The first post in the PC Purchase series, this covers a now basic peripheral of any new PC: the network card (NIC). NIC is an acronym for the official name which is Network Interface Controller. Under certain circumstances, this card acts as your computer’s gate to the internet.
Background
You can skip this section if you’re not interested. When the internet made it to the mainstream consumer, the primary method on connecting was through a modem. The modem ‘dialed-up’ your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and then poof! you had internet access. That’s changing. Now more people in the USA have broadband internet access than dial-up. Broadband is always on and does not require calling your ISP. Cable and DSL are by far the most popular broadband technologies for the average consumer. An important thing to note is that even though DSL uses existing phone lines, it does not use telephone technology. It just takes advantage of the existing wiring. Cable and DSL modems communicate with the ISP as long as they are turned on and plugged in. These devices send and receive data through a network cable to your NIC.
The Card
A network card sits inside of your computer so you won’t see it. The only part of it that you see is the network jack, the port where the network cable fits. It looks like an over-sized phone jack. Using a network cable, you can connect the network jack into the broadband modem or some other network device like a router. It’s also called an Ethernet card by some.
Do I need it?
More than likely the answer is ‘yes’. Although even if you did not need it, you might not have a choice. As described below, they’re sometimes just built onto the motherboard, making their removal impossible. If you are setting up a wireless network you might not need this, but again, you might not have a choice.
Some Technical Details
If interested, here are some further details. The network jack is standardized as RJ-45. By standardizing, all companies have a guideline to follow to make sure that the card they design will actually work with devices made by other manufacturers. Some computers have the NIC affixed to the motherboard which is often dubbed ‘on board’. While this is the cheapest solution now-a-days, you can still find actual cards that can be installed after the computer is made. These will fit either PCI or PCI Express. If you buy an actual card to install yourself, make sure you understand whether you need a PCI or a PCI Express card. Networking cards can have speeds to 10, 100, or 1000Mbps. This is often denoted as 10/100/1000.
For the rest of the series, visit the category page.
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