Best Ethernet Cables Used

1. Category 5 Ethernet Cables

For basic home networks, Cat 5 ethernet cables (when measured in lengths of up to 100 meters) provide very basic connection speeds of between 10 and 100Mbps at a low frequency of 100Mhz.
Being a particularly old type of connection, Cat 5 ethernet cables are rarely suited to high-bandwidth tasks and are generally not a good investment regardless of your needs.

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They are only moderately cheaper than newer products, so not even the saving is worth it. However, they still serve their purpose for simple networks as well as for the transfer of video and telephone signals.
Remember though, that if you are using a particularly outdated router that can’t breach the speeds that a it provides, there is generally no need to go for something with higher speeds.
Still, if you are ever looking to upgrade that old router, you’ll need cables that can get the most performance out of it, so investing in a category higher than 5 is generally worth your while.
However, there are still some advantages to using a Cat5 cable:

• Cat 5 cables are some of the most affordable connection options out there, partly because of how long they have been around and partly due to the limitations of their performance. Because of this, they are generally a good choice for households on a budget that has no use for high capacity networking.
• Cat5 cables are also versatile and flexible in comparison to other types since they are less dense, making them ideal for multiple applications and easy concealment. They can also be used to connect PCs to wall sockets, but can also be used for telephones and entertainment systems.

• Since cat5 cables only operate at a maximum of 100megabits per second, they are incredibly limited in terms of transfer speeds, both on the web and your local network. While their performance might depend heavily on your router’s capabilities, a strong router will be limited by a cat5 cable.

2. Category 5e Ethernet Cables

Cat5e cables provide vastly greater speeds than their cat5 predecessors, which is just one of the reasons why it replaced the popularity of cat5 in around 2001.
With compatible routers, they can provide connection speeds of up to 1Gbps which is vastly more impressive than cat5, and the best part is that there is virtually no difference in price per 100meters.

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However, cat5e is still a fairly outdated solution, and so its applicability will be determined by its benefits and drawbacks.

• Cat5e cables can perform up to 10 times faster than cat5 cables, providing up to 1Gbps. This makes it ideal for homes or offices with high bandwidth needs whether online or their local network.
• Cat5e provides better protection against electromagnetic interference which could lower your connection speed and quality thanks to additional insulation.
• Cat5e cables are quite a bit more affordable than Cat6 or Cat6a cables, but still provides amicable performance in comparison.

These properties make cat5e cables ideal for large homes or small offices with intensive bandwidth needs.
Whether you are transferring large sums of data over the local network or are looking for greater connection speeds to the web, cat 5e is a great-middle-of-the-range option.
However, for those networks that are extremely complicated, large or situated in an area with high bandwidth activities, cat5e may not be quite enough.

3. Category 5e Flat Ethernet Cables

Super-flat Cat5e cables offer most of the same advantages that cat5e does but are specifically designed for maintaining the aesthetics of your home or working environment.
However, the performance to aesthetics ratio makes it applicable for very specific situations, while providing a little bit less in the way of interference protection.

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While they are able to transfer data rates of up to 1Gbps, their flat design makes them a little more susceptible to interference from electronic equipment and other ethernet cables in the vicinity. But if that is the case, then why opt for a flat cable in the first place?
The flat design makes it fairly simple to conceal the cable either under a carpet, in the ceiling or behind a wall. Since an abundance of rogue cabling is irksome to most households, this presents a quint solution to protruding wires in the home or office.
There are quite a few advantages to flat Cat5e cables:

• They provide data transfers of up to 1Gbps, enabling you to get the most out of connection speeds and stability while surfing online, streaming, gaming and sharing content. These results are of course subject to the capabilities of other devices (such as the router) which are associated with the infrastructure of your network.
• The cable’s flat design makes it simple to set up neatly or to conceal beneath skirtings, under carpets, behind the walls or in the ceiling. This makes it ideal for those setups that pay a certain amount of attention to aesthetics, and for those who are sick to the teeth of tripping over wires.

However, despite these advantages, flat Cat5e cables have a major disadvantage when it comes to filtering out interference.
An ethernet cable’s ability to combat interference has a lot to do with how densely the wires within are wound around each other. Since flat cables leave very little space for this, they tend to deal poorly with interference.

4. Category 6 Ethernet Cables

Cat6 cables are a relatively new addition to the ethernet family and outstrips the performance of its cat5 predecessors significantly.
When measured in 100m lengths, these cables can easily provide the 1Gbps transfers offered by cat5e, but have the added benefit of pushing itself to 10Gbps when measured under 55 meters.

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They also operate on a much higher frequency than cat 5 cables (250Mhz to be exact), which goes a long way towards eliminating and limiting interference from electronic devices.
They do tend to cost quite a bit more than the cat 5 cables, but if your network can provide the speeds that they offer, then a cat6 cable is well worth it. If not, you are only going to better the transfer speeds associated with your local network.
Here are some of the major advantages behind cat6 cabling:

• Cat6 ethernet cables are backward compatible, that means that they can be used even on older routers and switches. While they might not boost the speed of your connection in such cases, they will eliminate interference and greatly increase the speeds of your local area network.
• Cat6 can provide a staggering 10 times the transfer rates of cat5e cables, making them perfect for homes or businesses with high bandwidth needs.
• The use of higher frequencies to eliminate interference from other LAN cables and electronic devices automatically makes this a better bet than cat5 or cat5e cables.

Though there are a few disadvantages associated with cat6 cables as well:

• Cat6 cables are notably more expensive than cat5 or cat5e cables, which is not a problem if you get major results in terms of connection speeds. However, if your router or ISP doesn’t allow you to reach speeds supported by cat6 cables, you will definitely feel like you’ve wasted money on it.
• Cat6 cables will only provide you with speeds that your router and internet service provider can give, so don’t expect it to boost performance on older devices. Remember that if any of your network components are not gigabit rated, your network can only operate as quickly as its slowest device.

5. Category 6a Ethernet Cables

Category 6a ethernet cables give you much higher speeds and reliability than any of the abovementioned ones, and is about as good as you can practically get without using fiber optics.
These cables are definitely more suited to complex office networks, but it is not unheard of to see them in residential setups.

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When measured by 100meters, Cat6a cables can provide you with connection speeds of up to 10Gbps (as opposed to cat6 cables which can only do that with 55 meters of cabling).
Another major feature of cat6a cables, is that they operate on 500Mhz, which practically eliminates all local interference which could have a negative impact on the quality of your network connections.
These cables are ideal for large setups where the transfer of data across the local network is as crucial a task as being able to connect to the web.
Media houses, large businesses and any other firm that would need to transfer incredibly large files on the daily, and have the infrastructure to take full advantage of cat6e cables, would love cat6a cabling in their office spaces.
For the average household, however, it’s a bit like getting John Rambo to take part in a school fight… utterly unnecessary, expensive and downright wasteful.
Here are some advantages associated with cat6a cables:

• Cat6a cables provide much higher speeds at greater lengths than any one of its predecessors. This makes it ideal for extremely high bandwidth tasks whether over the net or the local network.
• Reliability and lack of interference is also a huge plus with these cables since they eliminate interference on a 500Mhz frequency and are also more robustly wound to further eliminate electronic interference.

But even the best have some disadvantages:

• The robustness of cat6a cables makes for a double-edged sword. Sure, they might be better at limiting interference, but the size and stiffness of the cables make them difficult to work with, move around or conceal.
• Cat6a cables come at a much higher price than any of the abovementioned products, and quite frankly, they perform so well that they are rarely suitable for residential use. As iot is with the cat6 cables, why would you pay more for something that you can’t get the full benefits of if your network hardware is not up to par.