Gaming has become an international phenomenon over the last few years. If you want to have the ultimate gaming experience in your home, you need a good ethernet cable. Wi-Fi is a good option but some games require a consistent connection.
In this article, we’ll discuss the best three ethernet cables for the good gaming experience.
What to look for in an Ethernet Cable?
There are various types of Ethernet cables you will come across while shopping for cables. Cat7 is the latest addition and Cat5e is rather an old category but it is still in use for gaming purposes.
Category – Cable category plays a vital role. If you have the latest category cable then you will get the maximum speed and very less noise resistant. Older cables like Cat5e are still in play because of its specifications.
Cable Length – Cable length is also another important factor. When you are buying cable, make sure to get some extra cable than measurements. The ideal length for a good gaming experience is 100 meters.
Gaming Equipment – Most of the ethernet cables are backward compatible. Getting a better cable will not affect your network unless you have good equipment to support that cable. There is a major difference between your internet speed and your bandwidth speed as well.
Cat5e
As I have mentioned above, Cat5e is an old category cable. This cable still competes with other cables in terms of speed. Cat5e bare copper has a good noise-resistant and high speed, ideal for gaming.
Cat6
This is a category 6 cable. It surpasses its pervious category in every term. This cable provides you good speed and fewer cross-talks which can be annoying while gaming. With the data transfer speed of 500 MHZ, Cat6 gives you the ultimate gaming experience. It also gives you 10-gigabit speed. Cat6 comes in different colors so you don’t get confused with other cables.
Cat7
Cat7 is the latest one available in the market. Some people might argue that Cat7 is overkill for gaming. For a good gaming experience, you can rely on Cat6 cable. But with Cat7, you will get 10x more speed than Cat6. This cable is ideal if you are looking for a flawless connection. The only downside of Cat7 is that it is a bit expensive.
Specification | Cat5e | Cat6 | Cat6a |
Cable Jacket | Plenum, Riser & PVC | Plenum, Riser & PVC | Plenum & Riser |
Wire Gauge | 24-AWG | 23-AWG | 23-AWG Highly Twisted |
Frequencies | 350 MHZ | 550 MHZ | 750 MHZ |
Installation Temp | 0°C to 60°C | 0°C to 60°C | 0°C to 60°C |
Pairs | 4 Twisted Pairs | 4 Twisted Pairs | 4 Twisted Pairs |
Package | Easy Pull Box | Easy Pull Box | Wood Spool |
Colors | Black, Blue, White, Red, Green, Yellow | Black, Blue, White, Red, Green, Yellow | Black, Blue, White, Red, Green, Yellow |
Standard Compliance | ETL, FCC, CE, CSA, ISO/IES, RoHS | FCC, CE, CSA, ISO/IES, RoHS | ETL, FCC, CE, CSA, ISO/IES, RoHS |