Which ethernet cord should I use?

[iceman2020]

I am buying a trading computer and will be getting an ethernet
cable to use with Cox cable a 1 gig internet service router.
I do high volume scalping, use a robotic trading program on lots of charts and
I do lots of back testing.
What are the pros and cons of cat 6, cat 6A and cat 8? Or is there a better option?

[bltdavid]

Why are you asking here?

This question cries out for Google.

But, we all have opinions, right?



-=o=-

Is your home router 1Gbps or 10Gbps?

Are you getting an all-on-one cable modem/wireless router
from Cox?

Another question I would have is, how many Ethernet cables
do you need? I mean, how many will you be swapping out?
I presume just one cable -- from the router to the PC, right?

Cat5 should still work just fine, but I might suggest Cat6a
since your Cox cable service is a full 1Gbps. If your home
router is a separate device, make sure your home based
router is also 1Gbps (most are, so you're probably fine).

Cat6 vs Cat6a is for longer cable distances.
Cat8 is more for data centers, probably overkill
for most home setups.

Does your Ethernet cable need to snake its way through
a maze of other stuff (esp, other electronic stuff) to get from
your router to your PC? Then definitely consider using
shielded cables, which most are anyways.

-=o=-

That said,
If you have the money, go ahead and get a Cat6a or Cat8
cable, they are shielded, and backwards compatible (and
future proof, if you upgrade to an even higher speed, such
as 10Gbps fiber optics service, which is out there, but rare).

But then again,
Your new 1Gbps Cox service should probably work fine with
your existing cables. I'd say start by using your existing cables,
let's assume they are Cat5 or Cat5e, do some speed tests on
the internet, as well as some speed tests just on your LAN (but
these LAN tests may be worthless, I mean, who cares, right?
The exchanges are not on your LAN, they're on the internet,
out there, in the cloud, so internet based speed tests are
much more useful, choose test servers located in Chicago.)

My point is: after your new 1Gbps service is installed, do some
speed tests with the old cables, establish some known baseline
numbers, and only then go out and buy those fancy Cat6a or
Cat8 cables, come back to your home, replace all the cables,
reboot your cable modem & PC, and redo all the speed tests,
using the same remote server ... in Chicago.

Do you see any differences in speeds?
My money is on "No, the speeds will generally be the same".

Cat6a and Cat8 may kill your wallet, but they should be fine
if you just have to have them.