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Is there a difference in either the RJ45 plug or the wiring into the plug (for 568B) between a Cat 5 and Cat 5e cable, used for connecting a router to a computer?

Here's a little background info. I'm a newbie to networking so to learn I wired my own home network. I purchased Cat 5e cable and RJ45 jacks from Home Depot, put them together and hard wired my computer to my router. It all seemed to be fine until I did a speed test. My ISP connection is providing 350 mbs download while I am coming in just under 100mbs. When I swapped out the wire I made to a different 5e cable I had from the ISP, the download speed jumped to a racing 350 mbs download.

So now I'm trying to track what's off with my setup. As far as I've found the only difference tween a 5 and 5e is the wire design, not the pair (color) order into the RJ45 or the RJ45 itself. Is this correct?

I'm assuming that there's a problem with either the wire or the RJ45's I purchased. Is there something else I should be considering?

Thanks.

williah
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1 Answers1

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Cat5 and Cat5e are essentially identical. Cat5e includes additional specifications that most Cat5 cables had already.

Your 100mbs measurement makes me believe that your cable doesn't have the outer pairs connected properly or possibly shorted. This will force the negotiation to 100Mbit max as gigabit ethernet requires those.

David
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  • Thanks. This was it. Created a new line and I am up to full speed. It's useful to know how the high-speed communication works with the pairs. – williah Aug 02 '16 at 01:16