What Ethernet cable do I need to get the most out of my Internet connection?
To enjoy a good Internet connection we must take care of several aspects. The router is one of them, and it is useless to hire a high-speed connection if our router is unable to take advantage of it. We have another key in the network card, although over time this has been losing importance since, today, practically all motherboards integrate at least one Gigabit Ethernet connector, which means that we can enjoy a speed of up to 1,000 Mbps.
Many users would think that we have already finished, that there is nothing more important that we should assess in order to take advantage of our Internet connection, but we would be forgetting something important, the Ethernet cable. If you wonder why it is so important, the answer is very simple, because communications between the router and the device that we have connected are carried out through the cable, be it a PC, a console, a television or any other.
The Ethernet cable can represent a significant bottleneck because not all cables are the same, that is, they do not have the same bandwidth and do not reach the same maximum speed. Thus, a Cat 5 Ethernet cable is limited to 100 Mbpswhile a Cat 5E Ethernet cable runs at a maximum of 1,000Mbps
Usually current routers come with high speed cables, so we have nothing to worry about, but in the case of older models we may be using a cable that does not reach the speed that we really need, and in this case we would have a problem since we would not be taking advantage of the maximum speed that offers our Internet connection.
Think, for example, of what would happen if you have an Internet connection at 900 Mbps and you use a cable limited to 100 Mbps. Your PC, console or device that you have connected to the router through that cable would not reach 900 Mbps because the cable would prevent you from going over 100 Mbpsthat is, you would lose a lot of performance, and all for a simple cable.
Then you would need to use a Cat 5E Ethernet cable, which thanks to its peak of 1,000 Mbps would allow you to take advantage of those 900 Mbps in an optimal way, as long as we do not have to cover a great distance between the router and the device that we have connected. It is not usual, since we normally have the router very close to the main equipment that we have connected by cable. In my case, I have the router only half a meter from the PC.
If you have doubts about the maximum speed that the Ethernet cable you are using is capable of reaching, don’t worry, it’s very easy. you just have to look at the badge that appears on the cable itself. This should be Cat 5E Ethernet at a minimum, although if you use an Internet connection of 100 Mbps or less, a Cat 5 Ethernet will suffice. Cat 6A and Cat 7 Ethernet cables go up to 10,000 Mbps, and Cat 8 go up to 40,000 Mbps
