The main difference between CAT5e and CAT6 cable lies within the bandwidth, the cable can support for data transfer. CAT6 cables are designed for operating frequencies up to 250 MHz, compared to 100 Mhz for CAT5e. This means that a CAT6 cable can process more data at the same time.
What are the Advantages of a Cat6 Ethernet Cable? Compared to Cat5/5e cables, Cat6 cables have stricter performance specifications and significantly higher data transfer speeds at greater distances. They are more tightly wound than Cat5 cables, and the cable conductors and cable sheath are thicker as well.
Both cat5E and Cat6 cables are backwards compatible, meaning cat6 cables can be used in conjunction with Cat5, Cat5E, and even older Cat3 cables and equipment. Cat5E and Cat6 cables both typically use 4 twisted pairs in each cable, and incorporate copper wires.
Cat5 and cat6 cables both share the same end piece, the plug that connects them to their end destination, being a patch panel or a modem. The end piece that both of these cables share is known throughout the industry as an RJ-45.
Whether you're setting up a home network, replacing old cables, or looking to enhance your workplace LAN, Cat6 cables offer more. They can support faster data transfers, are typically more durable, and offer better options for insulation against crosstalk and internal noise.
Consistent speed
The key takeaway with Ethernet is consistency and range. Wired signals don't fluctuate as Wi-Fi connections do. Data flow is solid from end to end. For example, a CAT 6 cable supports 1,000Mbps (1Gbps) over 328 feet.
An Ethernet connection is generally faster than a WiFi connection and provides greater reliability and security.
CAT6 can be used with with any network equipment. CAT6 is just a specification for how cable is made. The way Ethernet cables transmit data with never change. Now, you may use more pairs of the cable for say PoE, or other features, but transmit and send data pairs will never change.
A Category 8 or Cat 8 Ethernet cable is a high-speed network cable designed to provide the highest data rate of up to 25 Gbps or 40Gbps. Cat8 also transmits at a staggering 2 billion signals per second or 2 GHz.
Not only does CAT6 provide significantly lower interference or Near-End Crosstalk (NEXT) in the transmission compared to CAT5e, it also improves Equal-Level Far-End Crosstalk (ELFEXT), Return Loss (RL) and Insertion Loss (IL). The result is less system noise, fewer errors and higher data transmission rates.
In addition, you already know that Cat5e and Cat6a cable each have 8 wires in 4 pairs. So the 10/100 Mbps ethernet (fast ethernet) speeds each only take up two pairs of wires for their entire data transfer tasks.
The UTP Cat5 wires are twisted to reduce some noise and crosstalk but are not confined in foil to avoid interference, as STP does. The downside of Cat5 cable is that it is more susceptible to crosstalk (interference). Due to this disadvantage, it has become obsolete and is being replaced by the new Cat5e specification.
The answer to the question would be, “Yes, you can!" As stated before, it's preferential to match cable types; however, it is possible to mix and match Cat5e and Cat6 if necessary. If you're unsure of the wiring of the building, you may also want to go with Cat6.
What is a Cat5 Cable? The regular Cat5 cables were standard in most households before high-speed internet plans were widely available. As the availability of higher internet speeds continues to rise, Cat5 cables have become mostly obsolete.
The reason is that an Ethernet cable directly connects your router to your computer or other device using the Internet, and Wi-Fi uses radio waves. With Wi-Fi, there are many instances where interference and distance can slow down the connection.
To put it simply, the data transmission speed of ethernet network cables remains constant as long as they are run at their specified lengths. However, running cables longer than their recommended lengths reduce the data transmission speeds.
Although high-quality cable can support stretches of over 100 meters, you may experience a reduction in transmission speed. So, does the length of Ethernet cables matter? The simple answer is yes, though you will almost certainly never run into problems in most residential applications.
Most home network equipment cannot operate at Cat 8 speed, so a Cat 8 cable is overkill. Because it's much faster than most people need, Cat8 cables are best suited for data centre applications. Network transmission speed depends on whether all connected components are able to operate at higher speeds.
If you want faster internet speeds, Cat6 is a good choice. It reduces something called “crosstalk” — signal transfers that disrupt your communication channels. If you are happy with your current internet speeds, however, Cat5 might be all you need. Besides, Cat5 cables tend to be cheaper than Cat6.
A Cat 6 cable is a good choice if your Internet plan is less than 1,000 Mbps and you are looking for higher bandwidth. If your Internet plan has speeds up to 10,000 Mbps, you might benefit from a Cat 6a cable. Cat 6a increases your speed and bandwidth.
Plenum Cat6 cables
As mentioned earlier, you can run your home ethernet wiring through your HVAC ducts or any other air circulation ducts. But to do this, you may need to use a special type of ethernet cable, plenum Cat6 cables. These Cat6 cables have a special jacket to prevent fire propagation to no more than 5 feet.
There is no need to turn off WiFi when using Ethernet. Having both WiFi and Ethernet connections active at the same time can be beneficial. The operating system will automatically determine which connection to use based on the priority and availability of each connection.
Higher-grade cables make a better choice for longer cable runs, so using a Cat6 cable, Cat6a, or even Cat7 gigabit ethernet cable is highly recommended, even in home environments.
A modem is a box that connects your home network to your internet service provider, or ISP. A router is a box that lets all of your wired and wireless devices use that internet connection at once and allows them to talk to one another directly.