Cat5e ethernet cables obsolete?

[stonehorse]

I had Telus Optic TV and internet installed last spring. I didn't think about about cables until today when I purchased a slight longer ethernet cable to reach between the wall connection and the 4k digital box. I purchased a Cat6 cable. When I looked at the Telus installed cable, it was a Cat5e. I had a look at the cables on the T3200M modem, they are also Cat5e cables. I thought Cat5e cables are now obsolete for new installations? If obsolete, why did the Telus installer use them? Do I need to purchase new Cat6 cables for the modem as well?

[Nighthawk · Accepted solution]

Cat5e supports gigabit speeds so no it is not obsolete and no you won't need to purchase new cables. The vast majority of equipment people will have in their homes has gigabit network cards in them, including the T3200M. Even 4K video only uses a small fraction of one gigabit so cat5e is fine. Using a Cat6 cable won't hurt anything.

Cat6 supports up to 10 gigabit speeds so in most cases it is overkill in a home setting. If you have a 10gbps router in your home and 10gbps network adapters in your PCs and other devices, then Cat6 would be good to have.