Cat5 VS Cat6 - What's the difference?

Not all ethernet cables are born equal. Jack explains the difference between cat5, cat6, and spaghetti. (spoiler: the last one's the worst)
Buy network cables!
Canada: www.ncix.com/article/NMG.htm?s...
US: www.ncix.com/article/NMG.htm?s...
Sponsor Link: www.ncix.com/article/nmg.htm?s...
Follow Us! www.ncix.com/article/NMG.htm
Episode Credits:
Host: Jack Sui
Writer: Jack Sui
Editor: Kalvin Shum

[@Crlarl]

Damn, I just upgraded my noodle network to spaghetti and now it's obsolete?

[@stefancroes]

This video is a lie. Anything painted red goes faster...

[@Erigorn]

And painted purple for rapey dinosaurs.

[@MarklarRavencrest]

And blue for better temperatures..

[@bennyuoppd33]

Marklar No, anything painted blue is instantly better in every way possible.

[@vanhakaveri]

Especially if it has flames!

[@SIGSEGV1337]

vanhakaveri and LAZARZ!

[@rocksaregray]

Are 6 cats just as good as cat 6?

[@DrPseudo1]

+rocksaregray 6 Cats are good because it gives you a day off...Cat 6 is better than cat 5e and are pretty inexpensive as is explained in the video...

[@xsisted3749]

+KJY Prodigy LMAO

[@JustinTimeTo]

You probably get a lot more crosstalk with 6 cats!

[@toldfable]

yes

[@cata2102]

I don't think so dude.I studied for almost 4 years and I don't think so.

[@IanEao55]

I had a basic understanding of the different kinds of CAT cables, but this gave me a nice overview of the main differences. Well thought out and to the point. Good job boys!

[@AdamMason]

This was actually incredibly informative, as well as hilarious.

[@ZedMasterGames]

My knowledge on spaghetti has been expanded at a whole new level

[@alexsoupir]

First one I've ever watched from you. Definitely helpful AND entertaining.

[@midtown3221]

I am so fracking glad y'all made this video!

[@Jerry5063]

Great job I always update my home with the most updated cables. This would be helpful to the untechie.

[@standalonefighter]

cat 3 16 Mb/s over 100 meters 16MHz cat 4 20 Mb/s over 100 meters 16MHz cat 5 100Mb/s over 100 meters 100MHz cat 5e 1Gb/s over 100 meters 100MHz cat 6 10Gb/s over 55 meters 250MHz cat 6a 10 Gb/s over 100 meters 250MHz thumbs up for the facts :)

[@jtgaminghd8419]

standalonefighter thanks so much, I'm running network cables for my dad as he is too old to do it himself and I needed to know the difference

[@standalonefighter]

no worries :)

[@fa7cak359]

standalonefighter cat 3 lol

[@vernellt0t]

@standalonefighter dude i am only playing games with my 1 unit and i wanna know which cat should i get? this is my speedtest: beta.speedtest.net/result/6312114396.png

[@alexandrebouvier7731]

cat 5e : 2.5Gb/s over 100 meters 100MHz cat 6 : 5Gb/s over 100 meters 250MHz cat 6a : 10 Gb/s over 100 meters 500MHz Fixed.

[@BelschatsarBonzil]

You get a like just for that spaghetti bit at the end. The crown of ethernet was a nice touch also. You made me smile unexpectedly. Great info, and great touch of humor.

[@BROTHERLOUENY]

I must say as an experienced telecommunications technician, I learned a lot from watching your video and found it funny as well as informative. Keep up the good work. Happy Veteran's Day to my fellow Veterans in the world 🌎 🥊😀❤️

[@dominick1]

Unfortunally, the company that made these videos no longer exist. They stopped making videos, but some of them moved to Linus Tech Tips. They do the same types of videos

[@MaigoManville]

Good video as always, but I would've preferred a practical demo on the differences between Cat.5 5e and Cat.6, how does it affect my day to day internet usage or maybe local steam game streaming?

[@thelamp9592]

I use bought some spaghetti , it's really good, 0mgps :DDDD

[@Dan99]

***** 0 is always 0, no matter what the multiplier is.

[@mateuszjanowski2521]

Dan Khan mgps is a unit not a multiplier

[@TheRealSkeletor]

***** milligrams per second, obvs.

[@Dan99]

Mateusz J *Unit

[@danibrosio]

Dan Khan what if i multiply it by 1/0 :B

[@oceans405]

We are switching to cable TV and high speed internet. I found this video helpful and entertaining. Thanks!

[@maxrhino810]

Great content presented in a effective way - thanks!

[@franzfanz]

I paint a racing stripe on all my cables to make them go faster.

[@read6281]

+James Burtton I get the black ones because they go faster too ;)

[@DERAOFFICIAL]

I though the black ones didn't work though!!

[@nassiissan]

i put air holes in mine

[@FranciscoRodriguez-fr3uc]

I put cheeta prints on my CAT.7. cables.. 😂😂 getting a terabit connection on these bad boys

[@Omar-pe7jj]

Lol

[@_PaperbagGhost]

i just hoped that you mentioned the length effects on the speed, i had to go search that. cat5e over a longer distance reduces to 100mbps still.

[@alanhyper9266]

correct, or if badly installed over smaller distances

[@Blackirby]

Excellent video! Do you plan on doing more like this?

[@BrandonTran]

I loved your Spaghetti joke! Dry humor with dry noodles... Nicely done.

[@ChristinaKilgore]

cat 6 - used for business All I have in my house is cat 6 cat 6 - more expensive You can get a 50ft roll of cat 6 cable on amazon for 10 bucks; I once went in to office depot (they offer price match) walked in, grabbed 3 50ft cat 6 cables for 60 dollars a pop, showed them amazon's price and walked out that store with those cables for 28 dollars, not 180.

[@camiloreyes7735]

this video is from a year ago

[@ChristinaKilgore]

A lot changes over just a year? TBH I bought these cables a year ago.

[@camiloreyes7735]

+Mavu-in Kirugoa well, where i live they only have 5e xd

[@ChristinaKilgore]

Lol. I actually had to drive about two hours one direction to pick up those cables. Shouldve just gotten them off amazon TBH

[@camiloreyes7735]

+Mavu-in Kirugoa shipping is expensive

[@justinsheteron5053]

I'm really glad he included the part about spaghetti, I was really wondering about that

[@DozerJR]

Easy video to understand and very informative. Thanks jack & ncix

[@confoundb4]

I've worked on computers all my life and just now discovered the different cats. Thanks for the video, flawless.

[@raikiri23]

I found a huge bag of Cat 5 cabling at a Goodwill once, so I'm actually using a ton of standard Cat 5, but as my internet is only 15mbps it fully functions

[@AizenJoestar42]

Kyle H if its only for internet yes cat5 is enough if your internet speed is under than 100mbps, but like me if you have a nas, cat5e is the minimum

[@OprichnikStyle]

@@AizenJoestar42 whats a nas?

[@AizenJoestar42]

@@OprichnikStyle Network Attached Storage

[@WhiteVaille]

Do you have any benchmarks for those spaghetti cables? I've been using fettuccine cables due to preferring their low profile, but they're starting to get a little moldy. Time for an upgrade I think. :/

[@Digikidthevoiceofreason]

Try Lasagna. Works awesome!

[@WhiteVaille]

DigikidForever I dunno. I'm sure they have a lot of bandwidth, but I'm not sure my network could saturate it beyond al dente!

[@stupidburp]

I suggest upgrading to optical macaroni.

[@WhiteVaille]

***** That's a thing already?! My! Technology sure is amazing!

[@Kimera_Alternate_Realities]

Very helpful and also fun to watch, thanks for another great video.

[@aubreejames23]

This was awesome! Definitely helped me out! Thank you!

[@JonathanMills-HellFireAE]

Would've liked to see something on flat cables, but I'll take it

[@DeilGrist]

Same here. I use one and wonder if the isolation is as good.

[@andrewskaterrr]

they wont be as good. the main way Ethernet cables block interference is by wrapping around each other. Cat6 is more twists per foot than 5e and 5e has more twists per foot than 5. This extra twisting reduces the the EFI that each cable and cable pair "emit". this also relates to why you shouldn't loop up Ethernet and let it sit there like a hose, the EFI will interfere with each other and destroy your signal.

[@JonathanMills-HellFireAE]

Andrew Russell. This is information I'd like to know. I do know that you can buy extra shielding if you're wiring it in the walls to make sure nothing is interfering.

[@andrewskaterrr]

Jonathan Mills like they mentioned you can buy shielded cable but it cost a lot more. I'm finishing up tech school for Cisco systems and I think my teacher said companies normally just use unshielded for most. You have to be sure to not put within 3ft of a light fixture and or over an over/grill (ya it's weird but heat affects it too)

[@DJaquithFL]

Jonathan Mills I buy a 100' roll and cut to lenght. It's not that difficult and in the long run you save money and everything is tidy. Match whatever cable you have in your home and CAT-6 mixed with CAT-5e is still limited to whatever lowest speed cable and most home PC's use a Gigabit Ethernet NIC which is at the CAT-5e limit; meaning CAT-6 is a waste. New homes I recommend CAT-6; wiring a home after the fact is a major pain.

[@steve24822]

I love your intro to the video. "Being really smart I sometimes forget how stupid everyone else is". Made me feel humble...

[@Kenshindegozaru]

Great video. Thanks for the great work!

[@dankwarcinski6364]

SUPER helpful. Thank you NCIX Tips!

[@Fachpersonal]

Did not even know that there are different lan cables :D

[@BattousaiHBr]

what about cat7?

[@BattousaiHBr]

***** what about cat8?

[@BattousaiHBr]

***** what about cat9001?

[@BattousaiHBr]

***** heeeeell no

[@smacktaker432]

BattousaiHBr We do not speak its name, its not safe

[@yukido42]

BattousaiHBr even the world porn data base will be download under a second...unless they are in 8k.

[@chris_wall]

I tried standard pasta and that seemed to work the best. Thanks for the vid.

[@nerd1900]

2020, this video still comes up in the search.

[@jiroweiler5883]

Just found out that in my country, the companies default cables are cat5 for almost all their, if not for all their services, feels bad knowing that they sell and instal old stuff for the price of a new one and no one actually complains because very few people now this, dam third-world goverments T.T

[@brianphilips1092]

Bruh, I get 10000gigaBYTES per second speed at 1000mhz on my mlg proskills spaghetti cables. Definitely recommend them for gamers.

[@leomacuco]

You mean Cat 7?

[@yettielusive3370]

Great Video, very helpful. I was going on ebay for a longer blue cable, and I didn't know what cat5 or cat6 was. Thanks again Brotha. God bless.

[@ricksturm9701]

Very helpful and thanks you for making the explanation quick.

[@Juurus]

More information about spaghetti please

[@aspade01]

I remember when I was in the military we used a cable for secured streaming satellite feed. I believe we called it "cipher cable" or something like that. Anyways it turns out it was just cat 6, but was colored red. One trip we made our supply sergeant forgot it and we used regular cat 6 cable (colored blue, but worked perfectly fine). The contractors involved in the systems noticed and demanded we use the cipher cable and shut it down until we did. Our master sergeant jokingly said in the next meeting "How much is a can of red spray paint? Seriously I'll just paint the freaking cables". Our Colonel didn't think it was humorous at all and made us send a vehicle all the way back to get the cable.

[@BROTHERLOUENY]

I was in the signal corps in the Army. MOS: 31M. Multi-Channel Communications Operator. Fancy name for UHF Antenna installer/operator. Anyway what was your MOS?

[@aspade01]

@@BROTHERLOUENY 83B

[@BROTHERLOUENY]

@@aspade01 Was that microwave communications? Sorry don't mean to offend but those were the only two telecommunications MOS at the time that I knew of when I was in the service in the 80s. I am sure they are more advance now what was your title? If you don't mind me asking and by the way happy Veterans Day!

[@bryanjarboe8920]

Great short video, thanks!

[@toddmclaughlin8153]

I like to see stuff like this. I have spent days surfing & looking for info about different things. Cables was one of them.

[@chrisms6446]

My lord of the land a.k.a. landlord sells his tenants (8 apartments) internet for $25 each. He runs the whole fucking thing off of 1 cat5 cable. My connection fails 50% of the time and it's been driving me fucking nuts! And he's either paying $56 or $89 for the connection I'm guessing. What a dick!

[@chrisms6446]

Thank the universe that I'm getting my own damned connection next month. And I'm selling it to the other tenants. Fuck the man!

[@EileenTheCr0w]

+Christopher Michael Spain lol good luck bro

[@chrisms6446]

Eileen the Crow Thank you kindy broster

[@chrisms6446]

***** Only got a couple of neighbors on board. I may try again in the future when i get a better modem :). Used to split the cost of a net connection in a student house. We all payed 5 bucks a month.

[@dashdingo-aceit-nixon9738]

Needed one for my pc cus slow as shit on wireless net. also use it for xbox etc. Just bought a standard cat6 hopefully will improve my online gaming overall. If not, I will rant my rage in a reply to this comment.

[@pelon198712]

dan munson liar

[@PrecisionCSGO]

is it better?

[@GraphicJ]

THESE VIDEOS are the type of videos we want. We want to learn awesome stuff like this. It's the reason Linus does what he does. Us PCMRacers want to be enlightened every single day even if it things that we know about.. Thanks

[@TheJmudrow]

When you showed the spaghetti cable, I'll admit it. Totally thought I missed a CAT cable that was that small. If only...

[@NoChillMan]

Cat 6 comes with another cat.

[@DarkBioCloud]

where do they sell spaghetti cables i want to network my ragu with my prego for flavor blast speeds.

[@MirazSyed]

Most definitely helpful. Keep them coming.

[@Zinic_]

I really loved the close in shot on the brief segment of spaghetti.

[@melvin8d671]

This is spaghetti.

[@Dncmaster]

Cat. 7+ is the fastest but really really expensive..

[@Dncmaster]

***** It's not even for normal people it's for work places

[@Tigeraceray]

It's not expensive. I got a 100ft cable for only $20. I only got it because of the massive amount of shielding and the speed. Last Ethernet cable I'll need? Yep. I had to run mine in my basement to my room and it had to pass all the main power cables that run into the house and then branched off to distribute the power, plus two fluorescent lights.

[@chupamishuevos303]

not really but u know whats really expensive fiber optic cables thats why they havent upgraded networks yet. we have the technology but it is expencive

[@Romeo204FC3S]

Very helpful & neat vid. Thanks!

[@rasenche4562]

Thanks for the reminder... i did IT in school but had my head full with other things the past 6 years.. i kinda forget these details over the times.

[@presmadagascar]

why you gotta be such a judgy jason in the intro

[@zarster]

I didn't like the intro either, Learn a little from TechQuickie.. ;) Its not a good way to have the people that might actually need this kind of info feel wanted in the community. :P

[@connorjones915]

Not a single cat joke, disappointed...

[@spencer2443]

I'm very pleased with the performance of my spaghetti cables. 1.3 calorie bandwidth. Not bad. In addition, you can heat them up then dry them to for better cable management. If you plan to switch to spaghetti, make sure its whole wheat as the lack of grain results in connectivity interference.

[@JonHolm]

Super helpful. I'm no tech idiot but was doing some comparison shopping for network cables (who uses wires anymore, right?) and was confused by some different options. Cleared things up in 3 minutes here.Thanks!

[@frankbiz]

Great video, now I understand the difference and will make sure I have my electrician use the 5e at the very least. Thank you!

[@TheRunefox]

I would have liked some more in-depth discussion on the difference between Cat5e and Cat6's operating frequencies in terms of GbE seeing as it was mentioned in the video, but other than that, this is a decent comparison and explanation.

[@Terre328]

simple and to the point. awesome video.

[@zarokaleon4974]

Thank you very much this was very helpful. I am running cable throughout my house to provide a decent network in my room for gaming and this cleared some stuff up! Now show me how to run ethernet through walls, also how switches work, and how many routes I can have!

[@joellalena]

You told me exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you!

[@beat461]

luckily we have cat5e in our house. you made me shiver at the idea that i've been bottlenecking my network on cat5 cables for so long. I immediatetly checked and rest assured knowing i have cat5e

[@AndrewDy]

Great video, if i may ask, what about wall outlets does it matter if you are using cat5e ports vs cat6 wall ports? i am currently setting up an office, and i have read that all your termination points / cables / ports / jacks / patch panels / switch must be rated at cat 6 to get the cat 6 specifications or else if only one of it is cat5e, then the whole system runs at cat 5e.... can you share your expertise on these? thanks

[@MaadhavanTJ]

Simple and good explanation. Appreciated !!!

[@metalmalitia23]

Great video. Exactly what I needed to know with no bs

[@normskilight]

Nice vid, could have also mentioned typical usage scenarios. For example I have some old cat5 rubbish but its only a few metres long and I get a little under 115MB/s (gigabit) on it no probs. So get cat6 if you are buying new but don't assume you'll get a speed boost by throwing out potentially perfectly good cat5/cat5e. A cable is tested to operate reliably at a given mhz over a certain distance. 100m is a typical length manufacturers aim for. Much shorter than that and the purity/gauge/shielding of the copper becomes less of an issue.

[@mmans8191]

Thanks, Bud! Well explained! Cheers,

[@robrever]

It is great that you answered the question in a technical sense, but what does that mean to the consumer?

[@littlemoo52]

nice video. what recommendation would you give someone renovating their home. i just did a complete gut and was wondering if i should run Coax and Ethernet to each TV and/or workstation in the house and how many of each to each terminal. thanks

[@Idka25]

Great Video, helped me understand the difference!

[@Grid21]

Thanks for this video! I learned something! I'm curious now what Ethernet cables I'm using.

[@Grid21]

Your probably right, although I'm not sure still. It's not really that pressing to find out anyway.

[@valursvalur1]

love the info Jack

[@absurdanomaly427]

the wire showing up on his head at the end had me 💀. good video thanks

[@NeoPenny]

thank you i was looking for 50ft cable and came across cat 6... im just glad i don't need it for my home. However, one extra question i have is. Cat 6 fits into any regular ethernet connection, right?

[@justatiger6268]

Great stuff! Many thanks.

[@donnieg4593]

This was very helpful, thank you.

[@bramologist]

I needed that information,,thanks!!!!-very helpful!!!

[@willowdhoggue9337]

That was a fantastic explanation.

[@heatherhalls9089]

Omg thanks so much for the last tip! I've been wasting so much time sticking spaghetti in my computer!

[@sportigothic]

It took this long for somebody to tell me that spaghetti cable could not be used for networking! How long have I been asking NCIX this?!

[@stevewilliams1177]

thanks 4 the info ! I thought u did a very good job, keep it up.

[@MichaelAussie05]

Great video thanks Jack perfectly explained cheers.

[@bobfreeman8273]

Great video...educational ...answered my question and some humor never hurts !!

[@TonnyCassidy]

does different brand names affect performance and/or speed ? like belden cat5e cable vs unbranded cat 5e cables for example

[@Carnophage]

Does the length of a cable decrease speeds or efficiency? Are there any differences ,except length, from a 1,5m Cat6 cable to a 25m Cat6 cable?

[@JulesBartow]

What's the difference terminating Cat5e vs 6a. Do you like the 3-piece body, sled, liner or the through-hole or the tooless 8P8C modular plugs? AWG 22 vs AWG 26???

[@SamtheMaestro]

Wait so should use regular spaghetti or whole wheat spaghetti?

[@umxable5382]

+Samthe Maestro Whole wheat. Its passes through better.

[@g00gleminus96]

Bet sure to use high-quality sauce, not the cheap stuff. Your flavor-to-noddle ratio is an important factor to consider when you are building your "noodle pot" (that's a technical term).

[@101hamilton]

Great video. Thank you!

[@stevegirot1885]

Cheers Jack, nice one.

[@TetraSky]

is there a difference in crimping tools/wiring order/plastic connector, between Cat5e and Cat6 if I want to make my own? Or is it basically the same thing?

[@maxwarren2852]

Thank you. This was a helpful video.

[@jacobabegglen3544]

Thanks for the video! I was going crazy trying to figure out why my internet speed was only 100 mbs and its because I had an old cat5 cable! I hooked up the cat5e I had an got myself an instant 200 mbs more! Thanks!!

[@bigstuntnsp]

what type of coax cable should I use for fastest internet? rg6,rg59 or, rg11? and is the steel line connected to some coax cables important? and is quad shield the best protective shield possible?

[@paulcaspe]

I was about to jump to another video when this guy showed the last type of cable - the spaghetti cable. I ended up clicking the like button. It's hilarious.

[@adamgreenfield4222]

this was very helpful i had bought a 20m Ecable but it looked old then i looked and it sayed cat 5e so now i am very happy

[@keithreed8120]

So the plug itself is the same on any of these varieties? Therefore the cables will be interchangeable?