The coax jack for my cable modem connection is in a small room in the front of my house. The cable modem is connected to a Linksys router and then my two computers are connected to that. I need to move the computers to a room on the other side of the house(40ft aprox). I will need to run a cable for the connection from the small room where the jack is to the back room. Should I leave the cable modem in the small room and run a cat5 cable from the modem to my router in the back room? Or should I run a coax cable from the jack to the back room and have modem in the backroom? Do I need a special type of coax cable? If it doesn't matter, which one is cheaper? It seems like it would be easier to get a long coax than cat5. Wireless is not an option unless it is cheaper or there is no other way.

At first glance, I would go with the coaxial extention for 3 reasons:

1) Coaxial cable is made for longer distances than a cat5 cable, so you might have less problems with the coaxial cable. Also, the coaxial (theoretically at least) doesn't emmit any electromagnetic radiation.

2) Coaxial cable is cheaper.

3) You can have cable TV in the small room and in the back room.

I would agree... although by definition, since coax is still electricity, there has to be EM radiation, but, I believe that coax is more heavily shielded than cat5. Plus, the TV thing is great too :)

-AntonK

Aren't the connections for the cable internet and cable TV two different things? I know they look the same but I don't think I can plug my computer into where the TV is connected or my TV into the jack where the cable modem is connected. Why do you guys mention that?

To my knowledge, one of the advantages of cable modems is that the cable can be shared with TV signals.

Yes, the internet comes in just like a different channel would. They are carried over the same cable.

-AntonK

Ha. Ok I just moved my computer to the backroom. I'm using the jack we've been using for cable TV. Just when I think I am smart...hehe

Can I just use a splitter at the jack to send one signal to the TV and one to the computer for simultaneous use?

You should be able to...HOWEVER....signal degredation can slow down your connection.

-AntonK

A cat 5 cable at my local hardware place (www.iguanamicro.com) is only 7 bucks American for a 50 foot cable.
Cat 5 cable is better than 75 ohm cable since the signal is better protected. Cat 5 cable is good for 100M or over 300 feet, so that won't be a problem. Adding spliters and extenders to TV Cable will only cause the cable modem to have troubles. In my house the cable modem was running at over spec BECAUSE of the spliters and extenders. Cat 5 runs nicely under houses and in crawl spaces, and is thin enough to fit under doors without modification. I ran a 75 foot cable from my dlink switch upstairs to my wife computer downstairs. The cable go through the garage, into a closet on the first floor, under the floor in the crawl space, then finally up to her computer. Works great! Most cat 5 is water proof and doesn't rust unlike some 75ohm cables.