Gigabit switches are so cheap these days. While my main 24-port switch was a couple hundred, if I remember right, the most recent 8-port switches were only $30-something, and the 5-ports were mid-twenties if I remember right. I went with the 8-ports just because. I have Cat6 and gigabit throughout the house. It adds up if you're doing a big home network all at once, but if you're just talking smaller switches, I see no reason to not go gigabit. Of course, I've never budgeted for a family, as you can tell when I talk about my purchases. Ha ha.
