Difference Between Cat5 And Cat6 Ethernet Cable

The colors of cat5 cat5e cat6 and cat6a ethernet cables represent a specific application or system such as network connectivity or equipment connections.

Difference between cat5 and cat6 ethernet cable.

The reason for this beyond cost is the fact that while cat6 cables can handle up to 10 gigabits of data that bandwidth is limited to 164 feet anything beyond that will rapidly decay to only 1 gigabit the same as cat5e. Cat 5e is less expensive than cat6. A cat6 cable is similar to a cat5 ethernet cable it consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire. Cat 6 while cat 6 consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire just like cat 5 cable it can handle twice the bandwidth.

The main differences between cat5e and cat6 are that cat 5e cabling is an older standard. Cat5e cable has a rating of up to 100 mhz and cat6 cable can do up to 250 mhz. It s theoretical top speed is 10 gbps over 100 meters. However these cables can be tested using higher frequencies and that is why you see cat5e cables labels for 350mhz and cat6 cables labeled for 550 or 600mhz.

A cat6 cable has a bandwidth capacity of 250 mhz for example and it offers you speeds of up to 10 gbps. 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. Its maximum bandwidth of 100 megahertz makes it ideal for standard ethernet speeds. The e stands for enhanced cat5e can carry speeds up to 1 gigabit.

This is not to be confused with the color coding of the twisted internal wires contained within each cat cable. It came out in the early 2000s to handle newer higher speed higher bandwidth networks. It is a major improvement from cat5 as it is made from 23 gauge conductor wire as compared to cat5 which is made from the smaller 24 gauge conductor wire. Cat6a is the newest iteration and utilizes an exceptionally thick plastic casing that helps further reduce crosstalk.

Cat5e stands for cat5 enhanced while there are no discernable physical differences between the original cat5 ethernet cable and the newer cat5e ethernet cable manufacturers built this newer version with more stringent standards in mind. 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 is an upgraded version of cat5 cables. It also has a separator that can manage crosstalk more efficiently.

It s also compatible with both cat5 and cat5e cables. The difference between cat6 and cat7 is of the speed mainly. The difference in speed for these cables comes in the maximum frequencies they can deliver.