Ethernet cables are categorized into Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat 7, and Cat 8. They provide faster and longer distance networking than Wi-Fi but should not be skimped on. Cat 5e is popular for basic internet speeds and can be used for 1 Gb speeds. For high-performance applications like servers, Cat6a or Cat7 might be better choices. Straight-through cables are commonly used for connecting devices like desktop PCs to printers or games consoles to routers. Crossover cables are used for connecting devices like gaming consoles to routers.
Type “CM” cable is the minimum specification for 1- and 2-family dwellings and single-story homes. Ethernet cables can be made with bulk Category 5e cables and RJ-45 connectors attached to the cut ends of the cable. Flat cables are strong, light, and easy to carry around in laptop bags. Regular Ethernet cables, both stranded and solid varieties, are made with solid copper conductors. CCA cables do away with pure copper conductors and instead use a flat material.
For home use, Category 5e or 6 cables are usually sufficient, offering transfer speeds of up to one gigabit. The main difference between the two cables is the outer jacket. Indoor Ethernet cables are less thick and more flexible, while T-568A is an obsolete telco pinout, while T-568B is used for data communications like Ethernet.
In summary, choosing an Ethernet cable is a simple process, but it’s essential to consider factors such as speed, compatibility, and compatibility with various applications.
📹 What Ethernet Cable to Use? Cat5? Cat6? Cat7?
There are Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6 and others, but which do you need? Well all of these ethernet cables will work, but there are some …
Do Cat7 cables make a difference?
Cat7 is a newer cabling technology that surpasses Cat6 in shielded twisted pair performance. It offers theoretical headroom for faster speeds of next-generation networking equipment and improves signal transmission by reducing cable noise. Both Cat6 and Cat7 meet 10GBASE-T Ethernet standards, but their maximum frequencies differ significantly. Cat6 has a 250MHz frequency, while Cat7 has a 10Gbps speed, depending on cable length and interference. Both cabling types meet 10GBASE-T Ethernet standards.
Should I use Cat6 or 7?
Cat6 Ethernet cables offer faster speeds of up to 10Gbps and greater bandwidth suitable for modern gigabit networks. Cat7 cables go a step further by adding individual shielding to reduce interference and support higher frequencies, enabling even faster speeds. Cat6 is more cost-effective for most networks, while Cat7 provides better future-proofing for high-speed and high-interference environments.
Ethernet cables all have eight wires, and there are many different standards or categories (Cat in Cat6 and Cat7) that inform each cable type’s features, maximum ratings, and frequencies. Selecting the right Ethernet cable can be challenging, especially when each version promises improved performance and theoretical speeds.
Is Cat6 worth it over Cat5e?
CAT6 cables offer speeds up to 250 MHz, more than twice that of CAT5e cables (100 Mhz), and can support up to 10GBASE-T or 10-Gigabit Ethernet. Both twisted pair cables use copper wires, with typically 4 twisted pairs per cable. CAT6 cables are more flexible and use other methods to reduce noise, offering more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. CAT6 provides significantly lower interference or Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT) in transmission compared to CAT5e, improving Equal-Level Far-End Crosstalk (ELFEXT), Return Loss (RL), and Insertion Loss (IL), resulting in less system noise, fewer errors, and higher data transmission rates.
Is Cat7 overkill for home use?
Cat7 cables are high-performance cables that offer data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps at frequencies of up to 600 MHz over distances of up to 100 meters. The cables feature extensive shielding, which serves to reduce electromagnetic interference. They are typically utilized in data centers or server rooms, where they facilitate optimal performance. Nevertheless, they are deemed excessive for residential and office applications due to their elevated cost.
Do you need a Cat7 cable?
Cat7 is not suitable for home use due to its overkill for home networking. Cat6 is sufficient for home network connections, and if you need similar performance, you can use Cat6a. Cat7 may not work with any router as it may not be compatible with home networking equipment. Cat6 is recommended for home networks. Cat7 is faster than Cat6 cable, as it supports 10Gbps at a bandwidth of up to 600 MHz.
Do I need Cat5 or Cat6?
The choice of Ethernet cable depends on the frequency of internet use in your business. Cat6 is ideal for faster internet speeds and reducing crosstalk, while Cat5 is suitable for those who are satisfied with their current internet speeds and are cost-effective. As more companies use the cloud, Cat5 is suitable for those who have moved their servers or plan to do so in the future. Cat6 cables are typically thicker and more reliable, making them suitable for those with limited office space. Cat6 cables are typically thicker than Cat5 cables, making them suitable for those who need more space in their office.
Is it safe to run Ethernet through walls?
Pull string is a lightweight nylon rope used to pull cable into its installed position. It offers minimal resistance and can be easily tied-and-taped to the cable bundle. Fish tape is a long steel tape with a ring-shaped container that acts as a reel, providing flexibility and rigidity for guiding wire and cable through unseen pathways. However, it is often considered too floppy for residential work, especially compared to glow rods and flexible drill bits. Fish tapes are particularly useful for pulling wire and cable through conduit.
Glow rods are long fiberglass sticks used for pushing cable from one location to another. They glow in the dark, making them useful in low-light areas like ceilings and crawl spaces. They are mostly rigid for guiding the cable path but can be flexible for direction changes. While pull strings are generally used first, there is no rule stating that they must be used.
Does Ethernet use all 8 wires?
Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) is a faster and more advanced technology than Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps). It requires the use of all four pairs of wires, unlike Fast Ethernet’s two pairs. This means that all four pairs must be crossed when building a crossover cable. The RJ45 standard proposes two wiring specifications: T-568a and T-568b. Gigabit Ethernet requires Auto MDI-X, so straight-through cables are safe to use everywhere, and the NICs can determine if they need to simulate a wire pair crossing.
How do I know which Ethernet cable to use in my room?
An Ethernet cable tracer, also referred to as a “fox and hound tester,” is an invaluable instrument for the identification and localization of network cables. The device is comprised of two components: an emitter and a receiver. The emitter is affixed to a network cable (typically RJ45) while the receiver is used to identify the cable’s location in an alternative room. This tool is straightforward, secure, and appropriate for both novice and experienced users.
What is the best Ethernet cable to run through walls?
The Cat6 cable is rated for 1 gigabit (1000 mbps) up to 328 feet, allowing it to be run throughout your home, walls, and even outdoors. It can support 10 gigabit speeds up to 55 meters under ideal conditions, but this is not guaranteed. The cable is designed for gigabit usage and can double as a future proofing cable for shorter runs. It is important to select the correct jacket type when choosing a cable.
What Ethernet cable should I run in my house?
The choice of an Ethernet cable is crucial for the speed, reliability, and performance of your network. Cat 5e is suitable for basic home use, while Cat 6 offers future-proofing and faster speeds. Cat 6A is best for 10 Gbps needs and large networks, while Riser (CMR) is suitable for most indoor uses. When selecting an ethernet cable, consider factors such as speed, jacket type, and shielding to ensure smooth traffic flow and optimal performance. The choice of the right cable will significantly impact your network’s performance.
📹 Ethernet Cables, UTP vs STP, Straight vs Crossover, CAT 5,5e,6,7,8 Network Cables
This is an animated video explaining Ethernet network cables, such as unshielded twisted pair (UTP) and shielded twisted pair …
Thank you – very nicely done. FYI – we did CAT5e on the whole house years back and have had excellent speed and reliability out of that cable. It can handle a great deal more than we get from our ISP (NOT bitching about that). The wireless side of our system has be a lot more trouble and I really appreciate the CAT5e side.
I had to roll out Cat7 cable in a nursing home where the original data cablers messed up and ran Telco everywhere instead of Cat5e as specified. The data ducts where all closed up so we had to trace the cables along the power lines (nursing home, no drilling allowed once the residents moved in). Unlike previous standards, the internal shielding of Cat7 allows it to be run alongside power cables. Super-expensive work-around but the only option we had at the time.
Cat5: 100mbps max bandwidth (Discontinued) up to 100 meters of length 100mhz speed Cat5e: 1000mbps max bandwidth up to 100 meters of length 100mhz speed Cat6: 10gbps max bandwidth up to 55 meters of length 250mhz speed Cat6a: 10gbps max bandwidth up to 100 meters of length 500mhz speed Cat7: 10gbps max bandwidth 600mhz speed Companies that claim to have “The Super And New Cat8” are most of the time lying
difference was huge for me especially when it came to transfer speeds within my home network from PC to NAS devices – also improved bandwidth to those devices and completely did away with all the periodic inconvenient drop outs, That was CAT5E to CAT7 – now I am changing to CAT8 and expect more improvements so thats me and my experience!
Cat7 is also highly recommended for industrial applications where electrical “noise” from motors, contactors/relays, and such like can not only interrupt the data connection, but in extreme cases could also damage the NIC on either or both ends. Cat7 has each pair shielded, and the whole bundle shielded. Cat8 may never be needed as everything is moving to fibre anyway which has higher data rates than any of them, zero cross talk and zero EMI risk. Once cost’s come down fibre ethernet will be in homes eventually.
You made a pretty good attempt at covering this. The one big error is touting cat 7. Cat 7 was never recognized by the TIA or Bicsi. It came out with a proprietary connector (GG45), then an option to terminate on RJ style connectors Each pair within the cable is shielded in Cat 7. It was a train wreck. Cat 6A ratified after 7, and was what 7 should have been. All category cables are performance rated at 100 meters, except for Cat 8. They were initially rated in MHz carried (while having positive electrical attributes like crosstalk and attenuation), instead of megabits or gigabits of bandwidth carried. Goofy, I know. But higher MHz capacity equated to higher bandwidth in throughput. Summary: Cat 5e = 100 MHz with 100mb typically, and 1Gb on good installs with good 5e (quality matters) Cat 6 = 250 MHz with 1Gb, not 10G Cat 6a = 500 MHz with 10G throughput at 100 meters. It’s the defacto standard for today’s professional structured cabling installations. Cat 7 = 600 MHz and Irrelevant, as it’s not used anywhere. If you get a “cat 7” cable off Amazon or somewhere, it’s likely a Chinese shielded 5e or 6. Cat 7 relies heavily on shielding in the cable, while 6a does not require that. There are shielded options for all other previous “cat x” categories, but they’re just options for high interference installations. Cat 8 = 2000 MHz with 25G and 40G throughput, but at only 30 meters. Data center application for shorter distances. Not for workstation applications.
First time viewer of your website. Great article. I do wish you had pointed out to your viewers that if they were going to put permanent cables in the walls and ceiling, that they should use plenum cable. These have no “toxic fumes” in fire/ over heating, because of different coatings on the cables. You might also point out that the extra shielding eliminates interference from fluorescent fixtures. Given the amount of CFL’s in use now in recessed fixtures, it is note worthy. For anyone doing home recording studios, the extra shielding is a must. Again, loved your vid.
I’ve found that in my experience CAT 7 is also super important if you have for example a multi node rack mount server with the nodes talking to each other over these cables especially if you have 3 or more nodes as the number of these wires sending different information in extremely close proximity leads to reliability issues without sheilding.
Here in Puerto Rico most of the time I recommend my clients sticking with Cat5e since our ISPs don’t provide speeds that justify using higher categories. Unless they’re making internal networking that takes advantage of the bandwidth of higher categories (and even then most domestic ethernet devices cap at 1Gb/s), just save the money and stick with Cat5e.
Most of the Cat standards come in a selection of flavours. And a description of the Reason why you might want Cat5 FTP over non foil wrapped could be included. FTP = better exclusion of cross talk from other cable run alongside. UFTP or segregated pairs are used to improve cross talk internally on the cable. This can become more relevant for l non network Cat applications like CCTV, KVM units, Lighting Art net or systems that put power down the cable. Cat6a is noted to also have better power handling due to its larger gauge. It has improved voltage loss. Some negatives not mentioned is that Cat6 can be more fragile, shielded Cat5e can offer good durability with a small form factor. Cat6a it’s harder to work with it is larger, stiffer and take longer to make off. Also Cat6 is 250mhz and Cat6A is 500mhz Whitch means it works in the same frequency range as Wi-Fi networks. In some cases this may cause issues. Secondarily it is worth mentioning benifits of grounding Cat cabling. Many projects ground at the rack only so it can act as a interference drain. When correctly installed Cat6A should be the best however many projects would benefit from foil wrapped Cat5e. Some KVM units actually request non-foil wrapped Cat5.
I noticed by biggest difference moving to shielded cables. Switching from CAT 5e to a full blown CAT 6 S/FTP cable gave me an increase of just under 50%. I also replaced the manufacturer supplied modem cable (we mostly still have regular ADSL lines where I am) with a shielded cable with RJ11 connectors at each end and the overall line speed increased by nearly 80%.
I think the CAT7 cable makes sense for real-time applications like audio/video recording studios and obscenely expensive custom home theater and gaming installations, where bandwidth and latency requirements are more stringent, and you particularly want to minimize packet retransmission, because there are a bunch more packets already in the pipeline right behind that one. I like dogs better than cats, but I try to be nice to people who like cats anyway.
I am using a Cat5 and just found out. I was wondering about why my new router was faster with Wifi than Ethernet and just found out it was because of the cable. Unfurtunately the cable runs through the wall to my room so I am not sure it’s worth it to change it (since my speed would go from around 100Mbs to 150Mbs)
I just hooked up my laptop with an ethernet cable, but was wondering if it was the right cable to use. As I went through the article I realized it was a Cat 5 cable and so too slow. The next cable I found was Cat 5e. So I have changed cables and am looking forward to faster download speeds. Thanks for your article.
I run cabling for businesses mainly like Target, Walmart and all. I know that in Walmart remodels they still put in Cat5e as new. At Target, any cable that needs to be replaced, doesn’t matter if it’s for a camera, printer, Workstation, they get Cat6A. Looks like Target is future proofing. Some have older 2960 Cisco switches still but most have the 3850s
I’ve got one Cat-6A installation in the wall of around 10 metres. It was put in when Cat-6A had just become available. I won’t be pulling through a new Cat-7 cable with it. A 10m cable run isn’t going to make much of a difference for my use. Everything else, will be done by a router from now on. Excellent article.
Guys, wire is the wire, they are the same, its only about shielding, if you need it. Basically you can run 10gbps or even more with cat5e at short distance like 2 meters, maybe even 10 meters, with duplex if needed, its fine for indoor consumer and couple of cables, not much of interference. If you got lots of cables, tons of interference, or you need it for a long distance, like outdoor, then shielding make lots of sense for obvious reasons. Big companies are more for industrial environment, they got tons of cables, for TV, internet, telephone, multiple servers, virtual LANs, private one, public, lots of firewalls, technicians, several hundred computers in each segment, lots of peoples, computers, guests, lots of interference, actively monitoring, for cameras, long distance, like the whole building or the whole complex, with the top speed of the newest technologies that can provide, in smallest possible space, so they need those ethernet cables shielding. In other hand cat5e in LAN party will do more then enough, or wiring your entire house with cat6, or even with 5e, as many people are running single cable per room, not hundred of cables and hundred of meters. For portability, cat5e is light and more flexible, cat7 is like flexible pipe, not easy to carry around, not much flexible. All this plastic spacers, ground wires, foils and such are made to better isolate wires from interference, between wires, between multiple cables, between other electronics, and for long really long distance, they become more of a fat pipe then cable with like 1% flexible.
Phew. Now I know that the entire business building I do most work in is fine. Only the server computer can really use cat 6a because it is held back from the other devices constantly going to it. Cat 7 one of these days but it is not a Media server. It is cat 5e throughout the entire building. The only real problem is the hardware of the server. Xeon e3-1225. 8gb RAM. Budget. It works.
I ran cat 6 to my loft but although I got the job done in the end, it was a nightmare trying to put on the rj45 connector. I had to buy connectors that were designed for cat6 but they were still very difficult. I also found that the wires snapped quite easily which is a big concern. I dont think you can properly test these cables unless you run them very long distances like 100m. I would like to see that test.
Cat7 is actually a privately owned specification that, while compatible with other ethernet cables, uses costly termination jacks and isnt endorsed by the organization who specifies Category cable and their specs. Cat6a will future proof your network for some time as most people, who need faster network connection speeds, use fiber cabling to obtain the higher speeds and reliability.
Thank you for taking the time to make this article and share it with all of us. If you ever redo this article or come back and revisit this topic, can you please make the test using longer cables? I suspect you will see differences as you approach the hundred meter mark. As always thumbs up and I am subscribed with notifications turned on!
I just got familiar with the Cat x terminology and started to be aware of the writings on the Ethernet cable’s plastic wraps after done a Ethernet cable wiring at home. I was thinking the soft cables (usually Cat 5e) look nice and are more portable, while it turns out the more rigid ones like Cat 6 and 7 mean better performance. Interestingly, I was able to find a few ancient Ethernet cables of Cat 3, probably manufactured in mid 1990s with the emergence of the RJ-45 port in Mactonish computers or HP printers. The difference between Cat 3 and Cat 5e is like that the wire pairs in the former are not crossed over. The Ethernet card still identified 1Gbps speed when using a Cat 3 cable, but then I highly doubt the performance.
Here’s something to consider too. Even for home use. Cat5e may be good for most situations. But if you have a lot of devices to wire up off of various switches and from a router, for me I use a cat6 cable as the main wire feeding the router and each switch. For the branch wire feeding the devices, some have the cat5e. I haven’t gotten around to replacing them plus I can be a cheapskate. But I used the higher quality wire as the main wire so it can better handle the traffic from multiple devices at once. The cat5e that is feeding each device only has to handle 1 device. So if your like me, I would recommend at least replacing the main wire feeding your router and switches. It’s not quite as necessary for the ones going to the device. I did replace the cat5e that feeds my Xbox with the better cable. But other than that, the cat5e serves me just fine. But there can be one other thing to consider that buying the better cables may help. If your having problems receiving radio such as AM/FM for example. Or if your someone who is into things like amateur radio that transmits radio signals, the better wire with better shielding such as the cat7 may be a good choice to help keep out all of the extra radio signals that can be floating around. Especially if your computer and radio equipment are in close proximity of each other.
I was wondering… I understand you did a speed test and discussed the download speeds and how that could be important… however i have been trying to do some studying and looking into the “ping” you didnt display the ping or results of the tests, but i was wondering how/if your ping was affected by changing between wireless and cable? Was the “ping” affected by changing between 5, 5e, 6, 7 etc? thank you for the article though, very helpful in explaining cables quickly and effieciently.. keep up the good work and maybe we can discuss cables one day.
Yeah, but HOW do they achieve these higher performance results between different categories? Manufacturing trade secrets? No mention that CAT6 is a larger gauge conductor, which also means it can carry more PoE capacity or longer distance at the same power. I’d like to see more insight into the design characteristics that enable higher speeds with essentially the same 8 wires.
Thanks for the explanation of cable differences. I am running an exterior line to my she-shed from the house connection, as my wireless option is inconsistent. The Spectrum guy said Cat 5, so I needed to know what the variations meant! I checked out a lot of articles and yours was the best.: simple, direct, and no long introduction to assault my senses. Thanks so much!!!
Cat 7 cables are very thick and stiff. So inside an inwall socket they are proun to kink. So i would use them only in office environments. I use Cat 6a for home use due to its easier to handle. For more than 10gig the plugs of even Cat 7 are incapable. You need different plugs that could handle higher frequencies without crosstalk. That would be GG45 instead of RJ45
Verizon upgraded my home Fios modem from 100mbps to their new 900mbps (aka 1 Gigabyte) speed model, which is half the size of the old one. The technician installed ethernet 5E cable but did not know anything about the ethernet cable ratings compared to antenna cable speed ratings. It seems simple now. Verizon charges the same ($39.99 / mo.) for their minimum Fios connection speeds, 100 mbps, as they do for the newer modem at 200 mbps. My internet speed is now over 300 mbps with my new Verizon modem and my new Asus RT-AC86U router. Smokin’. 🙂
Even to this day Cat7 is not worth the extra cost. Cat7 is simply Cat6 w/shielding. Compared to Cat5, Cat6 has more twists per foot of cable. There are numerous differences within the Cat6 spectrum in terms of cables…some cables have a plastic spline through them (this is really for robustness and pulling cables through framing, etc., makes the cable more rigid)…the AWG can also differ – some are 24AWG, some are 23AWG, and I’ve even seen Cat6 that are 26AWG. 23AWG cables are a nightmare to crimp plugs onto, but are fine if you’re wiring just to jacks. 24AWG Cat6 cables are easier to work with overall and conform to the 250Mhz spec. There’s also Cat6+ which really wasn’t a standard but allegedly allows for up to 100M run, similar to Cat6a.
The whole point of having high speed cables is so things in the local network such as NAS, home automation devices, and local device communication for lets say local multiplayer article games will go smoothly. The internet isn’t really the real concern although you could see slight bottle necks if cheaper cables are used
Hi Thio, I’m a network cabling engineer in the uk. Most people in there homes don’t even plug in their equipment and rely on the WIFI from their router. Network cabling is mainly used for business and institutions. The highest specs are used in data centres where all of the cloud based stuff we use is stored. Great article thanks for taking the time to do the test. 👍
Well turns out it wasn’t just a hoax, cat8 is a thing, and it’s a real beast. It handles up to 40Gbps at 2GHz and can be run up to 30m. It uses 22AWG wire (cats 5e / 6 / 6a / 7 use gauges of 28 / 24 / 23 / 23 respectively) with shielded pairs and an outer aluminum braid along with the drain wire and boy it is thick. Also the connectors for cat8 are a lot more robust than stuff up to cat7 and they look scary and industrial. This is getting to a point where network cables are as thick as power cables.
Ok so Jo I have a question pls. I live in apts. I have internet but the apt is obligated to run cable so if a cable repair is needed the internet provider does not fix the cable just the connection. So I have trouble with my internet all the time. I get it repaired and the connectivity issue repeats. Also my processes run at 100% when I’m having these issues. The internet guy came out today and moved our line because our cable was chewed up he said. Now 3 months ago I literally saw a cable coming out of an apartment window running straight to the main cable box. !!!!!! This tells me that someone is jacking or clipping onto my cable and chewing it up. Isn’t this against the law? Sorry this isn’t ethernet related. It’s outside cable from cable box to my apartment.
Working from home like so many others today, I got tired of tripping over all the cables on the floor running back to my router. Having access from the basement, I decided to buy a switch and run a single cable under my floor back to the router. The location was close to my electrical panel and, as such, a lot of unavoidable electrical wires to cross. I first tried a long Cat 6 cable that I had strung across the floor and got a connection speed close to that of a cheap hotel wifi. I picked up a shielded Cat 7 and voila! I was getting speeds faster than what I was paying for! I tossed all my Cat 6 patch cables and replaced with Cat 7. Seems now I should have done some testing… or watched your article sooner! 🙂 I think the main lesson was, shielding really does work. Thanks for the great website.
Here are a few lessons learned from hard experience in my house ethernet wiring. My house was built in 2000 and was wired for coax and ethernet. Fast forward to 2021 and I wanted to run an AX WiFi router to get Gigabit WiFi speeds and needed at least a Gigabit backhaul wired connection to my cable modem. I had already upgraded my switches to Gigabit and could not understand why the best speed I could get was about 50 Megabits. I asked for help from the cable company and a knowledgeable technician informed me that my cables were terminated wrong for Gigabit and were wired for 10/100 Megabit. So I proceeded to replace the connectors with properly wired connectors. But could not get them to work properly. My cable tester would always give some pair of intermittent signals. I thought it was my connector work but after multiple efforts, I then looked at the cable and it was Cat 5 cable. All the runs were doubled down to my patch panel in the garage and then back up to the second floor so too long for Cat 5. I knew all my other components were good because a long patch cable from the cable modem to my AX router delivered about 500 Megabits. So yes the cables make a difference and so do the connector wiring scheme.
…I haven’t seen anything ‘out there’ but CAT-5 cable, ThioJoe. I use CAT-5 for my home network which consists of several ten plus year old desktops. Tinkering around with computers are one of my ”Hey, I’m retired and this is what I like to do” hobbies. I did not know about the CAT 6a or the Cat 7, which seems to be more for commercial use as in Servers of ‘In The Cloud’ storage units. So, I learned something today, ThioJoe….now to retain it. Thanks for the article. It was informative.
Typing in 2024, for future readers. CAT8 is available. 40Gbs throughput. 2Ghz (2,000 Mhz) bandwidth. It will likely not be needed for personal / home use until mid 21st century. By late 21st century, High Quality Streaming Hologram Films (think Star Trek Holodecks) will likely need something better. BTW, I’m a dog person. 🙂 If you are reading this far enough in the future that 2024 CAT8 is insufficient (say 50 years), please do not ask me for further tech updates. Both me and my dog will LONG be dead by then. Anyone reading this now will also likely be long dead. The point: CAT8 is decades overkill. It’s just for bragging rights. No one will get home internet that exceeds 40Gbs for decades. Why: The internet service providers have no incentive to spend billions to upgrade infrustructure to such ludicrous levels that the CAT8 cable can carry. Thanks for attending my Ted Talk.
I guess the high shielding in the higher spec cables will be useful in data centres where there’s lots and lots of devices to connect meaning lots of cables that can interfere with each others. Anyway this has answered a question I’ve had for a very long time. A long time ago I had to move a large amount of data from a mainframe to a datawarehouse and at that time the 1GB s=connection wasn’t set up so we had to use the 100mbs connection, that was duplicated so perhaps 200mbs. The data transferred much quicker than calculated, so perhaps the actual connection was faster than rated, or we didn’t do a very good job of the maths 🙂
Excellent explanation Mr. Joe. I have noticed in datacentre the blade servers using 10gb ethernet cables. Both ends has thick metal heads like transceivers and cable is in black colour quite flexible. People call it as fast ethernet. May I seek your advise on this fast ethernet? Thanks for cracking the myth.
Hi Joe. This really helped. Could you make another article on what phone cable is good to use to connect modem to the wall Jack to receiving internet signal? My internet speed is 25mb/ second but is slow and from time to time disconnects. I was wondering if the phone cable could be the cause of the problem. Thank you.
Hey, thanks for the article! Really informative, i need to set up a network with a new Wifi 6 router, my ISP modem runs a 15 meters cat 5e cable, but when i try to set up the 160MHz bandwidth my network disappears and disconnect, what cable do you recommend? A cat 6 or cat 7? I read that a cat 7 or cat 8 could be an overkill, is this true? It mean a lot if you could reply to know what cable i should get, thanks, greetings from Argentina.
Thank you so much, Thiojoe for your explanations on the different Cat #’s. I was told by an AT&T technician that if I wanted to get off my wifi at my home, I should just connect an Ethernet Cable to my modem and laptop, but I had no idea which cat # to use. After perusal your article I know that a cat 6 is what I will use. Thanks for clearing that up! Extremely helpful for technological morons like myself. LOL. I’m rooting for the return of the IBM Selectric III typerwriter! lol. I have definitely added a shortcut of your site to my face screen. Thanks!Kirk 🙂
You know what ? i don’t care, i got a cat8 wire for my pc, with the slow, 25 Mbps connection, which is connected to 2 different routers, on a wall wiring of cat 5e or 6 i think C:, all to feel much more faster xD, but… i don’t care, i got a more stable cable, and i can occupy my home bandwidth for my youtube articles and games xD
good article, however does not comprehensively cover the differences. its not just about downlaod & upload speeds, as you naively described. Cat6 and Cat7 S/FTP and S-STP cable variants provide shielding & screening against electromagnetic interference, and also offer grounding paths when both ends of the cables/devices are earthed. this makes a huge difference and hence the higher price.
IGNORE ANYTHING ABOUT CAT 7 IN THIS article. It’s true rating is Class F by ISO governing body which is not recognized in the United States / TIA. Cat 8.1(RJ-45)/8.2 is currently in progress. THE BEST CABLE TO BUY FOR RJ-45 DEVICES IS CURRENTLY 6A. Do NOT waste your money on any cable that says “6E” or “7”.
Back in the days we used to have four copper wires inside the cable. I’m pretty sure the max speed was 10MB and that was considered fast because it was well at that time fast. But those were definitely a couple decades back and now I’ve upgraded to 10GB networking with all the hardware required to run it.
10:30 And this is why I always laughing (at the most postitive) when people say that “USB-C now can reach….” a speed. I mean, indeed “RJ-45 can now reach 10 Gb/s!”:D In fact, RJ-45 can’t, the cable can. Your article is proof of this. It’s not about the port – so not about RJ-45 or USB-C – but all about the cable and the protocol. The protocol is the language the devices speak over the connection. If they talk faster, they can move data faster. Logical. This is why we talk about ‘handshaking’: “Hi, I’m a 10 Gb/s cable! “- “Hey, I’m a 10 Gb/s port! We can talk at the same speed!”.
Professional telecom technician here: You will never, EVER find a CAT5 cable capable of 1000BASE-T (gigabit); that’s a goddamn unicorn, it doesn’t exist in real life. What you’ll find is a cable that can transmit at maybe 120 mbps, which will then be throttled under 100BASE-T because the switch will attempt a 1000BASE-T connection and error it back down to 100BASE-T, capping the cable out at 100 mbps. Shielding is not a real factor for 5e transfer rates; FTP (foil, twisted pair aka shielded) cable requires specialized equipment, because you need to carry a ground through the foil / drain wire for the “shielding” effect to actually do anything. Metal plugs, metal ports, properly terminated with the foil intact. Shielding is for hostile EMI environments like factories and electrical substations; you don’t need it in your house. You can absolutely buy CAT6 cabling, but you’re wasting your money. You’re probably not transferring your data at gigabit connections; in almost all cases the server you’re downloading to or from, or even your maximum speed for your ISP will be your bottleneck. Outside of a commercial network infrastructure that relies on network drives, you don’t need CAT6 cabling. Your home 802.11AC connection or 802.11AX (“WiFi 6”) connection will have more than enough bandwidth for your home use, barring an extremely congested urban environment. Don’t buy CAT7. CAT7 is dead and depreciated, it took so long to develop the standard we made it to CAT 8 and in literally any and all cases where we need that level of bandwidth we’ve moved to OS2 Single-Mode Fiber connections, or occasionally OM3-OM4 Multi-Mode Fiber for shorter runes with wide trunks (backbone networks).
I realise that this article was made 7 years ago. In professional AV systems, where we are transporting high resolution article in real-time as in AVoIP, the bandwidth that the cable can carry is REALLY important, especially with 4K. Cat 6A is acceptable, BUT not all 6A cables can do high bandwidth. So we specify the approved brands and type, including connectors. AS usual, your vids are informative – well done.
im trying to pinpoint my best cable for my situation. i mean my internet is not nearly that fast. But my situation is on our property the modem of the internet is in the main house and i live in a second house on the property approx 300 ft away. My wifi reaches out here okay but barely. Recently got the steel series artic pros which work on a 2.4 ghz band and its interfering with my wifi signal. So im not planning on running a lan cable directly to the modem in the main house. I want to get a outdoor capable cable so i do want it to be good quality. Just wondering if the cat 5e is sufficient at 300ft of distance or does that matter ?
I have cat5 cable. My modem it’s on the 2nd floor. I do live-streaming classes (zumba) So I needed my Ethernet connection for faster internet service & I use zoom. So my current plan it’s 200mbps which I changed today to 600mbps for faster speed. I was told the fastest one it’s 1000mbps but I would have to change my modem to Netgear nighthawk c7800 docsis 3.1. Which cost $350. I’m not sure if I should get it for better streaming or not. What do u recommend ? Also, I don’t know how to zoom with my iPhone camera on my mackbook air early 2015. Do you know how ?
I only now switched out my CAT5 cable. I switched to a faster internet plan with gigabit internet, so it finally wasn’t enough anymore. It’s honestly still not bad, could do anything I wanted, even streaming at 4K (if you are the only one using it). I just needed faster internet because I am moving larger files online now.
When you get to needing 10gig and longer distances (over 80meters), then it’s time to switch to Fiber (LC-MMF OM3 “Blue” or OM4 “Purple”) cables that can span up to 500meters.. In some cases, it may even be cheaper to go fiber than to use higher spec copper… Of course, your switches will need to support 10gig fiber with SFP+ ports on them..
in 20 years of doing IT, which includes regularly pulling wire from time to time, I’ve never come across a CAT5 cable that was actually spec’d down the CAT5 standards. They were always spec’d up to CAT5e. Before you go hauling cable out of your walls. Check the cable twist and shielding. If you con’t have a Gigabit Internet connection, upgrading probably isn’t worth it. Even if you’re streaming local movies in 4K off a local Plex server, unless that single cable going to the server is shared with a bunch of other connections, you’re likely fine with CAT5e for another 5-8years.
I just learned about ethernet cable cats today, and I found out my cable is a 5e. But I am confusion. My internet provider is 1 gbps. But when I download games, the download is capped at a max of 1 mbps. ONE freaking megabit per second, aka, 1000 freaking kilos. Why is that? My computer is good. My internet connection is 1 gbps. Shouldn’t my download speed be a bit better than that? I just ordered a cat 6 to see if there’s any difference.
Well, I decided to refer back to this vid because I’m getting a new router (Nighthawk w/DumaOS) and I want to finally run a cable to my PS5 after years of using wifi for gaming while suffering lag and packet loss. Turns out that Cat8 is a real thing now. That’s just overkill, IMO. But, I’m going to run it across the ceiling since my console is across the room from my cable modem and router. I was thinking about Cat7 because it will be running close to a ceiling fan and I don’t want interference from the motor. And I’m in luck. I found a nice braided 25 ft Cat7 for a buck less than the same thing in Cat6. Ordering now… lol
I sat in IEEE802.3 for over 30 years, I’m a expert in modulation technology spending my entire life designing Phys. Unfortunately you have no idea of why cables perform. It’s all to do with impairments, being 1) Frequency tilt, high frequencies being reduced before lower frequencies, happens at only long lengths of cable 2) Cross talk, a form of intersymbol interferes 3) Non correlated interferes, A bunch really short cables in the same conduit packed with a 90 meter cable and the resulting cross talk. So, it’s your testing protocol and not setting up real world bad situations that is the reason why you are not showing any difference of the cables. To enable the obvious difference between tests, you need a 50+ cables all of different lengths, all being used, and measure the effect on a 100 meter 10Gbit transmission by measuring the mean squared error rate of the Phy, not the transmission thru put as you have done. Sorry cable standards are not about “marketing”.
Hi Joe. I am educating myself again about all this IT stuff. I wired my house with Cat5e 20 years ago and my son uses X-Box. He just learned the other day about Cat6 from his gaming friends. He feels he could make an improvement going to Cat 6/a. My concern is do I have to re-wire the house? To his room I could pull a new cable but to the rest of the house it would be a pain. Or could I just get away with putting Cat6 cable from the outlet to his computer? Thanks for all your info. Wayne
True story I had crappy ATT DSL that would just die and lose connection every time the kids ran in and out the door…so it was never up. My apartment building has several circa 1970 things built in and for some reason it was EMF getting in through the open metal door… so I bought a 4 foot Cat6 cable and cut the ends RJ45s off then I used two of the 4 pairs and terminated those fat boys in brand new RJ12s. This is like trying to mate a Great Dane to a Papillion in the way that doesn’t make any sense but once done the shielding made this 10 Mbps rated connection solid as a college freshman trying to buy ecstasy ripped off with Viagra.
Unless you are mining crypto, or paying a premium mindlessly for the premium cable package rate, to stream 4K article, anything close to 1000Gbs is really fast, and Cat 5e has no trouble handling that. My laptop wifi is now getting over 200Gbs at the opposite end of the house from the new Xfinity modem, and only if I could run Cat6 through the crawlspace would I get the nearly 1000Gbs I measure running Cat 6 along the hallways where I don’t want that obstacle.
Unless you’re running something super special most 4 strand phone cable from 1980 will have sufficient shielding and quality. 5e is already overkill for home user applications. If you’re running a network in an office with 100 terminal connections for article editing professionals maybe then……..nah 5e is probably still fine.
Just came across this🙏 can I ask this is the first time iv stepped in this field of wanting to make my iPhone XS Max faster but I can’t find what I’m looking for or maybe I’m not putting in the write wording but basically can I hook my MacBook Air 13 up to my iphones wiv a router?? Could you recommend wat I could buy to make my iPhones speed as fast as possible… sorry I’m just so confused thank you
Cat 5/e and cat 6/a are actual ratified cables. Cat 7 from what i remember was not an actual ratified standard. Cat 8 however is ratified. Home users should generally just buy cat 6a. It’s cheap enough and good enough. Cat 7 is generally over priced garbage. Cat 6 is also capable of 10G and I can verify this as a 10G user (aquantia 10G nics in each pc and an expensive 10g switch). Our verizon installer used stock cat 5e from verizon fiber to router because we converted a phone port to ethernet on both ends. The house builders 20 years ago already used cat 5e for phone ports just ignoring 2 of the 4 pairs since phone only uses 2 pairs. So they simply wired the basement side to the fios box then changed the termination upstairs to ethernet instead of phone. Then from there we had a cat6a cable which runs from wall to router. And it works. Full gigabit speeds to internet. Inside we have 10g and all using cat6a and we get the full 10g speeds internally.
Sorry Joe, most of that is hooey. For home network wiring the cable differences are nominal at best. The CAT ratings don’t only apply to cable, they also apply to the connectors and jacks. In business settings where there could be 50-100 lines pulled, the specs really matter. In most homes, mine is 2 story 3000′ sq ft there are only 6 lines and most of the rest is wi-fi, the cable rating doesn’t matter at all because they are short runs, 50′ max. If there was many 100 meter runs, that matters. I have 2 giga switches with many CAT3 jumpers to devices, some are higher spec but it doesn’t matter. The best way to think of it as all cables as an antenna. There are spurious artifacts that occur (like echos) that interfere an cause retransmission of failed packets. In a large network this can be a problem. In a small network this is a far less likely, so the cabling standard means very little. Your test with 5′ foot cables is essentially a joke. If you used boxes of 100 meter cable the results would probably been the same too. With 5 ft you could have used any type of wire you wanted. People with home networks don’t need to worry about CAT values. Business do.
I have 2 HDMI 1 and HDMI 2 inputs on my TV one is for my Fire Stick, so I can switch back and forth from my cable TV box on HDMI 2 or my Fire Stick on HDMI 1- question If I do this will I lose the sound bar from the cable box Toslink connected to that only so when switch to the other HDMI 1 port for the Fire Stick now the TV cable box connected to my sound bar is on TV to HDMI 2 ?
I remember how my ISP offered 200Mbps speed but sold a 100Mbps router as mandatory part 3y ago. I still haven’t paid for the doors but they updated their offer where router actually at least matches what they offer. And workers seems to have a visual example of me because I heard from second hand I’m “oh no it’a this guy again”.
Depends on what your fiber optic in house is wired with mine is all cat 6 so it’s normal to use cat 6 every where to get full fiber optic cat 6 system. Im using cat 5e from my wall in to my PS5 just for know and i still get 490/490 My room is not close to the router but works.. i will be change it to Cat 6 tho. Im at 500/500 btw
My smart tv works, but not the smart tv features after 2 years of using it. I have a router in the bedroom and tv in the next room, so it is probably 45 to 50 feet away from router. I am going to get an ethernet cable to put into router and other end in tv and hope this works (I am no expert). Any suggestions what will work best. Wires will be showing as I cannot put holes around with clips (I guess holes are made), (live in apartment, but I miss youtube (gone for 2-1/2 years). Do I need Cat 7 the length needed, and also where to buy a good quality one. Thank you.
I just bought a Bluesound Node2i. It came with CAT5e. Listening to it with this cable in place made me think that I had made a mistake. I bought a not-very-expensive CAT8 cable. Pretty much every aspect of sound reproduction got better, a lot better. With the CAT8 in place, I got sound that was better than my last setup which included Ultrarendu, Uptone LPS 1.2, and Inakustic USB ($350 just for the cable). And this was using the included coax, which I will be upgrading with a Pangea.
Hm…went for Cat 8 cables (because a) I want future-proofing and b) I have a lot of them in the cable-channels of my new place, so the extra shielding gives me peace of mind and better performance)…love my new setup and can’t wait to test it (sadly that’ll have to wait till next monday, because the guy from the internet provider will show up then, couldn’t get them to send a guy earlier!)
Hi sir! this LAN Ethernet maximum of 100meters is applicable for the internet connection itself? like from 100meters away from home we can find the signal, then we are going to bring internet connection at home to have wireless connection indoor, is it applicable? If applicable what are the things needed and how to do so? Response is highly appreciated sir.. God bless!
The EMI shielding in Cat 7 and above are essential in data centres using 10 Gbps over copper because of potentially tens or hundreds of Ethernet cables going everywhere, and over distances, opening up avenues for all sorts of interference. But for home networks, as you mentioned, it doesn’t matter too much. It should be said however, that if you run PoE devices, especially those that consume Class 4 or higher amounts of power, a Cat 6 or above cable is recommended because the wire gauge is thicker at 23 AWG versus 24 AWG used in Cat 5 and 5e.
first of all, cat5 and cat5e has nothing to do with shielding. shielding is a completely different factor. in norway we use terms such as f/ftp which means both the cable and the pairs are separated with shielding (aluminium foil) while u/utp means unshielded cable and pairs. there are different combinations of these. also, cat 5e is not “guaranteed” 1gb at 100m, but it is close to possible. cat 6 is also not rated for 10gig at 100m, only the cat6a is. if u need further speeds than that, cat7 or 8 is an option, but much more expensive. the point is there is much more into it than plain numbers, although this article gives a general idea
I tend to use cat7 inside my boxes since all the wires are so close together and zip tied. and I use cat6a for the incoming cables since they are like 100-150m long. and I use cat for Lan, like between computers in the same room or same desk. pretty much haven’t used Cat5E unless like maybe 1 feet cable to connect printer to switch that’s next to it.
Great article, however testing Ethernet cables performance based on Internet speeds is entirely missing the point of what Ethernet is for and why good cabling is important. As someone running a NAS at home, looking to prepare the network for HD streaming article, and going to be fishing the cables close to electrical lines, the right cable choice is important to ensure that the network is reliable as well as having the possibility to accommodate future advancements and use cases (Holographic teleconferencing perhaps?).
Cat 7 is generally used in government facilities or really anywhere security is of the upmost importance. They refer to them as “classified” lines. They have a foil around each set of twists. I’ve never installed them in a home. You gotta be real careful not to remove too much foil or untwist the wires when doing the punch downs. Not that they won’t work but you jeopardize security. And these facilities usually have ways to test the security of the cables. They have other countermeasures such as white noise devices and foil shielding the building or the room to prevent any signal from entering or leaving but they’re not full proof and wouldn’t be suprised if they attempted a cat 8 and beyond.
I guess the audience for this article is unlikely to ever be annoyed by trying to use a crossover cable with two ports that aren’t auto-sensing… a pretty rare circumstance in this century? I don’t understand how using the actual internet connection for testing is more “practical”… I’m sure you’d have no problem running a headless box dedicated to serving data with minimal overhead. As it is you introduce uncontrolled variables that probably make the error bars on your results pretty large.
Hi, so Im not a techy person so I dont really understand any of these things.. but my modem is on the 2nd floor and i need to make an office area on the 1st floor. This is only for work. Would a cat 6 cable be okay and would it work okay if the wire was about 60m??oh and they have a cat 6 flat cable can I get that? Or it just doesnt matter??
As a former ET I have some experience with this. Physically routing the cable as a home or even Business installation, can be confusing. 1. Will you be forced to lay/run a cable next to an AC power line? 1-answer. The CAT-5 can pick up that noise, and send it down to the server/modem/router AND to the computer. A cable crossing the power line won’t hurt it. Cat-7 is (each pair is shielded) and (the whole bundle is shielded) . 2-Who, and how, was the cable made. 2-Answer. If the shields are not grounded, you WILL get RF leakage, both in and out. If BOTH ends are grounded, now you have an antenna waveguide, so any noise intrusion, from equipment or a nicked shield, expect that both ends are receiving the noise. For a PROPER (spurious noise drain) ensure that the Vendor or cable maker, or the DIY crowd, you connect only one end to ground. The other end, cut off all ground wires and shield wrap, Back to the outer insulation.
S(hielded)TP is not the same what F(oiled)PT is. In STP shield is made as metal braid/mesh. FTP cables has metalized foil. Differences is that the STP needs to be connected with ground to work. FTP doesn’t need (but can be if cable has special conductor strand) to be grounded because metalized foil distracts EMI on its surface. FTP should not be used whitout actual need; they can self-interfere. CAT 7 and 7a are not TIA/EIA standards and it are not backward compatible with 8p8c connectors. These are designed to use with GG45 or TERA connectors. Propper replacement for CAT 5e are CAT 6a and CAT 8 Class I which are use 8p8c.
Something not covered in this article, and very important for making patch cables, is the difference between solid and stranded wires. Some cable ends work well with either solid or stranded wires, while others only work well with stranded. In general, if you’re making patch cables, go with stranded. Beyond that, if you’re wiring inside the walls, make sure it’s riser rated. That just means there’s something (typically a string) inside the sheath that physically supports the weight of the wire other than the wires themselves. CAT6 comes in riser-rated varieties, but it’s also inherently suitable for in-wall wiring by design, as there’s a plastic separator between pairs that effectively supports the weight of the wire as well. If you’re wiring a commercial building, you also need to make sure the wires are plenum rated. That means the outer sheath is of a material that will not catch fire when subjected to extreme heat (it’ll just melt). The only other thing I’d add is that all modern ethernet switches automatically detect whether a cable is straight through or crossover, and set up the connection accordingly (it’s called auto MDI-X). Even a lot of ports on NICs and laptops support auto MDI-X. So it generally doesn’t matter which cable type you use, unless you’re connecting older hardware.
On thing this article missed was the two types of wires in a cable. Some are stranded core and some are solid core. With stranded core, the wires in the cable have lots of thin bare wires in them. With solid cord, the wires have a single thick wire. When you buy a spool of wire, it is probably solid core as this better for running long distances that are relatively straight. When you buy a short patch cable from the store, it is more likely to have stranded core. Stranded core wires are more flexible and lots of twists and turns better. This is typically what is needed inside a server cabinet where you have move the cable lots of 90 degree twists.
Great article. I loved how you explained things in the correct order, like a flow chart, instead of going randomly from one item to the other. Being an adult currently going back to school, this article, explained like that, felt like asmr to me. 😛 I’m not kidding! It’s surprising how school textbooks can explain things wrong. D: So thank you for your article. Have a nice day.
good explanation. The reason why you would need a crossover cable for like end points is because similar devices transmit and receive using the same pairs. Connecting a PC to a PC, both sides transmit using PINS 1 and 2. This wouldn’t work. You would need the crossover cable to swap the PINS in the cable .
Huh. I’ve connected switches to other switches using straight cable without issues. Do modern switches just accept both straight and crossover cables? I knew about needing to use crossover cables to directly connect two computers. We did that nearly 20 years ago, but don’t have much use for that now since we have a home network.
Hi, thanks for the article. I’m connecting the main router to an old router in the house to use as a wireless access point. I was just wondering what would be the best cable to go for. I was thinking Cat 6 but I’m not too sure whether I would have to terminate it as a patch cable or a crossover(?) cable. Also it will be going outdoors for a section of the run too. Any help would be great and thanks for the article
@4:18 True. However, any computer you purchase today will have network ports that will recognize either type of cable. Or to put it another way… either type of cable will work (there are always exceptions, but it is very unlikely that you will encounter one of them). @6:10 True, but not exactly 100% correct. You could use a Cat 3 cable on a 10 Gb network. It will work. It just will not work at 10 Gb speed. Or, it will work at 10 Gb speed, but will have constant packet losses, which the TCP protocol will handle, via retransmissions, ensuring that no data is lost. I am not suggesting that anyone use cables that are not rated for the network speed for which they are intended. I am just saying that they will work, albeit with performance issues. But if you are in a pinch, and need to make a connection, any cable is better than no cable.
@6:09 “have to” is not exactly correct. “want to” is more accurate. You could use any speed cable. Any of them will work. The only scenario where “have to” applies, is if you also “have to” have the maximum speed. For example, if your computer’s hardware supports 10 Gbps, and your only networking is to connect to the internet, and your Internet Service Provider maxes you out at 100 Mbps, then that more expensive cat 6a or cat 7 cable will not help.
Note that while Auto-MDIX is an optional feature of the gigabit ethernet specification (IEEE 802.3-2008: “Implementation of an automatic MDI/MDI-X configuration is optional for 1000BASE-T devices”), most gigabit ethernet interfaces do implement it, so in most cases you will not need a special crossover cable