Do cables make a difference? I.E - CAT5E to CAT 7 or CAT 8


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Hi all,

I have a 1GB download speed (and 10mbps up) through my ISP but right now my PC's are only getting 500-600mbps down!

They also set up an "EERO" network upon installation. EERO shows that the download speed is nearly 800mbps to the first / main switch or EERO.

Our network is like this: modem --> EERO/SWITCH ---> EERO/SWITCH in BEDROOM ---> SWITCH TO PCS DIRECT.

---

How I stumbled upon the poor download speeds was through a large download that servers usually provide nearly 60mbps down, but was sitting barely 15mbps. That being said, a SpeedTest at the time (desktop app) revealed a download speed of 250mbps which makes more sense given how throttled my download was. I moved the wires from any power cords etc, and speed instantly went up to the 500mbps - 600mbps range.

Before I decide to replace cables, I thought I'd get your input here on whether it'll help.

Best wishes,
BA2017GG

 

Cat 5e is more than enough to handle gig, can even do 2.5gbs via 802.3bz

 

Here is speed test to my nas using just cat5e cable..

 

$ iperf3.exe -c 192.168.10.10
Connecting to host 192.168.10.10, port 5201
[  5] local 192.168.10.9 port 2112 connected to 192.168.10.10 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec   282 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec   282 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec   282 MBytes  2.36 Gbits/sec
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec   283 MBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  2.76 GBytes  2.37 Gbits/sec                  sender
[  5]   0.00-10.08  sec  2.76 GBytes  2.35 Gbits/sec                  receiver

iperf Done.

 

You really should be able to do even 5gbps over cat5e, I just have nothing to show that in real world test.. But should work..

 

Cat 7 is not even a thing to be honest (there is no standard).  And unless you plan on doing 40 gig sometime in the near future.. Over copper?  Why?  8 makes zero sense.

 

While you could look to using cat 6 or 6a.. There is no need if your going to be running a gig network. 5e is more than capable of supporting gig, for that matter even older cat 5 is plenty.  It was part of the standard that gig could be done over cat 5.

What ISP? WOW? (Wide Open West) Formerly Knology.  If so, I had the same issue.

 

I tried Cat 7, new modem based on what the tech suggested, they changed the drop coming to my house. I would never see over 600 MB down. I also tried the speeds in linux and got the same results.

 

I bumped down to the 500/30 tier and as you can see in my signature, It's fine as far as getting what I'm paying for.

 

The only reason I assume WOW is the EERO , I had that too with WOW.

1 hour ago, xrobwx71 said:

What ISP? WOW? (Wide Open West) Formerly Knology.  If so, I had the same issue.

 

I tried Cat 7, new modem based on what the tech suggested, they changed the drop coming to my house. I would never see over 600 MB down. I also tried the speeds in linux and got the same results.

 

I bumped down to the 500/30 tier and as you can see in my signature, It's fine as far as getting what I'm paying for.

 

The only reason I assume WOW is the EERO , I had that too with WOW.

WOW here, I pull down about 930 on a regular basis. Cat6, BYOD modem, UniFi network. 

2 hours ago, xrobwx71 said:

they changed the drop coming to my house. I would never see over 600 MB down.

I was having issues with upload for a bit, pay for 500/50.. And was getting that - then out of the blue dropped into the dirt like 2 or 3 tops, etc..  Download was ok.. But upload was just utter useless..

 

When they came out - they tried to blame my modem at first (byod)... So I said sure - put it one of your yours and lets see ;)  Same crappy upload.. Took them 3 days to figure it out.. But they finally got it fixed.. 2 different truck rolls..

 

I have WOW, and have been pretty happy with their service and support..  You should of pressed them for gig if that is what you wanted.  But to be honest - 500/50 is screaming fast enough.. I would love to have more up..  And would pay the extra for gig down if the up went up with it... But their current top plan is 1000/50 (at least in my area) - I don't need more down, I want more UP..  Serving up plex to friends and family need up bandwidth..  I don't see how anyone really could actually need gig down in the home to be honest.. That is a freaking lot of concurrent 4k streams ;)

20 minutes ago, BudMan said:

I was having issues with upload for a bit, pay for 500/50.. And was getting that - then out of the blue dropped into the dirt like 2 or 3 tops, etc..  Download was ok.. But upload was just utter useless..

 

When they came out - they tried to blame my modem at first (byod)... So I said sure - put it one of your yours and lets see ;)  Same crappy upload.. Took them 3 days to figure it out.. But they finally got it fixed.. 2 different truck rolls..

 

I have WOW, and have been pretty happy with their service and support..  You should of pressed them for gig if that is what you wanted.  But to be honest - 500/50 is screaming fast enough.. I would love to have more up..  And would pay the extra for gig down if the up went up with it... But their current top plan is 1000/50 (at least in my area) - I don't need more down, I want more UP..  Serving up plex to friends and family need up bandwidth..  I don't see how anyone really could actually need gig down in the home to be honest.. That is a freaking lot of concurrent 4k streams ;)

Bragging rights. And for 65 a month for 1000/1000, why not? 😉

22 minutes ago, BudMan said:

I was having issues with upload for a bit, pay for 500/50.. And was getting that - then out of the blue dropped into the dirt like 2 or 3 tops, etc..  Download was ok.. But upload was just utter useless..

 

When they came out - they tried to blame my modem at first (byod)... So I said sure - put it one of your yours and lets see ;)  Same crappy upload.. Took them 3 days to figure it out.. But they finally got it fixed.. 2 different truck rolls..

 

I have WOW, and have been pretty happy with their service and support..  You should of pressed them for gig if that is what you wanted.  But to be honest - 500/50 is screaming fast enough.. I would love to have more up..  And would pay the extra for gig down if the up went up with it... But their current top plan is 1000/50 (at least in my area) - I don't need more down, I want more UP..  Serving up plex to friends and family need up bandwidth..  I don't see how anyone really could actually need gig down in the home to be honest.. That is a freaking lot of concurrent 4k streams ;)

Yeah, their upload is a joke, not sure if it's a network limitation, I'm pretty sure they're DOCSIS 3.1, so there shouldn't be an issue there. With security cameras, zoom meetings, work file uploads, that 50mbit gets bogged down pretty quick. 

3 minutes ago, shockz said:

Yeah, their upload is a joke, not sure if it's a network limitation, I'm pretty sure they're DOCSIS 3.1, so there shouldn't be an issue there. With security cameras, zoom meetings, work file uploads, that 50mbit gets bogged down pretty quick. 

It’s a limitation of their network. I don’t know any cable provider who can currently provide decent upload speeds with gigabit. 

18 minutes ago, adrynalyne said:

And for 65 a month for 1000/1000, why not?

Yeah I would be all over that myself ;) 

 

But for like $80 for 1000/50 here - no thanks I will save the money, since 500 down is plenty... But yeah for gig/gig I would jump on that for sure!  Even at higher price..  But I don't have any options in the area for anything more up.. forget the down.. And they are way cheaper than comcast.. So just hoping for some sort of fiber option, etc.  The other good thing about wow is no data caps.. So yeah FU comcast ;)

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