3 ms·

I never see either of these terms on sites like Newegg. How do I know which is which? Which one am I supposed to use at home?

• aforwardslash 4y ago
  The "U" stands for Unshielded, the "S" stands for Shielded. For home use and office use, UTP is fine. STP makes sense in "noisy" (electrical or magnetic) environments, such as factory floors with heavy machinery, clinics & hospitals with specific machinery, etc. See more details on the kind of protection the shielding offers here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shielded_cable https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shielded_cable
  • nerdponx 4y ago
    Makes sense, but my point was that I've never even seen an option to buy one kind of ethernet cable or other. Is it safe to assume the $15 StarTech cables I buy from Newegg are unshielded? And does the "TP" stand for "Twisted Pair"?
    • foodevl 4y ago
      Yes and yes