Do I need to buy a network card and sound card for a computer?

Question

If i am trying to build a new comp, do i need to buy a NIC and a sound card? or most of the mobo has them instaled already?
i have seen the spec of the mobo, it says there is a lan port, so does it mean it only support a local area network? i am not sure what kind of cable do i use to connect my comp, but i think it's a ethernet cable... assume i am useing the ethernet cable, can it be plugged in to the lan port? thx!!

Answer 1

Yes, "lan port" means that the network card is built-in. Yes, a standard Ethernet Patch cable will do the trick. If you can see a picture of the board, look for the connections. You might see a row of jacks for speakers, microphone and headphone. That would mean that the sound card is built-in. Look again, you might see the Video connector too, which would mean that a video is also built-in. Look carefully at the specs though. If it says AGP 4X/8X, then you MUST buy a video card for AGP 4X or 8X if you want awesome graphics.

In general, a full system OFF THE SHELF is cheaper than building your own. Consider the Compaq at Staples (tower only) for $400. It comes with 512MB RAM, 2GHZ CPU, sound, video, LAN, 100GB HD, Combo DVD - CD Writer, lots of USB ports and of course, Windows XP license. It is nearly impossible to build your own with all that. But you are making AWESOME, right?

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 2

most motherboards have a sound card built in. yes the lan port would be for your network. use an ethernet cable plugged into that port then the other end plugged into your router or modem. your best bet is to just turn on the computer and see if you get any sound or if there is a listing in the hardware manager for some kind of sound device. good luck!

Answer 3

You can run without a network or sound card, but you won't be able to get ethernet or sound respectively. Many motherboards do have onboard NIC and sound, but they are usually bottom of the barrel quality. I guess a LAN port is ethernet, not sure. Double check what comes built into the board.

Answer 4

If the mobo comes with a built in Nic interface, then you dont need a NIC card, just plug the Ethernet cable into it (make sure you enable it in the CMOS setup). Some mobo's come with built in sound. If it does, then you don't need a sound card. If the mobo comes with either, then they can be enabled/disabled in CMOS, in case you ever want to buy a better one. Once you disable it in CMOS, then you can install a new sound card if you want. But the built in sound cards nowadays are pretty descent.

Answer 5

If you look at the motherboard specs you will find that all you need to do is use the ethernet cable to hook up a digital modem or router. As far as the sound card goes, it depends on the motherboard. Most now come with onboard graphics and sound. again look on the specs and see if it is there

Answer 6

The LAN port is an ethernet port, just use a Cat5 cable.

Answer 7

I have been happily using my existing Sound Card and Nic card from my motherboard. I wouldn't bother with buying a separate one. I've built several dozen computers, and the newer motherboards with all built in components are actually very nice.

Answer 8

via observing the specs of the mummy board. This mom board has the two. Onboard Audio Audio Chipset Realtek ALC887 Audio Channels 8 Channels Onboard LAN LAN Chipset Realtek 8111F Max LAN speed 10/one hundred/1000Mbps

Answer 9

yes your correct in a way, just use an eathernet cord and most mobos have sound intergrated, you can buy a router to build bigger networks, you do not HAVE to buy them with your new computer but its nice to have them...