Cat 5e versus Cat 6 Ethernet Cables

[NetCablesPlus]

Howdy,

New to techspot, so please bear with me if I have posted incorrectly.

I am looking for opinions on the above topic. Which of these cables are you currently buying for your network and why? I would also be interested to hear if you have recently changed from Cat 5e to Cat 6 and noticed improvement, etc. Thanks.

 

[tipstir]

Oh you're already changed from CAT 5e to CAT 6, but you know you could go higher, but that would be expensive. Fiber Optics is where move and move companies are going.

CAT 5e for more general networking use up to 300 Feet

high-performance wiring standards CAT 6 and CAT 7

Cat 6 reduces alien crosstalk by adding a metal foil or mesh screen around each 4-pair cable, shielding it.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Cat 6 reduces alien crosstalk by adding a metal foil or mesh screen around each 4-pair cable, shielding it.

That is a bit different from my experiences tearing apart Cat 6 UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair) cables. The ones that I have seen use a plastic (PVC) insert between the twisted pairs to reduce crosstalk between them. I believe that if they had the metal foil around each twisted pair, they would then be Cat 6 STP (Shielded Twisted Pair) which reduces electromagnetic interference from outside sources (e.g., large electronic machinery or devices running nearby.)

Fiber Optics is definitely becoming more popular, in my experience, but that does not include the connection from the wall to the end user, as far as I am aware.