Some cable makers also use the cheapest Cat5e cable they can buy for the construction of Cat5e patch cables, and Cat5e crossover cables, in order to maximize their profits and offer the consumer a "bargain" cable. This is no bargain when you consider that the cheaper grades of cable in many cases run at less than half the speed of high quality cable.

Network equipment can also have a profound effect on the performance of Cat5e cable. If you have devices in your network that are all rated for Cat5e, but you have one device either defective or not properly rated, then your entire network can slow down as a result. A network will typically operate at the speed of the slowest device in it.

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