Using a Higher Quality Network Cable Improves Connection and Latency?

At present, practically all network cards integrated in PC motherboards have a Gigabit network card (10/100/1000), but in terms of network cables we can find many kinds and qualities, organized into categories (Cat.5, Cat.5e, Cat.6, etc.). So will using a better quality network cable help improve connection and reduce latency ?

In recent times, motherboard manufacturers have begun to introduce network cards with higher speed than the usual Gigabit, and we can already acquire devices cataloged for example as 2.5 GbE, which are obviously higher than what we had until now. Leaving this aside, if you are a user who has latency problems, especially in online games, will your connection improve if you buy a better or higher category network cable?

Higher Quality Network Cable Improves Connection and Latency

The categories of network cables

First of all we have to know first what are the characteristics of network cables. Currently we can find network cables from Cat.5 to Cat.7 in any store, so let’s see what each of them offers.

Category Maximum distance Maximum Speed (Mb / s) MHz
Cat. 5 100 m 100 100
Cat. 5e 100 m 1,000 100
Cat. 6 100 m 1,000 250
Cat. 6e 100 m 10,000 500
Cat. 7 15 m 100,000 1,000

As you can see according to this table, for a Gigabit network card with a Cat. 5 cable we would have enough, since it is giving us the 1,000 Mb / s offered by the PC network card. However, given the price that cables already have on the market and their quality, we would recommend using a Cat. 6 whenever possible since Cat. 5e are not certified for Gigabit speeds (Cat. 6, yes).

Now, if you already have one of the new motherboards with a 2.5 GbE network card and you want to take advantage of it (assuming that your router and the rest of the network electronics you have have the same technology), you will have to jump to the cables Cat. 6e network; Cat. 7 are currently not used in the home environment, at least not when we talk about the PC environment. Also, as you can see they have a much shorter maximum length, and in fact they are much more sensitive to interference (in fact, they are easily damaged by just bending the cable), so they are definitely not worth it today.

Cable de red Cat 7

Now, if we enter in terms of quality, as a general rule we will find two ranges, whatever the manufacturer, and you will easily recognize them because the “normal” range has plastic connectors encapsulated, while the “Premium range” “It is metallic, as you can see in the image above. There are manufacturers that in fact offer their highest quality network cables with shielding, that is, with a cover on the cable itself that, they presume, prevents external interference and gives it greater resistance.

Will your connection improve with a better quality cable?

As we mentioned before, for a home PC (even if you have a very high-end gaming PC) with a Cat. 6 or Cat. 6e cable (if you have a 2.5 GbE network) you will have more than enough. If you have a Cat.5 or Cat.5e of course, you will notice a good improvement in the connection when you jump to a higher category, since these cables, as we have explained before, are quite limited in terms of the maximum speed that they support, and do not take full advantage of, the network cards that make up today’s PC motherboards.

Now, if we talk merely about the quality of the cable being of the same category, normally you will not notice an improvement in your connection speed or latency unless the cable you were using until now was in bad condition. Likewise, in long distances it is also noted having a better quality cable; If, for example, you have the router in the living room and the PC in another room in the house and you have an internal network channeling in your home, make sure not only that the network cables are of the appropriate category, but also that they are quality.

But, as a general rule, and unless the network cable you use is of poor quality or is in poor condition, you will not notice an improvement in connection speed or latency by using a better quality one.