cat5e when to use 350Mhz or 500Mhz

dont' know if this helps. but take a look at the descriptions at: http://ww1.gocsc.com/pdf/hotproduct/BerkTek030204.pdf

http://www.proav.de/index.html?http&&&www.proav.de/data/cables/CAT5.html

Cyber

It will not help on standard 1 gig but there is some 2 gig staff out there and more coming, i do not think it will be long till mose gig stuff can run 2 gig.

To get the full speed of 2 gig you need the 500MHZ  

Hmmmm this is interesting I thought that their would be a clear answer on this one.

gjohnson99,

So basically 500Mhz is useless unless you are running a 2 gig (2000BaseT) connection.
I am not convinced. Why then has 500Mhz cat5e cable been available for such a long time, probably before 2 gig connections.
I have never seen 2000BaseT stuff but I will take your word on it.
Could it be with 500Mhz cable on a 1000BaseT line that you get a better quality signal because of the greater bandwidth. Meaning less packet errors or collisions?

Thanks,
DMS

Here is switch with 2 gig port

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?sku=5159942&SourceID=k27898

I think technology learns to know infrastructure limitation and trying to improve data transfer rates based on the infrastructure we currently have; My case here based on the fact that when phone lines were able to hold up to 14Kbps, no one would imagine the transfer of a large quantity of data such as 750K, not to mention 2MB and up to 10MB of data through standart RJ11 copper wire. I think that in the near future we will see NICs that are able to use 10GB based on the current Cat5/Cat5e cables (and I know that this is the trend companies are developping)...

Cyber

When is it practical to use a 500Mhz cat5e cable?

Presently, it is not practical.  However, with that said, I prefer to use CAT6 for my longer warehouse/cross building drops.  Since 350Mhz rated CAT%e is sufficient for gigabit based networking, 500Mhz is simply overkill.  But, if you plan to agressively adopt new network mediums, it might work out to be a good (albeit expensive) cable invenstment.

When is it practical to use a 350Mhz cat5e cable?

I would usggest always using cat5e rated cable, but especially when gigabit ethernet it a possibility/requirement.

Are all cat6 rated cables 500Mhz?

Not a sure bet. Do your homework if a CAT6 purchase in is your future.

Is their that much difference in total bandwith that can be accomplished when running a 500Mhz cable over a 350Mhz cable? In otherwords if I was to run a 350Mhz cable on a 1000baseT backbone connection would I see any performance loss over a 500Mhz cable.

There is more potential, however, using a higher category CAT cable will not magically induce your 100base NICs to function @ 1000Mbits.  Theoretically plain old CAT5 cable should support their potential...so if your looking for a safe bet, use CAT5e.  If you have gobs of money and plan to go nuts with your network, get CAT6.

There very little cost diffrence between 350 and 500 .