Cat 5 and Cat 6, whats the difference?
cat 5e vs cat 6 speed test and Difference Cat 5 and Cat 6, two names for two types of ethernet cable I’m sure you’ve heard used quite a bit! You may have been thinking: “I kind of know what an Ethernet Cable is, but what’s are the differences between Cat 5 and Cat 6 Ethernet Cables?” we get asked an awful lot. For that reason, decided to write this accompanying article to go with it. learn more about the difference between these two commonly used types of Ethernet cable. cat 5e vs cat 6 speed test. Cat 5 and Cat 6, What’s The Difference? Cat 5 Well first off, both Cat 5 and Cat 6 are a type of networking cable commonly referred to as Ethernet. They both use the same wiring scheme, and they both get crimped or “terminated” at both of their ends with the same connector head- called RJ45. Both cables can be used relatively interchangeably with a computer or network device that connects via ethernet. There are, however, some key differences between these two types of cables. Lets first take a look at Cat5 since that standard is a bit older. Category 5 Ethernet cable was first developed for use in 1995. When Cat5 first came around, it was originally limited to a maximum network speed of 100 megabits per second. However, with the advent of cat5e in 2001, regular cat 5 was put aside. Now the standard is Cat 5e because Cat 5e is now capable of up to 2.5 Gigabits up to 100 meters, which drops off to 1 gigabit when pushed any further than that. Read the full article