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.

Difference between cat 6 and cat 5 cable. For example a 25 ft unshielded cat6 cable goes for 8 on amazon while a 25 ft shielded cat6a goes for 11. The e in cat 5e stands for enhanced there are no physical differences between cat 5 and cat 5e cables. The resulting performance boost allows cat 6 to handle up to 250 megahertz. 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.

It consists of four pairs of copper wire which supports up to 10 gbps of ethernet connection. Ultimately those who want to have the most future proofed cable will want to go with cat6a. While cat6 cable supports 37 55 meters depending on crosstalk when transmitting at a speed of 10 gbps. The main difference between the two is total bandwidth available on the cable.

Here s the amazon basics cat6 cable for just under 5. Cat6 cable is otherwise called category 6 ethernet cable. 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. Technically both ethernet cable cat 5e and cat 6 twisted with a different colour of pair cables that used to copper.

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. Cat 6 contains an extra component that prevents crosstalk between the pairs of wire. Normally it supports a maximum transmission speed up to 1 gbps within 100m. 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.

However for most resident and commercial purposes cat5e and cat6 cables should be more than. While cat 6 consists of four pairs of twisted copper wire just like cat 5 cable it can handle twice the bandwidth. Difference between cat5 and cat6. 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.