Difference Between Cat 6 And Cat 5 Cable

The e in cat 5e stands for enhanced there are no physical differences between cat 5 and cat 5e cables.

Difference between cat 6 and cat 5 cable.

Cat6 and cat6a cables are more expensive than cat5e cables with the cost depending primarily on length. The resulting performance boost allows cat 6 to handle up to 250 megahertz. Normally it supports a maximum transmission speed up to 1 gbps within 100m. While cat 6 consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire just like cat 5 cable it can handle twice the bandwidth.

Technically both ethernet cable cat 5e and cat 6 twisted with a different colour of pair cables that used to copper. The cost differences between cat6 and cat6a cables are relatively small around 20 35. Cat6 has also traditionally been more expensive although the price difference compared to cat5e has lessened over time. Cat 5e vs cat 6.

Cat6 cable is otherwise called category 6 ethernet cable. There are two main physical differences between cat 5 and cat 6 cables the number of twists per cm in the wire and sheath thickness. The main difference between the two is total bandwidth available on the cable. It consists of four pairs of copper wire which supports up to 10 gbps of ethernet connection.

Bandwidth of cat5 and cat6 while both are standardized twisted pair cables that use copper wires for the ethernet both differ dramatically in transmission performance. Both the cable utilizes for the same end port piece that commonly known as rj 45. Cable twisting length is not standardized but typically there are 1 5 2 twists per cm in cat 5 e and 2 twists per cm in cat 6. The biggest distinguishing difference between cat6 and cat6a cables is that cat6a can maintain 10 gigabit speeds for the full 328 feet of ethernet cable.

However for most resident and commercial purposes cat5e and cat6 cables should be more than. However manufacturers build cat 5e cables under more stringent testing. For example a 25 ft unshielded cat6 cable goes for 8 on amazon while a 25 ft shielded cat6a goes for 11. Difference between cat5 and cat6.

Ultimately those who want to have the most future proofed cable will want to go with cat6a.