Which cable should you purchase today?
Which cable should you purchase today?
Hello. Your previous Ethernet cable was CAT5e, but you suspect it had a damaged wire since its top speed was around 95Mbps—well below your 500Mbps plan. You recently purchased another CAT5e cable and achieved full 500Mbps performance. Once you moved the cable to a different port on your router, it worked again. Yesterday you got 500Mbps, but after restarting the modem in the morning, it dropped back to 95Mbps. You changed the speed settings to 1Gbps, tried disconnecting and reconnecting the fiber in the receiver, but speed remained unchanged. The cable worked in a laptop as well. You’re considering a friend’s cable and want to ensure maximum performance so your connection stays stable. Your new cable is about 10 meters long; would a flat CAT6 RJ45 with an internal copper conductor be suitable? It costs around 10 USD, which is similar to the one you bought a month ago (around 3 USD).
Avoid disconnecting and reconnecting your fiber optic cables to your ISP. Ensure they aren't restricted or bent too sharply, as this can reduce your internet performance. Don’t force a wired connection speed since the network interface card should auto-detect it. You might need to switch to a different cable if necessary. It doesn’t matter whether you use Cat5e or Cat6a. Be aware that some fiber gateway units (particularly those supporting multiple services) can offer varying speeds per Ethernet port. I’ve experienced this with the Huawei gateway I use, so I connect my own bridged router/AP to the high-speed port.
I omitted a few details: The indicator on the Ethernet port on the Mobo changed from orange to green. It was green before using the new cable as well. Before and after.
It's not the cable standard that's causing the problem. On a properly optimized network, a Cat5e can deliver full gigabit speeds (125MB/s). For longer distances, a Cat6a may be better due to its added shielding and cross-divider features, though this usually doesn't offer significant advantages in most homes. The orange link light generally indicates a 10/100 connection speed, which matches the 100Mbps display you saw in Windows. It's possible your cable is defective—perhaps because of a poorly connected pair. You could try testing the cable with a tester or replace it if needed.
I used the identical cable with my laptop and the performance remains unchanged.
You probably have an issue with the cable. Cat6a handles up to 10Gbps over 100 meters, while standard Cat6 works about 37 meters. To use that speed you’d need network cards supporting more than 1Gbps on both sides. Cat6a could cost more than Cat5e depending on your region. Given your download limit reaches 500Mbps, consider a high-quality Cat5e cable (make sure it’s shielded) or Cat6 if the price difference isn’t significant.
I'm not sure if any internet service in my area can reach that fast speed. My provider only offers up to 1Gbps, and I doubt any local company can match that. I’m planning to get a Cat6 cable with a solid warranty, so it should be reliable. Thanks for your help!