Q:

Is a video card and a graphics card the same thing?

I have seen these words used interchangeably.  But I have also seen them used in a sentence like they are two different things.  I'd like a professional opinion.

A:

Context is everything, but in general computer terms, video cards and graphics cards are the same thing.
There are "video capture cards," which are often called "TV tuner cards" or "video encoder cards" that capture video (instead of outputting it).  These would be used to record video such as TV shows, or get video from an old camcorder, or other playback device, to your computer's hard drive.
Perhaps you are confusing GPU and video/graphics cards?  GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit.  Video cards have GPUs (the brain of the card), just like how your computer's motherboard has a CPU.
You say you have seen them used in a sentence like they are different, can you provide an example?

