Let’s be honest, we all hate cables! That’s why we talk about cable management in all our servers and gaming PC guides. But when considering our network connection speeds, we want the best we can get.
While Wi-Fi connections offer more convenience than wired Ethernet cables, they lag behind in terms of speed. And when we think about how our internet gaming and streaming has transitioned, our connection speeds need to be the best we can get. They also need to be consistent, with lower latency.
It’s for such reasons the ethernet cables aren’t going away any soon. Keep in mind the new Wi-Fi standards like 802.11ac offer maximum speeds of 866.7 Mbps, which is good enough to handle most of our daily tasks. Only that they are unreliable due to their higher latency levels.
Since cords come in different categories with features that suit different needs, we have made a detailed guide that will lead you to the best Ethernet cable for gaming and streaming. Whether you are playing online games that need quick reaction time. Or maybe connect devices that stream from a media server like Kodi or share large files on your local network, you should find the ideal cable herein.
Best Ethernet Cable in 2023
How Do You Choose The Best Ethernet Cable?
It all narrows down to the range and performance needs you want to meet. But there is more to cords that it meets the eye.
1. Speed and Bandwidth
You’re probably going for awired connectionso that you may boost your internet speed. However, you need to start by understanding the speed of your home internet connection or ISP’s router.
If you’re having a gigabit internet (over 1 Gbps) an older ethernet cable will hold you back. Similarly, if your connection is slow, say 15 Mbps, it will bottleneck newer cable models. Such models like Cat 5e, Cat 6, and Cat 7.
Ethernet cables come in about 8 categories (Cat) that represent the different ethernet technologies. Newer categories have better speeds and bandwidth. For the purpose of this guide, we will feature the 5 categories that make the most sense today. They include Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat7, and Cat 7a.
Other types include the Cat 3 and Cat 5 which are obsolete in terms of their power. They have lower speeds and bandwidth. Which are the reasons why we wouldn’t recommend buying them! There are also Cat 8 cables that aren’t widely available in the market at the time of this writing.
They are unshielded and offer speeds of up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) at 100 meters with a maximum frequency of 100 MHz. The “e” stands for enhanced – from the category 5 types. Cat 5e cables are not only affordable but also reliable when handling daily internet tasks. Such as browsing, streaming movies, and productivity.
They come both shielded and unshielded with speeds up to 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps) at 100 meters and a maximum frequency of 250 MHz. The shielding offers the twisted pairs of wires in cable with protection, hence preventing noise interference and crosstalk. Theirhigher bandwidths render them ideal for gaming consoles like Xbox and PS4.
They are shielded and offer speeds of up to 10 Gbps (10,000 Mbps) at 100 meters with a maximum frequency of 500 MHz. The “a” stands for augmented. They support twice the maximum bandwidth of Cat 6, with capabilities of maintaining higher transmission speeds over longer cord lengths. Their thick shielding renders them much denser and less flexible than Cat 6 but allows them to eliminate crosstalk completely.
