Discussing Ethernet cables involves understanding their pin configurations.
Discussing Ethernet cables involves understanding their pin configurations.
Hey! I’ve been experimenting with different Ethernet cables for my PC and found some interesting results. I started with a 4-pin cable that gave me about 50Mbit/s download and 20Mbit/s upload. After testing it, I switched to an 8-pin standard cable and saw a drop in download speed to 30Mbit/s, while upload stayed the same. I tried several other cables and got consistent speeds—4-pin gave me steady performance, and 8-pin matched upload speed. It seems the number of pins and their arrangement really do affect performance. The 8-pin cable slowed downloads but kept upload speeds stable, which is odd. Also, the plastic covers on some cables might impact durability, while metal ones offer better protection. Let me know if you need more details!
Which gadgets are you linking? 100mbps needs just 4 pins, whereas 1gbps demands 8. If either device (or both) can only handle up to 100mbps, the extra pins in the other cables won’t boost your speed. Regarding the metal versus plastic connectors, the metal ones are likely grounded wires, but it seems the port you’re using must also be properly grounded for optimal performance.
I was linking my router (which can handle at least 100Mbit when using my desktop PC) with this: TP-Link TL-PA4010P KIT which can go up to 600Mbit (this is one of those Ethernet to wall "boxes" so you can run Ethernet in a room without wall connectors). In another room I connected the "wall box however you may call these" to my laptop. When I connect the router directly to my desktop PC, it gives exactly 100Mbit. I should note that I kept the same pin count when connecting the router to the wall box and the wall box to the laptop. I hope this was somehow clear, English isn't my first language...
The TP-Link powerline adapter features only a single 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port, limiting your connection speed to around 100 Mbps. The advertised 600 Mbps figure seems exaggerated, likely a marketing claim. In reality, with a 10/100 port, the maximum achievable speed is 100 Mbps. Using either a 4-pin or 8-pin cable won’t increase this limit, as the adapter only supports up to 100 Mbps regardless of cable type. The drop in speed when switching cables might be due to lower-quality connections or environmental factors, not a true reduction in performance.
Absolutely, this needs to be corrected. They concealed the real speed details in the Amazon listing and listed 600Mbit as the capacity. Thanks TP-Link for your feedback—your experience is valuable. It seems the 8-pin cables are outdated compared to the 4-pin ones and have likely been damaged over time. Ethernet cables can be quite fragile, especially in older installations. You're welcome to share more insights about Ethernet cables now!
The 600 Mbps refers to the connection speed between the power line adapters. This is the standard claimed by all adapters. You need to check the speed rating of the specific port. Regardless, Power Line adapters likely can't reach gigabit speeds. The 50 Mbps rating is considered quite solid for such devices.
That's clear. I'm glad you're satisfied with it. The additional details are really helpful!