Guides/Speed and performance
Speed and
performance.
What each category can carry, what limits it in practice, and what our cables are rated at.
Speed is not a property of the cable.
It is a property of the cable and the distance.
Every category carries 1 Gbps across a full 100-metre run. What separates them is how far they hold 10 Gbps. These figures belong to the standard, not to any particular product.
The striped section of the middle row is the part nobody mentions. Category 6 reaches 10 Gbps to 37 m in any installation, and as far as 55 m only where interference from neighbouring cables is low — which is not the case in a tight bundle or a full cable tray. Distance here is the full path between devices, patch cords included: see Choosing the Right Cable.
A category sets a ceiling.
This is the floor we stand on.
What a given cable delivers depends on its construction, so we publish the rating of each range instead of the maximum its category permits.
| Range | Rating |
|---|---|
| Mr. Tronic Cat 5e | 1 Gbps · 100 MHz |
| Mr. Tronic Cat 6 | 1 Gbps · 250 MHz |
| Mr. Tronic Cat 7 | 10 Gbps · 600 MHz |
Buying a Category 6 cable for a 10 Gbps link because the standard permits it. It does — over a fraction of the distance, and only in a quiet installation.
If 10 Gbps is what you need, the Cat 7 range is the one to look at. It is also why our Cat 6 range is published as 1 Gbps: that is what it delivers across a full run.
Four things, and none of them is the category.
Length
Every metre adds resistance and attenuation. 100 m is the limit for a single run in any category; beyond that the signal needs a switch, an extender or fibre. Keeping runs under 50 m removes the question entirely.
Interference
Ethernet carries data as electrical signals, so nearby power cabling, motors and dense equipment can degrade them. Cables bundled tightly against each other interfere with one another too, which is what shortens a Category 6 link at 10 Gbps.
Termination
A cable is only as good as its ends. A connector crimped with wires out of order, or with the pairs untwisted further back than necessary, will underperform a cheaper cable terminated properly.
Handling
Sharp bends and hard pulls damage the conductors inside the jacket, and the damage is invisible from outside. Do not bend to a radius smaller than eight times the outer diameter, and pull by hand.
Follow T568A or T568B and keep the same scheme at both ends. One at each end produces a crossover, not a straight-through cable — the two schemes are set out in Introduction to Ethernet Cables, and the 13 mm untwist limit in the Installation Guide.
Three differences that matter
for gaming, calls and streaming.
Latency
Lower and, more importantly, steadier. It is the variation, not the average, that is felt — shown side by side in Gaming and Ethernet Cables.
Throughput
Does not fall away with distance and walls.
Contention
The connection does not compete with every other device in the building for airtime.
Where the cable can live.
PVC
The standard indoor jacket: flexible, durable and economical.
LSZH
Low smoke, zero halogen: emits less smoke and no halogenated gas when burnt.
PE
Used on outdoor cable, for UV and moisture resistance.
Next in the guides.
This page is general guidance about the technology. For the rating of a Mr. Tronic product see its listing; for its instructions see Instructions for Use. Questions to info@mr-tronic.com, quoting the EAN printed on the box.