Difference Between Cat5 And Cat6 Cable Connectors

Cat6 describes the sixth generation of twisted pair ethernet cable and is once again a more advanced technology that offers greater performance compared to cat5 and cat5e that is capable of supporting up to 10g ethernet.

Difference between cat5 and cat6 cable connectors.

The cost is about 20 35 higher than cat6 but the maximum cable length is 100 meters across all systems and conditions for gigabit ethernet. Cat6 cable has a thicker diameter around 0 250 inches maximum while cat5e cable has a smaller diameter around 0 204 inches. On the other hand regular cat6 cables can transmit data at a speed of 1 10 gigabits and that s through an area of 164 feet. The major difference between cat6 and cat6a cables is the data speed.

Similarities between cat5 vs cat6 cables it is worth noting that both cat5 vs cat6 cables utilize the same end piece i e. Ethernet cable colors and their purpose. As an example the cat6a can transmit data at a massive speed of 10 gigabit and that s through an area of 328 feet. The main difference between the two is total bandwidth available on the cable.

As a means of future proofing your network cat6 is generally a better choice and worth the small premium in price. It s also compatible with both cat5 and cat5e cables. Finally another major difference is their cost. Cat6 cables also called category 6 or cat 6 cables provide lower crosstalk a higher signal to noise ratio and are suitable for 10gbase t 10 gigabit ethernet while cat5e cables support only up to 1000base t gigabit ethernet.

It s theoretical top speed is 10 gbps over 100 meters. A cat6 cable has a bandwidth capacity of 250 mhz for example and it offers you speeds of up to 10 gbps. However it provides you with much more functionality. Just like cat5e all four pairs are used and it is backward compatible with both cat5 and cat5e.

In general cat6 cables are about 10 to 20 more expensive compared to cat5e cables. While cat5 is limited to 100 mbps transfer speed cat6 can go all the way up to 10 gbps which is a more reliable specification for residential installments. Frequency of cat5 and cat6. The colors of cat5 cat5e cat6 and cat6a ethernet cables represent a specific application or system such as network connectivity or equipment connections.

They can plug in to the same ports. The differences between each of these cables are in their capabilities as well as the methods and materials used to create them. The price varies by length and brand.