The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Cat5e and Cat6 Data Outlet

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by student101, Apr 17, 2012.

  1. student101

    student101 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Is there any difference between cat5e data outlet and cat6 data outlet? (Is there any such thing?)
     
    student101, Apr 17, 2012
    #1
  2. jotm

    jotm Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    347
    Messages:
    480
    Likes Received:
    87
    Trophy Points:
    41
    I don't know what you mean by data outlet, but from what I know, Cat5, 5e and 6 have the same wiring, with the only difference being in the better shielding and more copper wires inside Cat6 cables, which is only useful for Gigabit Ethernet over long distances.

    On 100 Mbps networks or short range (less than ~5 meters) Gigabit, you won't see much difference between 5, 5e and 6.

    I'm using a 2 meter Cat5 (not even 5e) for a Gigabit connection and am getting ~60-70 MB/s transfer speeds, which seems to be the normal rate for integrated Ethernet controllers...
     
    jotm, Apr 17, 2012
    #2
  3. HopelesslyFaithful

    HopelesslyFaithful Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,552
    Messages:
    3,271
    Likes Received:
    164
    Trophy Points:
    0
    what i remember was cat5 is 100Mbps and cat5e is like 500-700Mbps and Cat6 is 1Gbps but dont quote me

    Also its same wires but different freq or something...read the wiki on it. The actually signal/signal threshold on each cable is different which means higher speeds....from what i remember...i might be completely wrong but I think that is right. Just read the wikipedia article.
     
    HopelesslyFaithful, Apr 17, 2012
    #3
  4. student101

    student101 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I don't mean the actual difference in cat5e and cat6 cable. What I meant was these:

    Cat5e UTP Data Outlets

    Cat 6 UTP Data Outlets

    Is there any difference between the two? If there is, then if we use Cat6 cable on a Cat5e outlet, it won't take advantage of the better capabilities of Cat6??

    Thanks.
     
    student101, Apr 18, 2012
    #4
  5. HopelesslyFaithful

    HopelesslyFaithful Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,552
    Messages:
    3,271
    Likes Received:
    164
    Trophy Points:
    0
    not sure...it should all be the same from what i understand. All your doing is connecting the fires to the outlet...the outlet doesn't have any wires itself from what i understand that would affect it.
     
    HopelesslyFaithful, Apr 18, 2012
    #5
  6. capsulej

    capsulej Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    20
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Outlets are just endpoints. It shouldn't impact the performance of the cable..
     
    capsulej, Apr 20, 2012
    #6
  7. student101

    student101 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thank you all for replying.

    If there is no difference, then why is there a price difference between the two? Or is it just a marketing tactic?
     
    student101, Apr 23, 2012
    #7
  8. flipfire

    flipfire Moderately Boss

    Reputations:
    6,156
    Messages:
    11,214
    Likes Received:
    68
    Trophy Points:
    466
    Its not marketing, its all about standards and certifications when fitting out large offices that use high bandwidth devices.

    While CAT5e can support gigabit speeds (or near), its just not certified. CAT6 is certified for gigabit speeds plus more (faster transmission rates, etc)

    Those outlets is really just a tiny piece of metal, that you punch down CAT cable pairs on and turn it into an RJ45 port. whether that piece of metal makes a difference, im not sure. Although CAT6 cables are usually thicker (and harder to crimp)

    No point terminating it to a CAT6 outlet if your gonna use a CAT5 cabling and equipment anyway.
     
    flipfire, Apr 23, 2012
    #8
  9. HopelesslyFaithful

    HopelesslyFaithful Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,552
    Messages:
    3,271
    Likes Received:
    164
    Trophy Points:
    0
    maybe marketing but could also be there are designed differently...are they the same shape and design?
     
    HopelesslyFaithful, Apr 23, 2012
    #9
  10. blue68f100

    blue68f100 Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    1,020
    Messages:
    3,439
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    105
    Make sure you use the 468B spec when dealing with GigE network. Some old systems I got into used the A spec which does not work for gige speeds. There is 1 pair of wires swapped between the 2 specs. There is a difference between the Cat5e, 6, 7 jacks, it's all about noise.

    The Cat5e will work on short runs. But if your doing a cat6+ system, kinks and sharp bends in the wiring can and may fail install cert test.
     
    blue68f100, Apr 26, 2012
    #10