Monoprice 131098 Cat8 Ethernet Cable 5ft White - Entegrade — main product image

Monoprice 131098 Cat8 Ethernet Cable 5ft White - Entegrade

Monoprice

Monoprice 131098 Cat8 Ethernet Cable 5ft White - Entegrade

Name: Monoprice 131098 Cat8 Ethernet Cable 5ft White - Entegrade
Brand: Monoprice
SKU: 131098

★★★★★4.7 (174 reviews)

Delivers 40Gbps at 2GHz bandwidth in a 5-foot Cat8 patch cable built for next-generation 40G network infrastructure.

$12.48*

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*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated:Jul 15, 2026.Price and availability are subject to change.

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Overview

The Monoprice Entegrade 131098 is a 5-foot Cat8 S/FTP patch cable rated to 2GHz bandwidth and 40Gbps data transfer — the current ceiling for copper Ethernet. To put those numbers in context: Cat6a tops out at 500MHz and 10Gbps; Cat8 triples the frequency headroom and quadruples throughput. The 2GHz rating means this cable can support 40GBASE-T without signal degradation at short distances (up to 30 meters per the 802.3bq standard). The S/FTP construction — individually foil-wrapped pairs inside an outer braided screen — achieves the alien crosstalk (ANEXT) suppression that 40G requires, where even minor inter-cable interference causes retransmissions that destroy latency-sensitive workloads.

In practice, this cable is built for server room patch panels, top-of-rack switch connections, and NAS-to-switch direct links where cable runs are short and bandwidth demand is high or growing. It's also a legitimate future-proofing play for prosumer home labs: 10GBASE-T NICs are now mainstream, and 10G switches have dropped below $200. Installing Cat8 now means the cable plant survives the next equipment cycle without re-pulling. The 24AWG conductors support PoE++ (up to 90W) without thermal derating, relevant for powered switch uplinks or PoE-capable storage devices. At the 5-foot form factor, this is a precise, short-run solution — not a substitute for structured Cat8 cabling in longer runs.

Key Features

Buy with Confidence: With Monoprice's Lifetime Warranty on all Cables, you can rest assured we stand behind our products and our customers.

Superior Performance: Entegrade Cat8 brings higher frequency characteristics, which enables higher data transfer speeds.

Up to 2GHz Bandwidth: Entegrade Cat8 Ethernet Network Cables are the first to bring up to 40Gbps transfer speeds and up to 2GHz bandwidth using copper conductors and RJ45 connectors.

Future Proof: Monoprice's Entegrade Cat8 Cables are an excellent, future proof solution for current and upcoming generations of active 10G and up to 40G networks.

Quality at a Fair Price: Monoprice's rugged design and rigid quality control standards deliver high quality products at fair prices.

Specifications

Model

131098

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

S/FTP double-shielding delivers 2GHz bandwidth headroom that eliminates the cable as a variable in high-frequency signal testing.
24AWG copper conductors support PoE alongside 40G data without added resistance-related derating.
5-foot length is optimized for top-of-rack patch applications where excess cable length creates unnecessary impedance accumulation.
RJ45 termination means no proprietary connectors — plug directly into any standard 40GBASE-T, 10GBASE-T, or gigabit port.
Monoprice's rigid QC on conductor purity and jacket consistency delivers spec-compliant performance at a price point well below Tier-1 networking vendors.

👎 Cons

At 5 feet, this is a patch cable, not a structured wiring solution — runs longer than 30 meters will not support 40G, requiring fiber for longer distances.
S/FTP shielding requires proper grounding at both ends to be effective; floating shield connections can introduce ground loop noise rather than eliminate it.
Cat8 infrastructure (40GBASE-T switches and NICs) is still expensive, so the cable's full bandwidth capability is inaccessible to most current home and SMB setups.
The relatively stiff jacket on shielded Cat8 cables reduces bend flexibility compared to unshielded Cat6a, which can complicate cable dressing in tight enclosures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What network equipment actually supports 40Gbps over this cable?

40GBASE-T switches and NICs are required to hit 40Gbps. At 5 feet, this cable operates well within the 30-meter max distance spec for 40G, making it suitable for top-of-rack switch connections or direct server-to-switch links.

Is Cat8 backward compatible with my existing Cat6 or Cat7 ports?

Yes. Cat8 uses standard RJ45 connectors and is fully backward compatible with Cat7, Cat6, Cat5e, and Cat5 equipment. You'll negotiate at whatever speed your port supports — the cable itself is not the bottleneck.

What does S/FTP shielding mean, and when does it matter?

S/FTP (Screened/Foiled Twisted Pair) means each pair is individually foil-wrapped, plus an outer braided screen. This matters in high-EMI environments — server rooms, near UPS units, or dense cable runs — where unshielded cables pick up interference that degrades signal integrity.

Why 24AWG at Cat8 rather than thinner conductors?

24AWG copper strikes the balance between carrying current for Power over Ethernet (PoE) and maintaining signal integrity at 2GHz. Thinner conductors increase resistance, which limits both PoE capacity and high-frequency signal quality.

Does the white jacket affect performance versus other colors?

No. Jacket color is purely cosmetic. The white jacket is practical for clean cable management in data centers or home server racks where color-coding by function is common.