CAT5 vs CAT5e

I understand the main difference between CAT5 and CAT5e are:
1. CAT 5 - Uses two UTP pairs and supports 100 Mbps
2. CAT 5e - Uses four UTP pairs and can transfer up to 1 Gbps.

I have taken some practice exams and there seem to be some conflicting information about these two cables. One exam claims CAT 5 supports 1 Gbps??

Can someone verify??

Thanks.

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Comments

Trailerisf

Not straight cat 5... only supports 100Mb

5e supports the gig

crtplague

In all of the practice exam questions I've had:

Straight forward UTP cat 5 is good for up to 100Mbps

Cat 5e and Cat 6 should be used for Gigabit Ethernet.

If the exam question asks about which cable is good for 1000BaseT, and Cat5e is an answer, I would choose Cat5e.

hope this helps.

Slowhand

Here's a few rants on the topic. Some of these are a little dated, but they get the point across:

http://discountcablesusa.com/ethernet-cables100.html

http://www.broadbandutopia.com/caandcaco.html

http://www.datalan.co.uk/new/glossary.asp

Also, dig around Cisco's help sites, and you'll probably find a lot of the same info, probably a whole lot more.