Will a category 6a cable download faster than a 5e?

ClarkeKent

I have a 10/100 network adapter connected to a 10/100 router. Will the newer 6a deliver a faster download for large files over a 5e cable?

enfield_freddy

no , it will allow the faster 1000 setup to operate at a longer distance , if you are replacing cables with new one then choose cat 6 for replacements when you upgrade


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ClarkeKent

So it needs to be a 10/100/1000 adapter and router?

enfield_freddy

no you can use a cat 6 cable on the earlier 10/100 setup , however to get the max performance you need a 10/100/1000 setup , in reality your basic internet will be ok at 100 , however if you are using nas drives or networking , file copying will be much faster with a 1000 setup and cables ,


which router do you have?

esuhl

ClarkeKent wrote: »

I have a 10/100 network adapter connected to a 10/100 router. Will the newer 6a deliver a faster download for large files over a 5e cable?

No. Cat 5e cable allows for 1Gb/s speeds, but your router and network adapter can only run at 100Mb/s, so they will be the limiting factor.

Also, your ISP's allocated bandwidth is likely to be a further limiting factor if you're referring to downloading files over the Internet, rather than locally.

securityguy

No. Cat 5 allows 100BaseT to operate at full speed.

Nilrem

enfield_freddy wrote: »

no you can use a cat 6 cable on the earlier 10/100 setup , however to get the max performance you need a 10/100/1000 setup , in reality your basic internet will be ok at 100 , however if you are using nas drives or networking , file copying will be much faster with a 1000 setup and cables ,


which router do you have?

Spot on.


ClarkKent if internet doesn't get over 100mbs t but you're transferring files across the home network a lot then adding a 10/100/1000 NIC to your machines and a cheap 10/100/1000 switch (I've picked up several Netgear 8 port ones for about £20 each which work well*), could massively improve the home network performance.

6E is only worth it if you're doing 1000mbs over longer runs than 5E can cope with, which is unlikely in a home environment.
I've got cat5E running from one downstairs front room, up into the loft, across the loft to the back of the house taking the long route around the internal perimeter (so it's not snaking across the loft), then down back into the living room, I can't currently measure it's performance properly as it's running faster than the drives in the living room PC (they're older SATA and PATA drives that top out at around 60-100MB/s, which is less than the about 120MB/s gigabit cabling/NIC's can do)



*I needed 4 ports in the lounge and didn't want to run additional cables.

patman99

Cat 5e and Cat 6 cables will both do 1G/bit, but only over a maximum run of 100 metres total cable length. This is based on a 90 metre cable run with 2x 5 metre patch cables between device and socket.

Cat6 will handle 10G/bit speeds, but only with a maximum cable length of 55 metres.

For faster speeds over longer distances, fibre is the connection of choice.