Category 5 cables (or more commonly referred to as Cat 5 cables) are a specific standard of ethernet cable. There are also Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 7, and Cat 8 cables to choose from. The main differences between these cable standards are the supported speed throughputs, maximum lengths, and whether or not the internal cables require shielding or not.
Thankfully, all ethernet cables are backward compatible with previous versions. So, if you purchase a Cat 6 cable, it will work with both Cat 5e and Cat 5 networks. The main benefit of purchasing Cat 5 (or Cat 5e cables) is that they tend to be less expensive than their newer counterparts. So, if you don’t need the increased speed, Cat 5 cables will work just fine.
Here are our recommendations for the best Cat 5 cables for your networking setup.
Author: Brian Barnett.