blue ethernet cable and yellow one

[glitchmaster0001]

Hi, so im getting a new laptop on thanksgiving (MSI GE62 Apache 276) and i want a wired connection at home and wireless when im on the go. currently i have a yellow ethernet cable from the stock AT&T ISP router but thats too short. i then asked my school IT guy and he gave me a longer blue ethernet cable. what is the diffrence between the blue cable and the yellow cable? im new to networking so i dont know much. Thanks!

 

[theyeti87]

Fundamentally they are the same. Ethernet cable, or RJ-45, is classified in different categories such as CAT5 and CAT6. The cable's color doesn't mean anything in particular.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

Fundamentally they are the same. Ethernet cable, or RJ-45, is classified in different categories such as CAT5 and CAT6.

so in theory the connectors would fit on the router and the laptop? because my dads desktop is hooked up to the router too but he uses a yellow Ethernet cable

 

[theyeti87]

As long as the cable is RJ-45, yes.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

As long as the cable is RJ-45, yes.

ok thanks ill wait for other people to have a say before i select the best answer

 

[bill001g]

One is prettier than the other but only you can decide.

Although there are different forms of ethernet cables at your level of understanding you can just assume they will all work fine for you. They make neon color ones if you really want.

Some companies will use different cable colors just to keep things straight in a room with hundreds of cables but what they mean is up to them.

 

[derek3ton]

No difference. It's only for your referencing. Color makes no difference in performance.

 

[glitchmaster0001]

UPDATE: i looked at the cable (the blue one) im at school right now and it says CAT 5 on it so shouldnt it be the same as the yellow one? also what are the chances of the cable being damaged because the IT guys said he doesnt know if it works or not

 

[theyeti87]

If the cable doesn't work it will not damage anything.

 

[derek3ton]

you can mix match and it will work, but regular cat 5 can only support up to 100mbps and cat 5e is up to 1000Mbps or Gigabit. So if you mix match you will be limited to 100Mbps. Just go to walmart and pick up a Cat5e. they are pretty inexpensive.

 

[jsmithepa]

You are SOOOoooo overthinking it. Ethernet cables are pretty much idiot-proof. Either it works, or it doesn't. Nothing is gonna blow up.

Worry about liquid damage. Tipped soda, bye-bye laptop.

 

[ouroborus]

"There is, in fact, a difference between all those network cables. They look very similar from the outside, and any of them will plug into an ethernet port, but they do have some differences on the inside. If you aren't sure what type of cables you have, look at the text printed on the cable—usually it will tell you what type it is. The differences between each type of cable can get very complicated and have a lot to do with network standards, but we'll tell you just what you need to know: how they'll practically affect the speed of your home network."

So, the color does not matter in relation to the function or capability of your cables. For you and your situation, it's unlikely that the cable category matters either since the higher standard cables are compatible with the lower standard cables. It's likely that both the cables you are asking about are CAT5 cables and are sufficient for your networking needs. So long as it has the right connector (RJ-45) and is designated as an ethernet cable, it will work for you.

For more information see: http://lifehacker.com/5994163/whats-the-difference-between-these-ethernet-cables-and-will-they-make-my-network-faster

 

[giantbucket]

there was a time when blue was normal and yellow was cross-over.

now, it still holds true about 18% of the time. the rest of the time you gotta check if there's any specific label on it to indicate cross-over or not.

and most current routers or switches won't care even if it is.

 

[mjslakeridge]

I have blue, yellow, grey, black. I made most of them myself, so even the yellow aren't crossover. You can't hurt anything if the new cable is defective, it just won't work.