why do some cat5 cables have only 4 pins

Ubuntusario · Jul 31, 2012, 07:47 PM

I have some long cat5 cables that use the rj-45 connector but the number of pins in used are only 4 like telephone cables? the layout is this |||xx|xx the x means no copper connector, they work but I wonder if I'm loosing performance or getting increased lag because of that.

Frick · Jul 31, 2012, 08:41 PM

Naah I wouldn't think so. It only uses two pairs. You can actually run two connections through one cable because of this.

newtekie1 · Jul 31, 2012, 08:52 PM

Gigabit requires all 8 wires, 10Mb/s and 100Mb/s only require 4 wires. So if you are running a 100Mb/s network you won't notice any difference from the missing wires, but if you try to run gigabit with those cables it won't work and it will revert back to 100Mb/s.

Jul 31, 2012, 07:47 PM	#1
Ubuntusario Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UT,US Posts: 196 (0.34/day) Thanks: 8 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts System Specs	why do some cat5 cables have only 4 pins I have some long cat5 cables that use the rj-45 connector but the number of pins in used are only 4 like telephone cables? the layout is this \|\|\|xx\|xx the x means no copper connector, they work but I wonder if I'm loosing performance or getting increased lag because of that.

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Jul 31, 2012, 08:41 PM	#2
Frick Fishfaced Nincompoop Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 8,051 (3.02/day) Thanks: 1,100 Thanked 1,500 Times in 1,193 Posts System Specs	Naah I wouldn't think so. It only uses two pairs. You can actually run two connections through one cable because of this. __________________ "The 'gentle biker' look is overdone. I'm going for 'psycho hillbilly.' "

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Jul 31, 2012, 08:52 PM	#3
newtekie1 Semi-Retired Folder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 17,903 (6.47/day) Thanks: 785 Thanked 5,185 Times in 3,754 Posts System Specs	Gigabit requires all 8 wires, 10Mb/s and 100Mb/s only require 4 wires. So if you are running a 100Mb/s network you won't notice any difference from the missing wires, but if you try to run gigabit with those cables it won't work and it will revert back to 100Mb/s. __________________ Rig1: System Specs. Rig2: A8-5600K@4.4GHz / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 / HD7560D / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB WD Green + 3x3TB WD RED in RAID5 Rig3: Athlon X2 4200+ / M4A79 Deluxe / 4GB G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 / GT430 / Sony DVD-Burner / 500GB WD Rig4: Phenom II x6 1605T @ 3.6GHz / Asus M5A99X Evo / 8GB PNY DDR3-1600 9-9-9 / GTX470 & GTX470 / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB Seagate

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