The invasion of digital technologies into our lives made networking a basic necessity in a home. Nowadays, almost everything and everyone are interconnected by the use of internet. A connection at home includes using cables such as Cat5 and Cat6 which are capable in connecting LAN networks. Cat 5 or category 5 is a twisted signal cable. It is commonly used for LAN or Local Area Networks, ATM and Ethernet. It can be used in telephone and videos also. Cat 6 or category 6 is quite the same as Cat 5. They have both the same uses but vary on their specifications and wire gauge. Cat5 has a 2 wire gauge while Cat6 has 23. The lesser the gauge is, the thicker the wire will be. In this case, Cat5 has thinner wire compared to Cat6. Cat6 like Cat5 contains 4 copper wires, its different between the once that separates the wires which isolates the wires from each other.
Today, almost all of the cables that are being used or being for computer networking are all Cat5. It has been the customary set for almost all of communication uses. Cat5 is proficient with both 10 megabit and 100 megabit Ethernet connections. Even though Cat5 has been out in the market and has been in demand for several years now, Cat6 is a newer, modernized version. It is like Cat5 but much more developed. Both have almost the same qualities except for their specifications for cross talk and system noise. Cat5 was considered fast during its rising days but Cat6 is now proven to have faster connections for it has a gigabyte standard.
If you want to upgrade your current computer facilities then Cat6 cable is much applicable for well upgraded ones. CAT5 can rate up to 100 megabytes per second but will cost you less. So which of these two are really better? If you look under each specification of the Category Cables they are both good enough for home and office facilities. It depends on you if you want to be practical but will settle for slower connection then you can settle for Cat5. But if you are part of the population where you need a fast connection in order to get down with your business fast and easy through the internet, you can purchase Cat6. There are variations between the two but whichever you think best suits your needs. Cat5 vs Cat6 is the much awaited one.
Make sure if you chose Cat6, your facilities have a gigabyte specification. Cat 6 is suitable for gigabyte specifications in this matter. Cat6 is better if you are in areas that have lots of intrusion lines like power lights, manufacturing equipment, or a long distance 1000 Mbps (Gigabit) run. They have the same installation processes so you don’t have to worry about it. Both can be purchased as readymade which already has been cut to a desired length or the custom ones which you will be the one to cut to your desired lengths. Purchasing readymade will help you make your work fast and easy for it is reliable and you will not need much time in installing it.