Here we ll discuss the speeds of the most popular ethernet cables categories cat5 cat5e cat6 cat6a cat7 and the newest cat8 to help you make a wise choice.
Cat 8 ethernet cable speed.
That speed comes with a price however as cat 6 cables are more expensive than cat 5 and cat 5e variants.
On most cables you should be able to look at the cable itself and find the label printed on the outside surface of the cable.
250mhz up to 550 1000mbps.
It allows users to get higher speeds with longer cables.
The exact maximum speed of your ethernet cable depends on the type of ethernet cable you re using.
A common misunderstanding is that cat5e patch cables are not capable of running at gigabit speeds and cat6 or above is required.
However even the cat5e cable in common use supports up to 1 gb s.
500mhz up to 550.
Cat 6a the a in cat 6a stands for augmented.
Cat5e patch cables are tested up to 350mhz and are perfectly capable of operating at gigabit speeds.
Cat 8 the next generation of ethernet cables is on the horizon but for the time being cat 7a cat 7 augmented is the highest performing ethernet cord available.
Category 8 cat8 cable or cat 8 cable is an ethernet cable which is a different type of cable standing apart from the previous cables.
It supports a frequency of up to 2ghz 2000 mhz.
On the other hand a wired ethernet connection can theoretically offer up to 10 gb s if you have a cat6 cable.
The following is the overview of ethernet cable speed of cat5 cat5e cat6 cat6a cat7 and cat8.
Like the cat 6a and cat 7 cables the cat 7a supports speeds up to 10 000 mbps but the max bandwidth is much higher at 1 000 mhz.
It eliminates alien cross talk with improved noise resistance.
And unlike with wi fi that speed is consistent.
Category standard bandwidth max data rate shielding.
Most importantly cat8 ethernet patch cables can support a speed of 25 gbps or even 40 gbps.
Finally category 8 is the new spec on the cable block.
The new 2ghz speed limit.
That s your best bet.
Cat 6 6a and 7 cables are generally thicker than cat 5e cables and less flexible so if you re used to handling cat 5e cables that s another easy way to tell.
Ethernet cable speed of different categories.
Different categories of network cable support certain speeds this article will explain which cable should be used for what application.