possible to not have a video card?

[JoeFaheyx]

hi, i was taking apart my old gateway and saw 3 cards, one was a sound card, one was ethernet, the other was something else....it was what attached the monitor to the mobo, i was wondering, if this was a video card, and also, is it possible to not have a video card at all? one last thing, whats an ethernet card do? THANKS

 

[johnjkr1]

A video card is the thing that attaches to your monitor, yes. An ethernet card connects you to a network, like a cable modem or DSL.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

well the ethernet card has like a phone jack thing, does this mean that a modem has a phone jack connector? so do you need to use the ethernet card? i use the USB and an adapter to conect to my modem.

 

[johnjkr1]

Ethernet jacks, as part of the network card, look VERY similar to a phone modem. But they are not the same. I can't understand your last statement, what type of setup do you have now? Do you use a phone line to connect (dial-up), or do you have DSL or cable?

Also, Joe, you need to try to combine some of your questions into one thread. The mods probably will nt like you starting several related threads, it makes things complicated.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

i have cable, and i use a USB cable that goes through an adapter and to my modem

 

[johnjkr1]

That is one way to set it up. Most people hook the cable modem up using the ethernet port though. In the case of your computer, you may not even have a network card (NIC), you might just have an analog modem. You can tell by checking device manager and seeing what is listed under network controllers. Also, what kind of "adapter" does you usb cable go through?

 

[JoeFaheyx]

its a USB network adapter

 

[johnjkr1]

ahh, got it. That's what I figured. In that case i'm assuming that the card in your pc is an analog modem, not a network card. If it has two jacks, you know it is a modem for sure.

 

[JoeFaheyx]

yea, it only has one jack....thanks alot! this forum site is amazing, im very supprised at how knowledgable people are here

 

[johnjkr1]

Anytime. Modems can have just one jack, but it is rare. Also, it is possible to not have a "video card", some motherboards have built in video. But that does not appear to be so in your case.

 

[Lmronby]

Wanna see what you have in your computer? Right click on the My Computer icon and select properties...Now go to the Hardware tab and go down to the Device Manager box. This will list much information about your hardware. If you see any red or yellow signs next to a device it means you have a problem with that particular device. Anyway if you see a Modem icon this should identify it, or Network Adapters will tell you what kind of Ethernet card you have. Good luck.

 

[stockjock]

He could have a NIC....but maybe he is not using it because he is going straight through USB!! I'm guessing what he has is an Ethernet Card, Sound Card and the Video Card. You can usually tell the difference in a modem and a NIC (Network Interface card...also known as Ethernet Card). The NIC has a jack that looks like a phone jack, but in fact it is much bigger. Your DSL modem connects up to your computer through your USB interface, forgoing the NIC.

Thats my .02

 

[johnjkr1]

Actually, he has a USB nic.