As with most things these days’ things get smaller and faster but they seem to come with more features or more potential for expansion. Even the humble network or Ethernet cable hasn’t managed to escape from this trend. There is a drastic need for this though and that is with the take up of digital devices within our homes and the need to transmit vast amounts of data between these digital devices.
Whether you are using your computer connected to your TV for watching High Definition Movies or listening to MP3’s stored on your computer on your home entertainment system you will be able to do all of this and potentially a lot more as time goes by.
So what are the differences between Cat5 Cable and Cat6 Cable?
Cat5 cable has been around now for many years, although they have managed to keep pace with what was needed from them being able to transmit at either 10 or 100 mbps. Unfortunately this is now just too slow, with all the changes in the equipment that has gone on. There is also a enhanced version of the cat5 cable called cat5e which is capable of transferring at up to gigabit speeds (1000mbps) also offering better shielding and less corruption of data although they can not be certified to run at these speeds.
Cat6 cable on the other hand has been developed to allow for far greater transfer speeds while offering even better protection against data loss. This has been achieved by changing the way that the cables are made offering a separator which runs the full length of the cable. Cat6 Cable is certified to at least gigabit speeds and most Cat6 cables are more than capable of running at 10gigabit.
To achieve the faster speeds stated previously from a Cat5e cable or Cat6 cable it is not just a case of plugging the cable into existing equipment as many people believe it to be. A network connection is only every as fast as the slowest component, so if your existing equipment is not able to run at the faster speeds then it will not be any faster than it is at present. With all of that said you would be able to expand in the future without having to get new cables if you chose Cat6 cable now.
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