cat 5/cat 5e/cat 6 difference?

cat5 cat5e, and cat6 are just different quality standards.

cat5 is the typical cable, cat5e is very common as well.

cat6 is better than i need, so i don't know anything about it.

as far as unshielded twisted pair, once upon a time, networking was done through shielded wires. over the ages, the cabling has evolved, and so now there is 4 pairs of twisted wire inside an unshielded cable.

Just better characteristics as you go up the ladder. For the forseeable future, CAT5e will do the trick for most people. CAT5e is fully certified for gigabit networks. If you can get CAT6 for about the same price, it won't hurt to use it...