What is the difference in the Cat5e cables (PVC vs. Plenum, stranded vs. solid, 100MHz vs. 350Mhz)?
A. PVC and Plenum describe the outer jacket material used on the cable. "Plenum" is a term used to describe a cable that meets certain fire code requirements, and is ok to use inside walls and drop ceilings. Stranded and Solid describe the actual conductors themselves. A solid conductor is a solid copper wire, whereas a stranded conductor is made up of very fine strands of copper woven or twisted together to form the wire. Stranded conductors therefore are more flexible and best suited for making patch cables. Solid conductors are more rigid, so solid conductor cable is best for in-the-wall runs or for punching down permanently to wall plates or patch panels. 100Mhz and 350Mhz are frequencies that the cables are tested at. Cat5e specifications only require a cable to be tested at 100Mhz. Some manufacturers go beyond that and test at 350Mhz. This superior grade of cable allows for more headroom for the data in the cable, improving overall signal transfer.
