Flush Moulded Strain Relief: The flush moulded design allows the patch cables to be installed side by side in high-density network switches. The strain relief allows the cables to move without damaging the cable or breaking away from the connector while it is plugged in a device. One last thing to keep an eye out for: most Ethernet cabling is of the “patch cable” type, which is used for standard connections such as plugging a NAS drive into a router or a games console into a powerline adapter. However, you may also come across “crossover cables”, which can be used to connect computers directly together. Don’t buy one of these by mistake! Cat8 cable supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology for delivering power and data over a single cable. By eliminating or reducing the need for power cords, Cat8 cable can save space in crowded server rooms and simplify edge computing installations. With a maximum range of 98 ft. 2. Are Cat 8 Ethernet cables worth it? Those looking to really future proof their network might want to look at the newer Cat 8 standard, which supports speeds of up to 40Gbits/sec at distances of up to 30m using the same RJ45 connectors as Cat 6a. Predictably, though, it’s expensive and mostly used in data centres to hook up the most demanding high-performance network kit. Which category do you need? One less obvious thing to consider is what sort of cable construction you want. Most Ethernet cable consists of stranded, shielded wires inside a flexible plastic casing, which is easy to wind up and move around. However, solid-core cable is less susceptible to interference and offers slightly better performance. It’s less flexible, but if you’re running cable inside a wall it’s a good choice.

SFTP (or SSTP): Screened and Foil (Shielded) Twisted Pair. Each individual pair is screened by foil and features an overall outer sheath. This shielding protects the cable from EMI (Electro-Magnetic Interference). LSOH: low Smoke Zero Halogen cable reduces the amount of toxic and corrosive gas emitted during a fire. The primary benefit of Cat8 cabling is faster throughput over short distances: 40 Gbps up to 78' and 25 Gbps up to 100'. From 100' to 328', Cat8 provides the same 10Gbps throughput as Cat6A cabling. 3. Is Cat 8 the best Ethernet cable?DbillionDa's Cat 8 Ethernet cable is the best Ethernet cable you can get. It's based on the latest Category 8 (CAT 8) specification for wired transfer speeds up to 40 Gbps. Sure, it's best used in data centers that need to transfer loads of data really fast. 4. Is Cat 8 Ethernet overkill? This product has been tested and found to comply with the applicable electrical transmission characteristics specified in: ISO/IEC 11801 ED.2 and ANSI/TIA-568-C.2

Supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet / 10GBASE-T: 10 Times faster than Gigabit Ethernet, 10GE (also called 10GbE or 10 GigE) supports a data rate of 10Gbits/s (billion bits per second). Right now, very few of us have home equipment that supports 10GbE, let alone anything faster. In theory, Cat 5e should cover all your immediate needs, but given that there’s so little price difference between that and Cat 6 or even Cat 6a or Cat 7, it’s worth going for the faster cables now. That goes double if you’re cabling up your home, as it’ll save the bother of replacing cables in the next five years should 10GbE-compatible devices take off. What else do you need to think about?

Features and Benefits

StarTech doesn’t make the cheapest cables, but they are rigorously tested and have a reputation for reliability. This Cat6 cable comes in blue, white or grey in lengths that cover everything from short patch cables to longer 15m runs. It uses 100% stranded copper conductors with 50-micron gold-plated connectors, and the cables are tested with the industry-standard Fluke tests to ensure they deliver reliable, professional-grade performance.