[SOLVED] What cat cable should I get?

[mrsidelineswap]

I am running a 100ft cat cable from my router to my gaming pc. I want the best quality and speed, as my download speed on a cat6 is currently around 400mbps. Should I get a cat7?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Anything beyond Cat 5e is unnecessary, although if you have Cat6 already then that's fine. Cat 5e supports up to 1Gbps speeds at up to 328ft.

What you should be MORE concerned with is the QUALITY of the line you have, not what standard it SAYS it is certified for. It's pretty hard to beat Tripp Lite for quality, but they are also expensive. If you already have a quality Cat6 cable, and I'd check around to see if what you have IS a quality cable, then you don't need anything "more".

 

[USAFRet]

I am running a 100ft cat cable from my router to my gaming pc. I want the best quality and speed, as my download speed on a cat6 is currently around 400mbps. Should I get a cat7?

Cat5e does 1000mbps out to 100 meters (330 feet).

Anything above that gives zero performance benefit. Of course, assuming good quality cable, not "flat" or thin gauge.

 

[mrsidelineswap]

Anything beyond Cat 5e is unnecessary, although if you have Cat6 already then that's fine. Cat 5e supports up to 1Gbps speeds at up to 328ft.

What you should be MORE concerned with is the QUALITY of the line you have, not what standard it SAYS it is certified for. It's pretty hard to beat Tripp Lite for quality, but they are also expensive. If you already have a quality Cat6 cable, and I'd check around to see if what you have IS a quality cable, then you don't need anything "more".

So there is no difference between speed and performance of a cat5e and cat6/7 if my download speed is 400mbps?

 

[mrsidelineswap]

Cat5e does 1000mbps out to 100 meters (330 feet).

Anything above that gives zero performance benefit. Of course, assuming good quality cable, not "flat" or thin gauge.

alright thanks

 

[USAFRet]

With your current setup, what numbers are you seeing?
And tested how?

 

[Darkbreeze]

So there is no difference between speed and performance of a cat5e and cat6/7 if my download speed is 400mbps?

Correct.

Now, two different Cat 5e or two different Cat 6 cables, might have ENTIRELY different performance characteristics depending on the quality of the cable, whether it's a shielded type, whether it's a SPECIFIC KIND of shielded type, etc. There are plenty of very good deep dive tutorials on how to select a quality ethernet cable that is suitable for the specific use case out there.

 

[mrsidelineswap]

With your current setup, what numbers are you seeing?
And tested how?

i used the speedtest app from Microsoft. 10ms ping, 443mbps download, and 42mbps upload

 

[USAFRet]

i used the speedtest app from Microsoft. 10ms ping, 443mbps download, and 42mbps upload

Assuming that upload is cognizant with whatever your contract states...there is ZERO issue.
The download is a bit better than your contracted "400mbps".

That's what you contracted for, that's what you pay for, that is apparently what you're getting.

 

[SamirD]

So there is no difference between speed and performance of a cat5e and cat6/7 if my download speed is 400mbps?

Yep, absolutely zero. Marketing scams at their best. In fact, I don't know if there even is a ratified spec for cat7 cabling yet.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Cat7 was ratified in 2002, 18 years ago.

https://www.flukenetworks.com/blog/cabling-chronicles/what-ever-happened-category-7

 

[SamirD]

Cat7 was ratified in 2002, 18 years ago.

https://www.flukenetworks.com/blog/cabling-chronicles/what-ever-happened-category-7

Great to know! Thank you for the link--fascinating read! Especially about 7a and cat 8.