The advancement in the digital technologies has introduced many changes. Among others, bringing the once separate electronic devices closer and connected to each other is perhaps the most remarkable result of technological innovations. Today people are connected with each other through internet and can share instantly anything they like. LAN (Local Area Network) is the most common and basic form of this networking that interconnects computers in a limited (localized) geographical area like home, office, school etc.
The twisted pair cable, one that can carry and transfer signals, is used to build LAN. Category 5 (cat5) and category 6 (cat6) cables are the famous versions of networking cables that are utilized in Local Area Networks for ATM, Ethernet, telephone and video. If we consider cat5 vs cat6, we will come across various organic and functional differences between the two. As for the wire gauge, cat5 comes with 24 AWG (American Wire Gauge) whereas cat6 has only 23 AWG. Cat6 cables are thicker and more advanced than cat5 cables.
Though both cat5 and cat6 can be equally used for different communication purposes, they differ from each other when it comes to specifications. Cat5 is capable for Ethernet connections of 10 to 100 megabit per second speed. On the other hand, cat6 is proficient for gigabit (1000 MB) Ethernet connections. Previously, cat5 was considered to be the best cable category; however, with the introduction of cat6, many people have switched to this category in order to get maximum speed and efficiency.
Apart from size and speed, comparing cat5 vs cat6 reveals that both are different in their performance as well. Cat6 provides lower insertion loss over a specific frequency range as compared to the cat5. A lower insertion loss, also known as attenuation, refers to the capability of transferring strong signals at the destination. The stronger the signals are, the lesser the noise intervention will be. Whether it is external or internal noise sources, cat6 cable provides enhanced noise immunity. Besides, cat6 cable can support longer distances and higher temperature ranges without compromising over speedy performance.
Another difference that is revealed while analyzing cat5 vs cat6 is that cat6 cables come with very tight twists at minimum length to reduce crosstalk interference between pairs. Cross talk is an electronic that creates disruption of signal transmission on the required channel of transmission. On the other hand, cat5 cable also comes with fixed number of twists per meter based to wear off crosstalk between the pairs but still cat5 vs cat5e is not a real competition in this respect.
In short both cat5 and cat6 cables can efficiently work in home as well as office for networking purposes. The choice between the two is yours: if you want high speed connection to get your business finished earlier, you will be in need of cat6 for your gigabit facilitated Ethernet connections; however, if you are having megabit facilities at your home or office, you should choose cat5.