What's the difference between Cat5E and Cat6 Cable?

Cat5E Computer Cable

Category 5E Cable is Network Ethernet cabling that consists of four twisted pairs of copper wire terminated by RJ45 connectors. While the base standard set by TIA/EIA for cat5E is 100 MHz, our cat5E cable supports frequencies up to 350 MHz and for 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet. Additionally, Cat5E Ethernet cable can be used for voice, video, data, ATM, token ring, and direct networking. Cat5E cable runs should be limited to a maximum length of 328 feet (100 meters). Currently, cat5E is the standard for data cabling communication with cat6, cat6A, and cat7 being faster.

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Cat5E Cable Product Details:

• Cat5E Cable Standards provide a performance rate of 350 MHZ
• Cat5E Cable is suitable for Gigabit Ethernet, telephony and video signals
• High-performance data communications cable for noisy environment
• PVC is Designed for indoor installations aka CMR Riser Cable
• CMX Outdoor Cable is UV Jacketed Cable
• Plenum is fire rated Jacketed Cable
• Excellent attenuation and crosstalk characteristics
• Standards: EIA, TIA 568 B.2-1, UL, CSA, ISO, IEC 11801, UL/cUL, ETL

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Cat6 Computer Cable

Category 6, Cat-6 network cabling is used as the cabling infrastructure for 10BASE-T (Ethernet), 100BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet, or GbE) and 10GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet, or 10 GbE) networks. The Cat 6 standard provides performance of up to 500 MHz for the newer Cat6 standards and can be used up to a maximum length of 100 meters (55 meters for 10GBASE-T networks).

The Cat 6 standard was first released in 2002 as part of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 document specification. Cat 6 is backward compatible with the Cat 3, Cat 5 and Cat 5e cable standards, and as with Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling, Cat 6 cables consist of four unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of copper wire terminated by RJ45 connectors.

In addition to its support for higher performance than the Cat 5 specification, the Cat 6 standard also includes more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. While Cat 6 is expected to supersede both Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling in the future, all three types of cables continue to be popular for use in network installations.

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Cat6 Cable Product Details:

• High-performance data communications cable for noisy environment
• Suitable for up to 600MHz high-speed data applications
• Gigabit ethernet, fast ethernet and 155Mbps TP-PMD/CDDI
• PVC is Designed for indoor installations aka CMR Riser Cable
• Outdoor Cable is UV CMX Jacketed Cable
• Plenum is fire rated Jacketed Cable
• Excellent attenuation and crosstalk characteristics
• Standards: EIA, TIA 568 B.2-1, UL, CSA, ISO, IEC 11801, UL/cUL, ETL

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History:

Cat-6 network cabling is used as the cabling infrastructure for 10 BASE-T (Ethernet), 100 BASE-TX (Fast Ethernet), 1000 BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet, or GbE) and 10 GBASE-T (10-Gigabit Ethernet, or 10 GbE) networks. The Cat 6 standard provides performance of up to 500 MHz for the newer Cat6 standard and can be used up to a maximum length of 100 meters (55 meters for 10GBASE-T networks). Cat 6 standards were first released in 2002 as part of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1 document specification. Cat6 is backward compatible with the Cat 3, Cat 5 and Cat 5e cable standards, and as with Cat 5 and Cat 5e cabling, Cat 6 cables consist of four unshielded twisted pairs (UTP) of copper wire terminated by RJ45 connectors. In addition to its support for higher performance than the Cat 5 specification, the Cat 6 standard also includes more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. While Cat 6 is expected to supersede Cat5e cabling in the future, Cat 5e types of cable continue to be popular for use in network installations.

The difference between Cat 5e and Cat6 Ethernet Cable:

Cat6 cable is more reliable at higher speeds than Cat5e. Cat 6 is backward compatible with Cat 5e, so you can mix and match, but they are different on the inside, where it counts. If you mix them, you’ll never reach the full performance level you would if you used only cat6 cable, cat6 jacks, cat6 mod plugs and cat 6 patch panels. Until recently, most home and office routers supported lower speeds, so Cat6 wasn't necessary, however Gigabit Ethernet routers have now become more common. Both Cat5e and cat6 cables can both work with Gigabit Ethernet. Cat 5e cable is enhanced to reduce interference so that it can reliably deliver gigabit speeds. However, Gigabit Ethernet still pushes cable to its limits so cat6 may be the preferred choice. Cat6 cable is certified to handle Gigabit speeds, it's meant to handle it and it does. It's also suitable for 10-Gigabit although at that point, you're pushing the limits of Cat6. Cat6 cable also has more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Cat 5e does. That means you'll get fewer errors on a system operating via Cat6.