If you are going across a very short distance, you could just use a Crossover Cat5 Cable. (3 ft. or less.) The longer the cable is, when you are not using a Hub/Switch, the lower the Throughput.
Cross-over Ethernet operates exactly the same way as Ethernet through a hub / switch. It makes no difference to throughput how long the cable is, apart from the negligible effect of the speed of light not being infinite. (Noting, of course, the maximum distance which is 100 metres.)
If anything the cross-over cabling will be slightly quicker than a connection through a hub / switch.
That's the first time I've come across this particular "factoid" - I wonder where it came from?