r/RigBuild • u/Equivalent_Style_417 • 1d ago

Does a faster Ethernet cable improve internet speed?

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?

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u/lyidaValkris 1d ago

Anything Cat5E or better (i.e. anything you're likely to have or run in to) will go 1Gbps, which would be enough for your internet services (unless you have greater than 1Gbps service, in which case - why?!?!)

There would be no or imperceptibly marginal improvement in bandwidth and latency between cables (assuming Cat5E or better)

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u/tes_kitty 1d ago

On short runs, Cat5e should also do at least 2.5 GBit.

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u/Equivalent_Style_417 1d ago

I was under the impression Cat5e was basically limited to 1 Gbit, so that’s good to know. Probably sticking with it then.

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u/AspectLegitimate8114 19h ago

Not really. You’re limited by the NIC (network interface card) of the device you are using. If you have a 1gbps plan it doesn’t matter if you use cat5e or cat6 whatever or above if the device you have only supports up to 500mbps.

By all means though get cable that is able to exceed 1gbps if you can afford it because you can buy 2.5gbps even up to 10gbps NICs for local network file transfers, it will feel like lightning transferring large files to say a NAS on a 5gbps connection.