Fast wire selection

Fast wire selection
For home decoration, prioritize CAT6 (six-category); if you want to achieve a one-step solution and set up a 10G local area network, choose CAT6A (super six-category); for ordinary temporary patch cords, use CAT5e (super five-category).

I. Wire category comparison table
CAT5e / Super five-category 100 MHz 1Gbps Gigabit without cross-frame structure, soft wire, cheap, for old houses, surveillance, short-distance temporary patch cords
CAT6 / Six-category 250 MHz 1Gbps; ≤ 55 meters can run 10G and 10G Ethernet with cross-frame structure, reduces crosstalk, mainstream pre-installation for home decoration, 2.5G / 10G broadband
CAT6A / Super six-category 500 MHz 100 meters stable 10G and 10G Ethernet thicker, cross-frame structure, shielded / unshielded | Large-sized houses, NAS, 10G internal network, pre-installation one-step solution
CAT7 / Seven-category 600 MHz + 10G fully shielded, very hard wire, construction troublesome | For machine rooms, industrial strong interference environments, home use is unnecessary
CAT8 / Eight-category 2000 MHz 25/40G, ≤ 30 meters | Heavy double-layer shielding | Short distances in data centers, completely waste for home use
Key point: CAT6 running 10G has distance limitations, CAT6A is 100 meters full-speed 10G Ethernet
II. Shielded vs Unshielded (UTP/FTP/SFTP)
UTP Unshielded (U/UTP): Home choice, no metal shielding layer, easy to run in pipes, cheap, sufficient for normal home environment, no grounding required
- FTP Single-layer aluminum foil shielding: One layer of aluminum foil outside the entire wire, general anti-interference
SFTP Double-layer shielding: Each pair of wires + outer layer aluminum foil + metal mesh, extremely strong anti-interference, must be grounded throughout, otherwise it is more likely to cause interference problems
Only when the wire is close to strong electricity, motors, frequency converters, or machine rooms is shielding required; **For ordinary wall internal wiring at home, directly use unshielded UTP, shielding in home decoration is prone to grounding mistakes
III. How to choose material (key points to avoid pitfalls)
1. Conductor: Oxygen-free copper (OFC) > Copper-clad copper > Copper-clad aluminum CCA (never buy)
CCA copper-clad aluminum has large resistance, prone to overheating during PoE power supply, unstable long-distance 10G Gigabit, is a cheap trap product.
2. Wire diameter AWG
The smaller the AWG number, the thicker the copper wire, the smaller the resistance, more stable transmission, PoE power supply
- CAT6: 23AWG (0.57mm) National standard, prefer to choose
- CAT5e: 24AWG (0.51mm)
3. Six-category wire must have a cross-frame isolation structure inside, without it is a fake six-category
IV. Recommended for different scenarios
1. New home decoration pre-installation (permanent wiring in walls)
Preferred: CAT6 UTP 23AWG oxygen-free copper; if budget is sufficient, directly use CAT6A UTP, no need to replace the wire in the future for 10G internal network
Not recommended 7/8 category, the wire is too thick to run in pipes, high premium, not suitable for home use
2. Router / computer short patch cords (finished wire)
Gigabit broadband: CAT5e is sufficient; 2.5G / 10G internal network: CAT6/CAT6A finished patch cords
3. Surveillance, AP PoE power supply
CAT6 oxygen-free copper preferred, copper-clad aluminum will have insufficient power supply
4. Industrial / close to strong wires, frequency converters: CAT6A SFTP double shielding, full grounding throughout
V. Quick wire inspection tips
1. Look at the outer skin printing: CAT6 / CAT6A labels are clear, with brand logo
2. Cut open the outer skin: Six-category must have a cross-frame structure, copper wire is shiny, not white aluminum
3. Bend feeling: Pure copper can be repeatedly bent; copper-clad aluminum breaks after a few bends
4. Don't just look at the surface. Many "fake Super 6" cables only have CAT6A printed on the outside, but the inside is still regular Category 6.
Six, Common Misconceptions
It's not the larger the number, the better: 7/8 category is the standard for data centers, providing excessive performance for home use, and the wiring process is difficult.
Shielded cables are not necessarily the stronger the better: Poor grounding of the shielding in home decoration can introduce interference.
Super Category 5 cannot run 10 Gigabit: It can run for tens of meters at short distances, but it is unstable. Do not use it to bet on 10 Gigabit for pre-installation.