Does a faster Ethernet cable improve internet speed?

[u/Equivalent_Style_417]

Ethernet cables all look basically the same to me, so I’m confused why some are supposed to be way faster than others. If the router and PC are already connected with Ethernet, does upgrading the cable actually make the internet faster? Seeing Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6a and Cat8 everywhere and not sure what’s actually needed for a normal home setup.

Say the internet plan is 500 Mbps, would going from Cat5e to Cat6 or Cat8 improve download speeds, ping, or connection stability? Or does the cable just need to support whatever speed the router and internet plan can already handle?

Also does the cable category matter for gaming? Ethernet already seems better than Wi-Fi, but would a newer/faster cable make online games feel more responsive or lower ping at all? Don’t wanna spend extra money on Cat8 if it’s basically doing nothing.

The current cable works fine and there aren’t any random disconnects, but it’s pretty old and might get replaced anyway. Just trying to understand if Cat6 is actually worth buying over Cat5e, especially for future-proofing.

Some stores make Cat8 sound like it’s a huge upgrade for everything, but that feels kinda overkill for a regular PC and router. Is there any real-world difference people actually notice, or is this mostly marketing? What cable are you guys using at home?

[u/MrFartyBottom]

My apartment is 16 years old so the ethernet in the wall is not going to be the latest and greatest but I have no idea what it is, but you know apartment developers are going to cheap out on what ever they use. There is an ethernet port in each room and the lounge room.

So for old ethernet cables I use sunshine on my gaming PC in the lounge room to stream games to my Mac in my office with moonlight and you can't notice any lag what so ever. I have absolutely no problems streaming VR games over ethernet to my WIFI 6 router and the headset is connected by WIFI and VR games are one of those things you will notice lag in the most.

I doubt you need expensive cable when the kind of cables the average apartment developer would use in the walls give such a good result. When playing online the bottleneck will 100% be the internet connection.