[AndrewC3]

Can someone explain to me (if any), what is the difference between a cat 5, cat 5e and cat 6 cable is? I've looked in various computer books but didn't seem to find an answer. Thanks.


Andrew

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[Alan87i]

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[Titan8990]

CAT 5 supports speeds of up to 100MB/s

CAT 5e supports speeds of up to 1000MB/s

CAT 6 is more or less than same as CAT 5e but is supposed to get less interference from things such as a florescent lights.

[jaxisland]

All good answers, I would just like to add to them. With CAT 5e and CAT 6 they support the same 1000 speed. But the internal differences can be big. Ethernet cables are called twisted pairs. This way they have 8 cables twisted together in 4 pairs. Each pair is twisted at a different rate, which makes them have different twists per inch. Now the twists themselves create their own frequency of interference so different twists per inch limit the interference on the line or crosstalk.

CAT 6 does a better job because it has more twists in it than CAT 5e. But nowadays you can buy so many variations that a supped up shielded 5e can be better than a non-shielded 6. Here is an Example of high end 5e. This is much better than a standard 6 cable.

No matter what you run it is still only 100 meters max between devices.