If you have been to an office building or school and been in contact with a computer you will probably have noticed that it is part of a local area network (LAN). The many benefits of a network are too many to mention. At school or at the office you will have probably noticed that every computer has an internet connection without having a telephone line connected to it. This is because it is possible to share an internet connection across a many computers on a network. This is just one of the benefits when coupling your computer(s) with a network PC card. We will go into some detail of what to look for when buying a network card.

Be aware that most modern motherboards already have an onboard NIC (network interface card) installed. This means that it is not necessary to buy any additional hardware unless of course the onboard device is faulty or you would like to achieve faster speeds. To check if you have an onboard network card you can simply check at the back of your computer for an RJ-45 connection (an input that looks very similar to a telephone connection except slightly wider). You can also check in the Windows Device Manager.

When buying a network PC card for a desktop computer, you will in most cases want an internal device. There are external options as well which we will discuss soon. The pictures above should give you a clear indication of what a PCI network card looks like. These devices are extremely cheap and modern cards can achieve speeds of up to 1000mbps (if your cables and/or hub can support it). When you purchase an internal PCI network card, the device will come with clear instructions on how to install it. If you are not tech savvy, you could always take your PC to your local computer hardware store and have them install it for you. The process takes no longer than about 10 minutes.

The easiest solution would be to purchase an external USB network card. The advantage here is these devices are not limited to only desktop computers. You can use them with notebooks too, or any other device that will support them. Such devices commonly are designed for wireless networks although it is possible to find ones that support cables too. My recommended solution however would be to go the PCI route, although there is nothing wrong with an external device.

There are some well recognized manufacturers when it comes to network technology. You would have probably heard of names like Linksys or Netgear, which are both very popular in the industry. It is possible to buy network pc cards online, usually at a better price than your local PC store. You should take into account if your network is going to consist of cables or if you are going to make use of wireless technology before you make any purchases. Have a look at the features of the device you intend to buy and make sure it meets your needs in terms of speed and other factors.