Does Ethernet cable affect speed?

I'm only getting 10 Mbps on my Ethernet connection but the NIC supports up to 100 Mbps. Could the Ethernet cable be the culprit? What labels on the Ethernet cable should I look for to make sure it's good enough?

For 100mb speeds, you will want to make sure you have at least "CAT 5" (Category 5) or better cable. "Cat 5e" and "Cat 6" would work as well.

As for your speed problems, your NIC in your computer needs to be 100 mbps capable. Your router or switch that it is connected to needs to be able to support 100 mbps speeds also. If these two are correct, you either have a poor or damaged cable or it could be the settings of the computers connected. Using too long of a cable would cause speeds to be limited also, but are you using cable runs longer than 100 meters?

If you have a 100MB port you are plugging it into, try turning off "auto detection" for link speed on your computer, and see if you can force it to 100Mbs, some older equipment have issues with speed auto negotiation.