Performance of Network Interface Cards

A Network Interface Card or NIC Card (also referred to as a Network Interface Controller, Network Adapter, LAN Adapter or LAN card) is how your computer connects to the wired network in your home or office. It is a physical and data link layer device which uses MAC addresses. NIC adapter is plugged inside the computer either in the PCI slot or built-in the motherboard. Without it, there would be no interaction between the cord in the wall and your computer!

The network interface card is installed in an expansion slot of the computer. This card connects the computer to a network, and contains information on the computer’s location and also instructions for sending and receiving data over the network. It adds a serial port to the computer and the port connects directly to a network. NIC converts the computers’ low power signals to high power signals that can be transmitted over the network. NIC’s speed is measured in megabits per second (Mbps).

External LAN cards are larger and are placed in any PCI slot on the motherboard, except the PCI Express slot. Internal LAN cards on the other hand come integrated with your chipset. Internal LAN cards are integrated into the motherboard of your computer and generally provide higher transfer speeds on a network. Internal LAN cards require drivers to function, thus if your internal LAN card stop working for any reason you will first need to reinstall your drivers with a fresh download. If however that still doesn’t fix your problems, you will need to buy an external network interface driver. Make sure to buy a network interface card that offers the same transfer speeds as your internal LAN card.

LAN cards usually support network transfer rates of 10, 100 or 1000, megabits per second. Depending on your requirements and network you should choose a LAN card that will provide the optimal transfer rate for your network.