a long run from the router to your office and VR room, sticking with shielded is a safer choice.
Unshielded is acceptable as long as it doesn’t touch mains electrical wiring at a 90-degree angle; shielded can still cause issues if running parallel to mains cables. I’d go with CAT6a just in case you plan to upgrade to 10Gbps later. Skip CAT7—it isn’t an official Ethernet standard.
For this cable length, the cost variation between Cat 6/5E and Cat 6a/7 won’t be significant. Are you in an area where the price increase is high? If not, opting for the shielded version could also boost your data speed when upgrading later.
Avoid extra costs for shielded cable in homes—UTP is sufficient. Cat6a is recommended for long-term use because it supports up to 10 gigabits if connections meet requirements. Steer clear of running it alongside AC voltage directly, as this will cause significant interference and degrade performance.