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Macs have NIC cards?

D

drsarg

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 13, 2010
12
0
Hello. This might sound a silly question but I'm confused.

I have been doing research but can not find any information on this. Do Macs have NIC cards that allow them to connect to the internet, or is that just for PCs? If they don't have NIC cards, what else is it known as?

When I go on the Apple website, on the diagrams it just says "gigabit ethernet" and nothing else about ethernet. It says something on "Tech Specs" but it is not really that detailed.

The reason why this is in Mac Mini is because that is what I am studying. However this generally counts for any Macs.

Thanks!
 
sammich

sammich

macrumors 601
Sep 26, 2006
4,305
268
Sarcasmville.
The Network Interface Component is built into every modern motherboard. People just refer to it by 'ethernet port' or 'LAN port'.
 
peskaa

peskaa

macrumors 68020
Mar 13, 2008
2,104
5
London, UK
NIC stands for Network Interface Controller, and as such means any device used for networking. In Apple's case this is Ethernet or AirPort (wired or wireless respectively). The gigabit reference is simply that of the speed it is capable of.
 
C

chrismacguy

macrumors 68000
Feb 13, 2009
1,979
2
United Kingdom
drsarg said:
Hello. This might sound a silly question but I'm confused.

I have been doing research but can not find any information on this. Do Macs have NIC cards that allow them to connect to the internet, or is that just for PCs? If they don't have NIC cards, what else is it known as?

When I go on the Apple website, on the diagrams it just says "gigabit ethernet" and nothing else about ethernet. It says something on "Tech Specs" but it is not really that detailed.

The reason why this is in Mac Mini is because that is what I am studying. However this generally counts for any Macs.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure every Mac since about 1999 possibly earlier has a Ethernet port/NIC built-in, including the Mac Mini :)
 
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