CAT 5: To 6,7, or 8?

[LICIL3601]

Hello.

My wife and I are senior citizens and I know next to nothing about personal computers, the internet, etc. so please bear with me.   We use an old desktop PC but we upgrade it every now and then.

Our grandson told us that we are using a CAT 5 ethernet cable and he suggested that we use a "faster" cable.  Of course, he didn't have time to tell us what he means.  Can anyone say if it is possible to replace the CAT 5 cable the technician used to set up our Router with a "faster" cable?  And, if so, what speed would be suggested?

Any and all responses will be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

[Cang_Household · Accepted solution]

Ethernet cables have different categories. The higher the category, the higher the bandwidth for data transfer. I think you actually have Cat 5e instead of Cat 5 cable because Cat 5 cable is rarely used in installation since 2001. If you have Cat 5e cable, it can transfer data at a rate of 1000Mbps maximum. 1000Mbps is the fastest Internet speed offered by Fios Home today (but multigigabit speeds may come soon).

Unless you need bandwidth higher than 1000Mbps, I wouldn't recommend upgrading the cable.

If you are looking for 10Gbps, then you need Cat 6a. Cat 7 and 8 cables are nearly as expensive as fiber optic cables. At that point, I would recommend pulling duplex fibers up to 40Gbps.

[dexman]

To expand on Cang's reply,.

CAT5E would be sufficient for most residential installations.

If faster speed is needed in the future, upgrading to CAT6 cable & hardware would be the next logical step followed by CAT6A.

CAT7 & CAT8 are overkill for residential applications.

[LICIL3601]

Dear Cang_Household and dexman:

Thank you both, very much. 

I appreciate it.