Standard Cat5e Cables

CAT5E PATCH CABLES - ETHERNET AND NETWORK CABLES

• Cat5e patch cables UTP (unshielded twisted pair) are suitable for high density installations and they are the perfect for most solution.
• Cat5e patch cables Snagless come with a latch protection on the Rj45 connector
• Cat5e patch cables Flat are great for running under carpets to hide cables

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAT5 VS CAT5E CABLE

Cat5 and Cat5e are most popularly used cables in home networking and small Local Area Networks (LAN). These cables look very similar from outside, but they have some technical differences from inside. Cat5 (Category 5) cables are little slower and older cables which are probably now available with only old networking devices. Cat5e (Category 5 enhanced) cable is an improvement in Cat5 cable that supports faster speed with reliable data transmission. Cat5e is better than Cat5 because the crosstalk (interference) is reduced from the wires within the cable. Whether Cat5 or Cat5e, installing any one of them can practically affect the speed of your home network or LAN.
Here is some information about specifications of both the cables.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: SPEED

Cat5 cable is capable of supporting network speed of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, which means these cables can support Ethernet and fast Ethernet. This cable is more prone to interference issues so the data transmission is not reliable even up to 100 Mbps. Cat5e cable is able to support network speed up to 1 Gbps (often called gigabit Ethernet). Cat5e is backward compatible so they can support Ethernet, fast Ethernet, and Gigabit Ethernet. Cat5e is faster than Cat5 cable and gives you a smoother experience.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: SUPPORTED LENGTH

Both types of cables can support good data transfer rate up to 100m, after that the transfer rate drops out. You can install Cat5 and Cat5e cable longer than the recommended length, but you may experience deprived and unreliable data transmission while using them. Switches or repeaters can be used to amplify the signals and you may get good transmission up to 180m.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: BANDWIDTH

The bandwidth is the information-carrying capacity of the cable. Cat5 can support 100 MHz frequency which is much lesser than Cat5e. The bandwidth supported by Cat5e is rated at 350 MHz that allows it to support the Gigabit Ethernet. So, Cat5e has a greater information-carrying capacity than Cat5 in a given period of time.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: PERFORMANCE

The performance of Cat5 is satisfactory with greater potential of crosstalk. The crosstalk is the electrical interference that occurs when one wire’s signal affects another wire’s signal in a twisted pair. Cat5e cable had less crosstalk (interference) than Cat5. Due to low interference level in Cat5e, it supports more reliable data transfer than Cat5. So, Cat5 gives better performance in terms of reliable data transfer.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: WIRING

Both Ethernet cables Cat5 and Cat5e use twisted pair wiring in solid and stranded variants. The main difference in Cat5 and Cat5e wiring is the tightness of the wire twisted. More the wire is tightly twisted; less would be the crosstalk interference. In Cat5e the wires are more tightly twisted to decrease the crosstalk between them.

CAT5 CABLE VS CAT5E CABLE: FUTURE USE

The use of Cat5 cables is limited now. These cables don’t provide good network experience when faster internet speeds are needed. Cat5e are adequately used in Gigabit internet connections. But to support speed beyond 1 Gbps, Cat6 or Cat7 are recommended.
In a nutshell, Cat5 cables are still used in some old applications but, now almost all new installations are using Cat5e cables. Cat5e has improved signal capacity, less interference level, and better reliability than Cat5. Also, Cat5e is backward compatible so it can be used with old network devices. So with enhancements in design, Cat5e is more appropriate for most data cabling requirements.