Cat5 cable is the original Ethernet cable, and includes four twisted pairs in a single jacket. The twisted pair design helps reduce interference from external sources and other pairs (also known as crosstalk). Its performance specifications were designed for use with up to 100Mbit/s networks in fact, the most common usage for Cat5 cable is 100BASE-TX Ethernet.
In 2001, Cat5e (or enhanced Cat5) was designed, with stricter specifications for performance and speed. The biggest difference between Cat5 and Cat5e is that Cat5e can be used with Gigabit networks, networks like 1000BASE-T that boast transfer speeds of up to 1000Mbit/s. Cat5e also has slightly modified wiring for even greater protection from far end crosstalk.
In general, Cat5 has been almost completely replaced by Cat5e. While you can still find Cat5 cable out there, you can often find Cat5e at almost the exact same price. You may not notice a difference in performance for a home network, but virtually all business settings will benefit from exclusively using Cat5e.
If you need any kind of information on this article related topic click here: HF cable shielding