Internet Cable Differences

[Anonymous Se7en]

Well, lately ive been working on my computer build and ran myself into a question on internet cables.

So i know that there are different internet cables out there that run different speeds.

Ex. Cat5, Cat6 ,Cat7 where Cat7 is now to most advanced internet cable available and are all backwards compatible.

However, i thought of a question that is somewhat puzzling me.

I have a modem that connects all internet cables through out my home then into wireless routers etc.

If the cables from the modem that connects to all the rooms i have are older versions, lets say Cat 5, then into my wireless router, and from my wireless router i use Cat7 cables, would it make a difference?

I, myself assume it doesnt.. Any idea?

Am also assuming that for it to make a difference, Cat7 cables have to start from the modem on wards?

[jj9987]

The network is just as fast as is your weakest link.

You will only see faster speeds, if the ISP actually provides high speeds too.

 

If you have 1Gbps ports, then anything above Cat6 will not make any difference.

[Pesukarhu]

You are correct. If you trace the cables from the source (modem) the rating is determined by the worst cable in line. In your scenario it would be cat 5. Cat 5 is good for up to 1 gbps, and cat 6 up to 10 gbps. If your internet speed is less than 900mbps and you dont use your local network for file transfers/local streaming, cat 5e is fine.

[jared404]

Almost everything runs at gigabit speed so I suggest using CAT 5e or CAT 6 cables they both run at gigabit. To get 10gb/s you would have to buy expensive enterprise hardware. Some things still run at 100Mb/s so you could use CAT5 but CAT 5e cables are so cheap and common I suggest using them anyways.

[minibois]

Cat 5e and Cat 6 run at 1Gbit/s and Cat6A at 10Gbit/s. I am not familiar with Cat7 myself.

Pretty much all home network equipment runs at 1Gbit/s (or has ports that do max that speed) so you would do fine  with Cat5e and Cat6.

 

If I remember correctly, Cat6 has more Mhz.. From reading the spec sheets.. But I'm sure there is somewhere smarter than me that can tell me if this actually makes a difference.

[manikyath]

few things to light up here:

"cat5" is deprecated

"cat5e" is currently the standard that is used most, because it does gigabit over a decent enough distance, as long as it's not in high interference enviroments.

"cat6" is often used in datacenters for their gigabit equipment, because it can stand more interference. (unnecessary for the home if you cable somewhat intelligently)

"cat6A" (note the A, and not the e) is the "lowest" standard for 10 gigabit ethernet, up to you if you want to wire your house for that or not

beyond that, i wouldnt really pay attention to it yet.

 

something to note is that "cat6e" cables arent a standard, but the term is often used by shoddy manufacturers, to confuse "plebs" with the cat5e branding, and be able to essentially sell a dirt cheap cable that's in the best case barely operational.

[manikyath]

1 minute ago, crashahotrod said:

Almost everything runs at gigabit speed so I suggest using CAT 5e or CAT 6 cables they both run at gigabit. To get 10gb/s you would have to buy expensive enterprise hardware. Some things still run at 100Mb/s so you could use CAT5 but CAT 5e cables are so cheap and common I suggest using them anyways.

i'd rather recommend getting a really nice cat5e cable than the basic cat6 cable (which usually cost about the same), because super strong cat5e cables are amazing