How can a computer attach to a network that sends and receives bits faster than the computer’s CPU can handle them?

Right now the fastest version of Ethernet is 10Gigabit Ethernet. Which transmits packets 10Gbit/s.

Well if your CPU is that slow or your network is that fast, then good news... your network will not be a bottleneck.

Network traffic is broken down into packets and each packet is sent and acknowledged. If your network is really that fast, then your computer will be working just as fast as it can without waiting.

If your network is a little slower, then there will be some wait time as your computer waits for the acknowledgements before sending the next packet. If there is a timeout, then the packet is resent until an acknowledgement is received.

Please don't worry, it will all happen in due time (measured in milliseconds).