Best Ethernet Cable For Xbox One & Series X

There's nothing like a fast internet connection when you are gaming at your home. Second to that is having a reliable connection that won't shut down on you or cause performance to be less than adequate. We've all experienced this and it's just not fun. The good thing about technology is that there are some things you can do to improve your overall gaming experience. It's also not so difficult to use and set up either. The answer to a more reliable and fast connection to your Xbox one is an ethernet cable. If you've come across this article in hopes to improve your gaming experience you're in the right place. In this article we will help you decide what is the best ethernet cable for Xbox one and Series X.

Minimum Speed Requirement

Starting your purchasing journey for ethernet cable it's important to full understand its capabilities. We've written a great explanation of what is an ethernet cable here. You can brush up or check out some information on the various cable categories and there speed capabilities.

Getting to know the minimum speed requirement for Xbox one and Xbox One Series X consists of 3 different attributes. Those are download speeds, upload speed and ping.

Not only knowing the online gaming minimum speeds requirements but knowing SD video streaming and HD video streaming will help you decide what is the best ethernet cable for Xbox one and series X. The recommended minimum connection requirements are as follows:

Online Gaming

For the best online gaming experience it's recommended to have a download speed of 3 Mbps or 3,000 Kbps. For upload speed it's recommended to have 0.5 Mbps or 500 Kbps. When it comes to Ping you want to have it less than 150 milliseconds.

SD Video Streaming

For standard definition video (SD) streaming you want to have at lease 1 Mbps or 1000 Kbps. Upload speed is not included here. For the ping you also want to have it less than 150 milliseconds.

HD Video Streaming

For high definition video (HD) streaming you want to have at least 3.5 Mbps or 3,500 Kbps. Upload speed is not included here. Then for ping just like the other two you want it to be at least less than 150 milliseconds.

The numbers for these categories was pulled from the Xbox one official site. If you want to see more you can check it out here

The good thing about these number is that they are not too difficult to obtain. With just the addition of one of many ethernet cables you can get up and running in not much time.

What Type of Ethernet Cable For Xbox

Let's now get into what type of ethernet cable is right for my Xbox one and Xbox series x. With all the cable categories in the market today you'll be happy to know that you can pretty much use any ethernet cable category today to get to these speeds. The most common cable categories are Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A, Cat7A and Cat8. To touch on these cables performance really briefly: Cat5e cable will be able to do gigabit speeds up to 328 feet (100 meters). Gigabit speeds translates to 1,000 Mbps. That's pretty fast in most use cases and is very much suitable for playing games on your Xbox one. So with Cat5e technically having the least amount of capabilities compared to the higher specd categories you will be fine in choosing whichever cable you prefer from Cat5e and beyond !

Now that we know having a cable rated for at least Cat5e will give me the performance I need let's touch on some of the other types you might run in to when getting an ethernet cable. The first one being shielded or unshielded. When it comes to ethernet cables for your Xbox one you will be good to go with an unshielded patch cable. These cables are great for open area use such as running from your router to your gaming system or from wall plate to gaming system ,etc. Having the need for shielded patch cables is un common in your home but it's ok as well if you want to use them.

Will Patch Cord Length Affect My Gaming Experience?

Believe it or not but you can actually have a cable that is too long. The good news here is that it is pretty difficult to have one when running cable in your home. The recommended cable channel length is 100 meters (328 Feet) for Cat5e, Cat6, Cat6A and Cat7A. For Cat8 cables it is 30 meters (98 Feet). These lengths are pretty long and if you're using this cable in your home then you should be fine to run these cables all over your home without having to worry about hitting these lengths. But it is important to mention here that the shorter the better when it comes to ethernet cables. So even though the maximum lengths can get up to 328 Feet it is advisable to keep it as short as possible. So remember here to keep you're patch cables short and under 328 Feet and you'll have the reliability for a solid Xbox one gaming experience.

Which Ethernet Cable In Your Catalog Should I Use?

Here at Infinity Cable Products we stock three types of ethernet cables. The first one being Cat6 24AWG patch cables. This patch cable is a great choice for your Xbox One and will give you the performance you need to power your games. The second one we carry is our ultra slim 28AWG Cat6 patch cables. These cables are a great choice if you would like to save some room in behind your gaming system, computer or around your router or switch. Both of these Cat6 patch cables are rated for 1Gb up to 328 Feet and can achieve 250Mhz. The great thing about Cat6 is that at shorter distances, under 55 meters (180 Feet) you can get up to 10Gbps. This is however under ideal conditions and having the necessary equipment, etc. The third patch cables we carry is our shielded Cat6A patch cables. These cables are great for areas with EMI or signal interference. They are rated for 10Gb up to 328 Feet. Though when it comes to patch cords you'll often find that they come in shorter lengths.

These three cables are a great choice for your Xbox one. They each will give you the performance you need for your Xbox one and depending on your environment you can select which will benefit you even more.

Don't see the length you need? Head on over to our section of bulk network cables. Our bulk cables come in 1000 feet length to give you all the length you need to cut down these cables to your desired lengths.

Conclusion

For a reliable and consistent Xbox One and Xbox series X gaming experience you want to have at least a download speed of 3 Mbps, upload speed of 0.5 Mbps and a ping rate of less than 150 milliseconds. Any cable category from Cat5e and beyond will give you the performance you want to improve your overall gaming experience. It's worth noting here that the numbers we have explained are minimum requirements. For the absolute best video game experience you want the highest connection speed you can have. We hope you found this article help on choosing the best ethernet cable for Xbox one and series X. Feel free to comment below with any questions you have or comments regarding your gaming experience.