# Cat 5 cable upgrades?



## xu^ (Jul 21, 2021)

hi all, currently using old cat 5 cable (probably 10 yrs old) from my router to a switch with a broken rj45 lol , then another even older cat 5 cable from the switch to the  PC, was wondering would swapping it out for cat5e or cat 6 make any difference at all to my speeds or pings in online games.?

Currently on pretty slow internet by most ppls these days i suppose ,60 down and around 15 up.

thanks for any help


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## ShiBDiB (Jul 21, 2021)

If there's any decent distance involved in the old cables you might see some improvement upgrading. I highly doubt they degraded unless you're running them outside or in some other weird setup that exposes them to temp extremes.


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## xu^ (Jul 21, 2021)

current cable lengths are 20m and 10m, just running in the house, just wondering if its worth bothering or not really.


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## FreedomEclipse (Jul 21, 2021)

Cat5e will allow gigabit Ethernet so if your current hardware supports it and you stream, have a lot of users on your network or move a lot of data back and fourth. upgrading to cat5e will be quite a decent upgrade. Upgrading anything beyond that is not really worth it unless you want a 10GB network and are constantly transferring massive humongous chunks of data like a blu-ray rips across the network.

It wont lower your ping because the distance between you, your ISP and gaming servers are still the same. The only thing that can change your ping is either upgrading your internet connection to fiber optic or moving closer to your local telephone exchange where your ISP keep all their boxes that do the switching.

If your router is more than10 years old, It might be worth upgrading to a router that supports gigabit ethernet and wireless AC/Wi-fi 6


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## Valantar (Jul 21, 2021)

xubidoo said:


> hi all, currently using old cat 5 cable (probably 10 yrs old) from my router to a switch with a broken rj45 lol , then another even older cat 5 cable from the switch to the  PC, was wondering would swapping it out for cat5e or cat 6 make any difference at all to my speeds or pings in online games.?
> 
> Currently on pretty slow internet by most ppls these days i suppose ,60 down and around 15 up.
> 
> thanks for any help


If the cables are only really used for internet (i.e. no large local file transfers) then no, not with those internet speeds. If it works, leave it.


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## Final_Fighter (Jul 21, 2021)

can you list your hardware? (router and switches) it will make it easier to help.

Without knowing your hardware i can make some general recommendations. if your hardware is 10 years old i would start by upgrading the main router to a gigabit or greater. if you use wireless than make sure you are looking at a wifi 6 capable router so you can get another 10 years life from the hardware. Go with gigabit switches if you need them and run cat 6 or greater cable. if the cables will be subjected to the elements than you should be sure to get cables that are listed as weather resistant. As stated before tho, ping is only going to improve unless your current hardware is maxing out the connection. geographical location and the type of connection will have the greatest effect on ping. this is assuming your current network is working the way its supposed to from 10 years ago.

Again, give us some more info on what the hardware is you are using.


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## TheUn4seen (Jul 22, 2021)

Wouldn't make any difference at all unless you plan on upgrading your local network to faster than 1GbE or you experience connection drops due to damaged cables/plugs. New cables would not improve your in-game ping or anything at all. This is the case of "if it works it works, leave it alone".


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## Space Lynx (Jul 22, 2021)

FreedomEclipse said:


> Cat5e will allow gigabit Ethernet so if your current hardware supports it and you stream, have a lot of users on your network or move a lot of data back and fourth. upgrading to cat5e will be quite a decent upgrade. Upgrading anything beyond that is not really worth it unless you want a 10GB network and are constantly transferring massive humongous chunks of data like a blu-ray rips across the network.
> 
> It wont lower your ping because the distance between you, your ISP and gaming servers are still the same. The only thing that can change your ping is either upgrading your internet connection to fiber optic or moving closer to your local telephone exchange where your ISP keep all their boxes that do the switching.
> 
> If your router is more than10 years old, It might be worth upgrading to a router that supports gigabit ethernet and wireless AC/Wi-fi 6




my current internet goes to 1.2 gig down but i only get 900 down or so. really annoys me. i am guessing my gtx 1070 laptop ethernet port maxes out at 1 gig. i would need a 2.5 gig ethernet port on one of these newer mobos to see that 1.2 gig down i suppose.


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## xu^ (Jul 22, 2021)

its a standard Sky 2 port router, its not old. but no idea what the model etc is, id guess pretty low end from Sky 

TP-Link TL-SG105 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch, again only a couple yrs old.​
and 2 cat 5 cables, one around 10/12 years old 20m and the other must be at least 15 yrs old 10m, but they do appear to work without any problems.


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## Final_Fighter (Jul 22, 2021)

the switch is fine. its already a gigabit switch. are you connected to the switch directly from your pc?

edit: never mind. just read that you are. you should have a gigabit connection from your pc to the switch at the least. go to network and internet in windows setting, then go to properties and scroll down. you should see something like this.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 22, 2021)

xubidoo said:


> current cable lengths are 20m and 10m, just running in the house, just wondering if its worth bothering or not really.



Replace them only after you prove that the cables are slowing down your connection. How fast do you expect your data to go? Are you reaching those speeds? If not, are you sure that the cable is at fault?


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## Grog6 (Jul 22, 2021)

If you're running analog signals with ethernet adapters, cat6 might help if it's shielded.
Digital can't really get any better than "It works!
I did find out the signal latency between channels was worse with cat 6, due to he variably spaced twists.


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 22, 2021)

xubidoo said:


> current cable lengths are 20m and 10m, just running in the house, just wondering if its worth bothering or not really.


No, just replace the broken ends


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## Space Lynx (Jul 22, 2021)

sorry to butt in on your thread OP

but why is this not showing 1200/1200?  i am paying for 1200/1200

is it the issue i mentioned earlier? i just don't have a 2.5g lan port on this laptop?


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## Final_Fighter (Jul 22, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> sorry to butt in on your thread OP
> 
> but why is this not showing 1200/1200?  i am paying for 1200/1200
> 
> is it the issue i mentioned earlier? i just don't have a 2.5g lan port on this laptop?


your laptop only has gigabit. your link speed is correct given the hardwares capability.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 22, 2021)

Final_Fighter said:


> your laptop only has gigabit. your link speed is correct given the hardwares capability.



does anyone know what the playstation 5 ethernet port is limited to? just curious if i will get the full 1200 on that or not


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## cvaldes (Jul 22, 2021)

Why don't you just consult the Sony PS5 specs page on their corporate website? It would be much more authoritative than asking this question on an anonymous Q&A forum.

Sony will post what the device is rated for. It's a consumer device full of commodity components. It's not like you're going to get a unit that gets twice the network performance as your next door neighbor's PS5.


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## Valantar (Jul 22, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> does anyone know what the playstation 5 ethernet port is limited to? just curious if i will get the full 1200 on that or not


Ethernet is either 10, 100, 1000, 2500, 5000 or 10000. There's no such thing as a 1200mbps Ethernet link. And anything above 1000 is quite rare and rather expensive still.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 22, 2021)

Valantar said:


> Ethernet is either 10, 100, 1000, 2500, 5000 or 10000. There's no such thing as a 1200mbps Ethernet link. And anything above 1000 is quite rare and rather expensive still.



I know that.  I am asking if the PS5 has a 2.5 gig port or a 1 gig port. I just worded it badly.

edit:  i found the answer it is 1 gig max on ps5. so yeah next gen pc is only way for me to max my internet speed... 2.5 gig port mobo will be a must in my future build a year or two from now.


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## Valantar (Jul 22, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I know that.  I am asking if the PS5 has a 2.5 gig port or a 1 gig port. I just worded it badly.
> 
> edit:  i found the answer it is 1 gig max on ps5. so yeah next gen pc is only way for me to max my internet speed... 2.5 gig port mobo will be a must in my future build a year or two from now.


No problem  I don't think any console will move to anything above GbE for a long time - the bandwidth just isn't necessary for gaming. No game comes close to saturating GbE (if it did it would be unplayable for >99.9% of people, those who don't have internet connections that fast), and latency doesn't change with a higher bandwidth NIC. And media streaming uses, what, 50Mbps at most? Btw there are reasonably cheap (~$40 IIRC) 2.5G NICs to be found if you have a spare PCIe slot or fast USB port. But you'll need a modem (and any switches in between) to also support 2.5G of course.


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## Space Lynx (Jul 22, 2021)

I can't get a USB dongle for 2.5 two of my usb ports on this gtx 1070 laptop are dead, I am using a Sabrent USB hub just to get by with my keyboard and mouse, etc. I imagine a 2.5g port would not like the hub... would prob have to get a powered hub... prob not worth it for 200 extra speed.

not sure if my laptop has any pci-e slots or not. i don't think so


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## Valantar (Jul 22, 2021)

lynx29 said:


> I can't get a USB dongle for 2.5 two of my usb ports on this gtx 1070 laptop are dead, I am using a Sabrent USB hub just to get by with my keyboard and mouse, etc. I imagine a 2.5g port would not like the hub... would prob have to get a powered hub... prob not worth it for 200 extra speed.
> 
> not sure if my laptop has any pci-e slots or not. i don't think so


Yeah, on a laptop that isn't really feasible. Then again, I sincerely doubt you'd ever notice the difference anyhow. A 20% increase over what is already blazingly fast? That's not likely to be noticeable.


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## dragontamer5788 (Jul 22, 2021)

Valantar said:


> Ethernet is either 10, 100, 1000, 2500, 5000 or 10000. There's no such thing as a 1200mbps Ethernet link. And anything above 1000 is quite rare and rather expensive still.



1200mpbs is a spec associated with 802.11ac.

Arguably, any standard over "802" is Ethernet (with 802.11ac being part of the "wireless Ethernet" taxonomy). But you're right in that there's no 1200Mbps wired-Ethernet link.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 22, 2021)

IMO, it is not urgent but I would replace them - especially if exposed to sunlight and other physical abuse. Sunlight can degrade the insulation over time and physical abuse can cause wear and tear on the connectors and wire crimps. 

CAT-5e is good enough. But if me, I would go CAT-6 anyway.


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## lexluthermiester (Jul 25, 2021)

xubidoo said:


> its a standard Sky 2 port router, its not old. but no idea what the model etc is, id guess pretty low end from Sky
> 
> TP-Link TL-SG105 5-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch, again only a couple yrs old.​
> and 2 cat 5 cables, one around 10/12 years old 20m and the other must be at least 15 yrs old 10m, but they do appear to work without any problems.


Yeah, you should get some new cables. Not only will your LAN speeds improve but cat5 from that long ago had shielding that was less than optimal. Cat6 however has modern shielding and will be very much less susceptible to interference.


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## hat (Jul 25, 2021)

I'd like to take this a step further and recommend you learn to make your own Ethernet cables. It's easy, just learn the correct order to line up the cables in, slide on your connector, and crimp. Bare cable is cheap at Home Depot, they might have the RJ45's and even a crimper too. The initial expense might run you $100 or so for everything, but you'll have fresh, brand new cables. And making them yourself means you customize them to any length. Need to connect something 60ft away? Make your own 60ft cable, instead of buying a 75ft cable and having a ton of extra length. Or maybe you only need 1ft to connect a modem to a router rather than a 6ft cable. It's also much easier to run a bare cable though the wall/floor/etc and crimp it on the other end then it is to run it with that bulky connector already attached.


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## Bill_Bright (Jul 25, 2021)

If you will be doing a lot of cable installing and replacing (especially after your friends, family and neighbors learn - if they haven't already - you are the goto computer expert ), I definitely recommend making your own too. 

I've been making my own for years now and it really is the way to go. Not just because it ultimately is cheaper, but also because you end up with an easier to keep clean, more aesthetically-pleasing, rat's nest of better quality cables.  Ethernet cables (and their connectors) are flimsy, fragile, and cheap but critical network devices. Factory made cables are rarely tested before they leave the factory. It is not uncommon for them to be poorly made and substandard. 

And as hat notes, it is very nice to make a cable the exact length (plus a little extra) you need rather than buying one several feet longer. 

I do have a few bits of advice. 

1. "Invest" in a quality crimper. Cheep tools yield poor results. I wasted $50 on two cheap crimpers I had to throw away before I finally got some common sense and bought a quality pair. The one I have now I've had for 15 plus years and used on 100s of cables - with never a bad crimp.​​2. Get an Ethernet cable tester. These are inexpensive but invaluable at preventing and lowing high blood pressure, reducing strokes, and stopping, or at least slowing down receding hairlines and hair loss.​​3. Crimping cables is actually a skill. And like all skills, take practice to perfect. So be ready to sacrifice a few connectors on a few practice cables before you make the cables you will ultimately use. TIP: Good lighting is a must. The older the eyes, the brighter the light needs to be.​​4. Nice to have: Ethernet cable color-coded strain relief boots. As I said above, Ethernet cables and connectors are flimsy and fragile. So using strain relief boots to make them more robust and survivable is smart - if not a must. But having color-coded boots is really nice for easy identification (especially on the back of routers and switches) without having to deal with labels (and the tedious/PITA task of relabeling). The tricky part is just getting into the habit of slipping the boot on the cable (and in the right direction ) BEFORE crimping the connector on. You can always go with colored Ethernet cable, but basic gray in bulk is much cheaper.​


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## eidairaman1 (Jul 25, 2021)

Bill_Bright said:


> If you will be doing a lot of cable installing and replacing (especially after your friends, family and neighbors learn - if they haven't already - you are the goto computer expert ), I definitely recommend making your own too.
> 
> I've been making my own for years now and it really is the way to go. Not just because it ultimately is cheaper, but also because you end up with an easier to keep clean, more aesthetically-pleasing, rat's nest of better quality cables.  Ethernet cables (and their connectors) are flimsy, fragile, and cheap but critical network devices. Factory made cables are rarely tested before they leave the factory. It is not uncommon for them to be poorly made and substandard.
> 
> ...



Ive used 5 pair burial drop for ethernet lol


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## bonehead123 (Jul 25, 2021)

Just remember the golden rule of networking:

Your speeds can only be as fast as the slowest component in your set-up....

In other words, you could buy & use the latest & greatest, most expensive ethernet cables in the world (currently Cat8e IIRC), but if your internet connection and/or router/modem only provides 500mbps download speeds, then thats the MAX you will ever get out of that particular set-up....nothin can EVER change that fact 

Even if you decide to pay for a faster internet connection, if every one of the other components in the chain are not capable of supporting those faster speeds, it wont matter one bit... and neither would fancy/new/upgraded cables.....

The same goes for in home wireless.... a top-notch AX6/WiFi-6 router wont make your phones/tablets etc. any faster unless they support that standard...


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