cat5 vs. cat6 male connectors for patch cabling

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ike5547

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Chico, CA
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Is there really a difference? Online quotes show approx. 10 for $10 cat6 vs. 50 for $10 cat5.

Are these really constructed that differently? To the extent that putting a cat5 male end on a cat6 patch cable or 100 meter run will derate the transmission speed?
 

dfmischler

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IIRC the wires in Cat6 cable are 23 awg. Cat5e are only 24 awg. So you may have real problems getting the wires from a Cat6 cable into a Cat5e connector and crimped properly.
 

dfmischler

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An additional point to consider is why is Cat6 cable considered desirable? Cat5e is rated for gigabit ethernet at the full 100 meters with no problem. Cat6 is not rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters (may be OK at 55 meters). So there may not be very much upgrade potential in a Cat6 wired network. Cat6A cabling *is* rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters, so that has much better upgrade potential.
 

mgookin

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Location
Fort Myers, FL
Is there really a difference? Online quotes show approx. 10 for $10 cat6 vs. 50 for $10 cat5.

Are these really constructed that differently? To the extent that putting a cat5 male end on a cat6 patch cable or 100 meter run will derate the transmission speed?

The question is what's the difference between a cat5 connector and a cat6 connector.

The wire information was useful, but his question is not answered.

I googled the question and found this thread where the bottom response seems to be the most informative (from a pro guy in the industry) http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f136/cat-6-connectors-135429.html

Mods: I assume it's ok to link to another site? Spank me if it's not; I'm trainable!
 

JFletcher

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Location
Williamsburg, VA
An additional point to consider is why is Cat6 cable considered desirable? Cat5e is rated for gigabit ethernet at the full 100 meters with no problem. Cat6 is not rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters (may be OK at 55 meters). So there may not be very much upgrade potential in a Cat6 wired network. Cat6A cabling *is* rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters, so that has much better upgrade potential.

Cat6 is rated for up to 10GB and double+ the bandwidth of CAt5e, which is good for GB. 6A is generally shielded, is good for 10GB across the full 100m, and has tighter specs on ACR, crosstalk, and AXT (alien cross-talk).

Hal is 99.99% correct. The only time you make a patch cable with any cat5/5e/6/6a is if you HAVE to have it now.

Is there really a difference? Online quotes show approx. 10 for $10 cat6 vs. 50 for $10 cat5.

Are these really constructed that differently? To the extent that putting a cat5 male end on a cat6 patch cable or 100 meter run will derate the transmission speed?

As mentioned, most cat5e is 24ga wire whereas cat6 is 23. The pins may not seat properly on the wire, or all the way down, so they dont lock in.

Other considerations: patch cords are made from stranded wire, and stranded wire 8p8c plugs differ from those made for solid wire; the pins/'teeth' on the insulation displacement are different (some plugs do fit both types of wire). Station wiring is always solid, so there's another problem with a field made cord. $10 for 10 plugs is a very high price; you should be able to find them for 1/2 that, even in a small lot like a 10 pack.

Field made cords are a colossal waste of time. A cheapie 1' cat6 cord runs less than a dollar from Monoprice, which is less than what the component parts cost (18" or so of cable, two 8p8c plugs, 2 strain reliefs), and it will be of the correct wire type and have molded strain reliefs.

A cat5e plug on cat6 wire might work fine for years, might prematurely fail, or might not go together at all...and that's assuming you have a good, proper crimp tool, know the wiring scheme (568A or B), and use proper techniques to make up the cord in the first place.
 

fmtjfw

Senior Member
Mixing Cat5(e) and Cat6 in the same run is not desireable. Even mixing T568A and T568B wiring and patch cables is not desireable. Either mixing provides impedence mismatches where they join. At high frequencies these can make a difference.
 

nick818

Member
Location
Charleston SC
There are straight pin outs like the in the pic but the jacket slides much further into the connector maintaining the twist all of the way up to the pins.
 

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JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
As long as both ends are the same, it's electrically the same. Unless you are making a crossover cable.

True, but reversing a pair, even if it works, will fail a wiremap test/certification. x-over cable has pins 12 on 3 and 6 on one end, the other 4 are the same (orange and green pairs are transposed). just found it amusing a stock photo had an obvious miswire.
 

GoldDigger

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Placerville, CA, USA
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Retired PV System Designer
True, but reversing a pair, even if it works, will fail a wiremap test/certification. x-over cable has pins 12 on 3 and 6 on one end, the other 4 are the same (orange and green pairs are transposed). just found it amusing a stock photo had an obvious miswire.
So there is a visual test built into the wiremapper? Or is a human required?
 

JFletcher

Senior Member
Location
Williamsburg, VA
So there is a visual test built into the wiremapper? Or is a human required?

No, there is no visual test, if you wire pins 7 & 8 backward on both ends there will be no wiremap error, no performance issue. But unless you screw up every connection identically, you will get a wiremap/certification fail. 568B (which is what the picture depicts) is wh/or, or/wh, wh/gr, bl/wh, wh/bl, gr/wh, wh/br, br/wh. Pin 7 on 568A or B is white/brown, and pin 8 is brown/white. The picture shows the reverse on pins 7&8, which is incorrect.
 

donaldelectrician

Senior Member
An additional point to consider is why is Cat6 cable considered desirable? Cat5e is rated for gigabit ethernet at the full 100 meters with no problem. Cat6 is not rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters (may be OK at 55 meters). So there may not be very much upgrade potential in a Cat6 wired network. Cat6A cabling *is* rated for 10 gigabit ethernet at 100 meters, so that has much better upgrade potential.


Thank You dfmiahler ;;; Right On .


Cat 6A seems to be the way to go if Cat 6 fits your bill ...



Don
 
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