CAT 7 Ethernet cables support higher bandwidths and much faster transmission speeds than Cat 6 cables. As a result they are much more expensive than their Cat 6 counterparts, however, if you are looking for better performance, they are worth the extra cost.
It's a dead standard that isn't going to see any further adoption and its benefits are easily matched and outweighed by competitor cables, like Cat 6A, or the latest and greatest, Cat8. In the vast majority of cases, if your network is less than 10Gbps then Cat6A cable is going to be all you need.
Category 7 wire has four shielded twisted copper pairs and an overall cable shield. This helps it meet the strict signal loss over distance criteria and ensures Cat7 cable is better at protecting against possible degradation caused by crosstalk and EMI.
Cat6 maxes out at a 1 Gbps connection. Cat7 also has additional shielding over Cat6, which can also improve signal quality in addition to more raw speed. That said, Cat7 cables are only faster than Cat6 cables if you have an internet service plan that can reach above a 1 Gbps connection.
The Cat 7 cable is compatible with the Cat 6, Cat 5, and Cat 5 cable categories. It offers 90/100m 4-connector channels using shielded cabling and is designed to transmit signals at frequencies up to 600MHz.
Cat 7 Cables:
Cons – They are a bit expensive. They require 40 to 60% more space to contain the cable and different connections. Their testing is trickier and requires modern test equipment. There is no real speed advantage over a good Cat6a system.
Matein Cat7 Ethernet Cable
Still, it's a good pick for gaming as it is capable of delivering up to 10Gbps data transfer speeds at a max bandwidth of 600MHz, which is quite satisfactory. No matter if it's a CAT7 cable, it's backward compatible with all devices supporting Cat6/Cat5/Cat5e Ethernet cable.
Cat8 cables support PoE technology, which means they're able to save space in server rooms by simplifying installation. For home equipment, Cat6a is more than sufficient, even for gaming, and Cat8 cable can be difficult to install and overkill for most home applications.
If alongside gaming, you perform large file transfers across your network regularly and your networking hardware like your router and/or switch can support up to 10Gbps Ethernet, then using Cat6 cables is a great idea.
Most home network equipment cannot operate at Cat 8 speed, so Cat 8 cable is overkill. Because it's much faster than most people need, Cat 8 cable is best suited for data center applications.
Therefore, CAT6 has now become the minimum standard for new cabling installations. As well as being able to easily support 1 Gbps network speeds, CAT6 can also support higher data rates of 10Gbps. However, 10Gbps is only supported over shorter distances of 37-55 metres.
Yes, Cat7 is faster than Cat6. It's 10 times faster, in fact. The installation of Cat6 might cost less, but if you want the best performance over distance on the market, you want the 10Gbps delivered by Cat7.
This connector type is standard to almost all Ethernet connectivity setups, and will certainly be the plug required by the cable sockets on any standard home router or LAN switch.
Cat6 cables are good if your internet speeds are under 1,000 Mbps and you want higher bandwidth capabilities. When to upgrade to a Cat6a: If you want the option of higher bandwidth and a shielded cable to reduce interference and crosstalk.
The best type of ethernet cable for gaming is a Cat 8 cable. A Cat 8 cable offers a speed of up to 40 Gbps and a bandwidth of up to 2000 MHz.
Cat 8 Ethernet cables offer significantly higher speeds and improved performance over previous standards, making them ideal for use in high-bandwidth applications such as data centers, gaming, and 4K/8K video streaming.
Both CAT5e and CAT6 can handle speeds of up to 1000 Mbps, or a Gigabit per second. This is more than sufficient for the speed of by far the most internet connections.
Fiber optics can be seen as better for businesses with a long-term vision for their networks. At the same time, cat6 is identified as a more robust solution for smaller workplaces. Also, most of the time, fiber optic cable is faster than copper, which is something to keep in mind when choosing between the two.
Although there are no official standards or specifications for CAT 9 and CAT 10 Ethernet cables as of September 2021, researchers and manufacturers are likely exploring the development of higher category cables to address the growing demand for faster data transfer speeds and higher bandwidth capacities.
Cat 9 phones are able to provide upload speeds of up to 55Mbps and download speeds of up to 450Mbps. In the real-world use case, it is known to achieve speeds of 360Mbps, which equals the best connection speeds available around the world.
Cat5 Ethernet Cable
Cat5 is not the ideal option for gaming, but it might work fine for general web browsing. It can support up to 100 Mbps, but the fact that it's usually unshielded means that cross-talk and interference from other devices can cause slowdowns and problems.
The flat cable design is for permanent installation and is not recommended for standard patch leads. This is one of the major reasons behind most standard category cables including Cat6, Cat7, and Cat8 ethernet cables.
While a number of variables determine actual speed of a WiFi connection and an Ethernet connection, Ethernet is almost always faster than WiFi.
Cat7 cable will not make your existing network equipment or internet any faster. You will simply waste money. For the average home and small business user, purchasing anything higher than Cat6 is of no benefit either.