Cat6 vs Cat7 cable. Which offers the best internet setup

You can also be interested in these:

Ethernet cable can be divided into many types, such as Cat5, Cat5e, Cat6, Cat7, Cat8, etc. However, not everyone knows the exact difference between them, specially when comparing the two most common types used: Cat6 vs Cat7 cable. If WiFi is not your thing because it is unstable, the signal does not reach your location, or because you want to take better advantage of the fastest connection speed, an Ethernet cable is the best solution. When facing the decision to purchase Ethernet cable to install a local network in your home or business these differences are quite often overseen.

Not knowing exactly what type of Ethernet cable we should use could potentially prevent us to take 100% advantage of our internet connection. Additionally you usually want it to be the most durable for the future. Since Cat6 vs Cat7 cable is the primary choice among all Ethernet cable options, we will examine a little closer what is the difference between the two and why should we prefer one over the other.

The LAN (Local Area Network) cable is an essential component for your Smart TV if you want the movies you are watching on Netflix not to be cut off, if you want the connection to be stable or if you want to make the most of the connection speed. The transmission using cables is the fastest, although, you need to be close by a Ethernet port outlet to be able to connect without having a bright color cable across your living room.

Beyond knowing the advantages, we might think just by buying the first type of cable we stumble upon is enough to ensure us having the best internet connection, but there is a lot more to it. There are differences between them both in the transfer speed and in the transmission frequency, although you will also see differences in the protection that covers them, in terms of durability.

The higher the speed connection the more crucial is to have the right cable

The LAN cable market is oversaturated of 5e cables. This type of cable, which are the ones that normally come in routers, offered by operators and internet providers, have a maximum transmission speed of 1000 Mbps at distances of up to 100 meters. Bearing in mind that if we have a fiber optic connection of 300 Mbps, 400 Mbps or even 500 Mbps, we will have to spare, but this might not be the case.

Depending on the devices that we have connected to the network and our Internet connection, it is possible that a 5e cable falls short. This is starting to be seen already with 1 Gbps connections. We can easily saturate the cable simply by downloading something from the Internet or the upload if we have a symmetric connection. If we are downloading something from the Internet at full speed, we cannot download from the NAS (Network-attached storage), or if we have the upload at maximum speed, we cannot share anything else on the network.

Also, if we have a NAS with an SSD as a cache, along with another SSD in our PC, the speeds of the 5e can be saturated. A normal SSD has speeds of around 500 MB/s (4 Gbps), and even hard drives like the Seagate Barracuda reach 230 MB/s (1.84 Gbps). Good cabling is vital in a local network.

Category	Rated Performance	Length	Maximum Bandwidth	Cable Type
CAT6	1000/10,000 Mbps	55 Meters	250 MHz	UTP or STP
CAT6a	10,000 Mbps	100 Meters	500 MHz	STP
CAT7	10,000 Mbps	100 Meters	600 MHz	SSTP

The Cat6 cable

The Cat6 cable is the standard cable for Gigabit Ethernet and other network protocols that is compatible with Cat.5/5e and Cat3. Category 6 has more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard provides performance up to 250 MHz and is suitable for 10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T / 1000BASE-TX (Gigabit Ethernet).

The cable consists of four pairs of twisted copper wires. This is the same as the CAT5 and CAT5e standards for copper cables. Cat6 is also made with 23 gauge wire, however this is not a requirement. The ANSI / TIA-568-B.2-1 specification indicates that the wire can be made with 22 to 24 AWG. For LAN patch cables, Cat6 is typically terminated with 8P8C modular connectors. RJ45 connectors for Cat6 are made with the highest standards and a higher performance design in the alignment of the contact pins which reduces noise caused by crosstalk. Attenuation, NEXT (Near End Crosstalk) and PSNEXT (Power Sum Near End Crosstalk) are significantly lower compared to Cat5/5e. There is a problem with Cat6 cables, which is that they are larger. Therefore, they are more difficult to attach to 8P8C connectors without a special modular part. The maximum allowed length of a Cat6 cable is 100 meters when used for 10/100/1000BaseT and 55 meters when used for 10GBaseT.

The Cat7 cable

Category 7 (Cat 7) cable, (ISO / IEC 11801: 2002 Category 7 / Class F), is the standard for other Ethernet and interconnect technologies. Cat7 is compatible with traditional Cat5 and Cat6 Ethernet cables. Additionally, Cat7 has more stringent features and specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Cat6. Shielding has been added for individual wire pairs in a Category 7 cable.

Cat7 has been designed as a standard for Gigabit Ethernet over 100 meters of copper cabling. The cable consists of four twisted pairs of copper, just like the previous standards. Cat7 can be attached to 8P8C compatible GG45 electrical connectors that incorporate the 8P8C standard or with TERA connectors.

Category 7a which is also commonly known as Category 7, operates on frequencies up to 1000 MHz. CAT7a is designed for multiple applications on a single cable, including 40 Gigabit Ethernet 100 Gigabit Ethernet and CATV (862 MHz). Tests carried out have shown Gigabit Ethernet 40 will work up to 50 meters and 100 Gigabit Ethernet is possible up to 15 meters.

Other characteristics of LAN cables

Frecuency

They differ, as we say, in speed or frequency of transmission. The frequency determine the bandwidth or data transfer rate of the cable. The longer it is, the more likely it is that power will be lost as you progress to the device in question. This can be measured in megahertz, normally noted with the abbreviation “MHz”. Every cable has its own frequency, depending of its category. The higher the MHz value, the higher speed the connection will transfer.

Braiding of threads

Most Ethernet cables are made up of twisted copper wire pairs. Inside the cables, the braiding varies according to the chosen category. Braiding Ethernet cables helps reduce interference between external and internal cables. The more intricate the braid, the less interference and the better the result. In Cat5 cables, for example, we see that the pairs are interlaced over their entire length less times, somewhat more interlaced in the Cat5e version or even more in the case of Cat6 vs Cat7 cable and such, with a more frequent braid and tighter loops.

Shielding

When you look at the category, you will also see that more information is printed on the cover registration. Typically, this is the type of shielding that protects the cable. What is shielding? The way in which the LAN cable has been covered and what will make it protected in the installation. This shielding will influence the quality of its speed or the stability that it will provide. There are four different types of protection or shielding:

UTP or Unshielded Twisted Pair:
Is the simplest of all and, as its name implies, it is unshielded. It is recommended or practical if you need to use an Ethernet cable to connect to any device from the router but it is not recommended for installations that you have to do at home or that go inside the wall. It only has the protection of the outer plastic and not a shielding that keeps the copper wires protected.
FTP or Foiled Twisted Pair:
Is a globally screened cable for all copper wires. There is a screen that covers all together, a metal sheet. This protects them from external interference, but in this case the twisted cables are not individually shielded as they will be in better versions of shielding.
STP or Shield Twister Pair:
In this case, we do have a metal sheath for each of the twisted pairs of wires that go inside the Ethernet cable. This achieves stronger protection for the signal. This option is recommended for an electrical installation.
SFTP or Shield Foiled Twisted Pair:
The most protected of all Ethernet cables on the market is the SFTP type that has individual STP protection for each twisted wire pair, but also has FTP protection that makes a global shielding of all pairs. This, of course, is the cable with the best shielding. It uses the two shielding systems and a foil protects each pair, but also the outer coating protects them all.

Difference between Cat6 vs Cat7 cable

In the Cat6 vs Cat7 cable comparison, the transmission frequency and the length of the cabling are two important factors to consider. From the previous remarks, Cat6 cable offers performance up to 250 MHz, while Cat7 cable is rated for a transmission frequency of up to 600 MHz. The maximum cabling length of Cat6 network cable is 100m at 1 Gbps while Cat7 100m with 10Gbps.

Regarding the price of Cat6 vs Cat7 cable, Cat7 cable is more expensive than Cat6 cable when compared under the same conditions.

By the way, the durability also differs in Cat6 vs Cat7. Cat6 cable has an estimated life cycle of approximately 10 years, while Cat7 cable is approximately 15 years.

Disadvantages of the Cat6 cable

The current era demands high bandwidth and fast connections, copper is still an option in price and speed, but there are times when multimedia exceeds our infrastructure or at least begins to suffer from the passage of large packages. If you have a good network infrastructure and you still feel slow when transferring files over the network, it is best to upgrade and also change active computers. In these cases the Ethernet cable Cat6 is not of much help.

Cat6 alone does not generate high transfer speeds. The links that are available and the capacity of switches, routers or any intermediary between client-server also influence. That is why it is recommended that all equipment be gigabit to take advantage of the capacity that our cable can deliver.

The Cat6a cable came to solve many of the problems that the Cat6 standard had since its inception. It offers a significant increase in the frequency and speed of the internet connection and even greater compatibility compared to its adversary, Cat7.

Copper here also plays an important role in ensuring performance. The production of Cat6a introduced the aluminum core in the fiber of the wire. This “upgrade” has a great detrimental impact on the life of the cable. Over time, a chemical reaction known as galvanic corrosion occurs. Cables that are 100% copper may be more expensive, but it is an important factor if you want a reliable and time-proof installation.

Disadvantages of the Cat7 cable

Cat7 cables are proportionally more expensive than other Ethernet cables, although their performance reflects their premium price. CAT7 cables can reach up to 100 Gbps at a range of 15 meters, making them a great option for connecting modems or routers directly to your devices.

CAT7 cables are always shielded and use a modified GigaGate45 connector, which is compatible with normal Ethernet ports. That modified GG45 connector is a proprietary component though, and while backward compatibility helped a bit, there are still issues with older Ethernet standards.

This led most manufacturers to avoid the CAT7 standard, which is why it is quite rare today. That difficulty led to the development of CAT6a and a lot of marketing confusion, as some vendors started referring to CAT6a as the new CAT7. Always check the specs before purchasing and when in doubt.

Plenum or Non-plenum cables

One last consideration that is still as important as all the others. Know if your cable is plenum or not. The new laws on safety and environmental protection have dictated standards for the implementation of cabling that is proof of toxic emissions and greater resistance to fire.

Plenum cables go through rigorous laboratory tests to ensure that these products meet the required standards. If the cable passes these tests this is what determines whether it is Plenum or not.

In some regions the building codes require this type of cables in the installations that are made inside the walls. This is especially recommended in the case that the wiring shares space with a ventilation duct. It would be a high risk situation in the event that toxic emissions, such as a wire subjected to high temperatures, had access to the air inlet of the living area.