Hardware: Bigfoot KillerNIC Review

Meddle · December 2006

Jeremy Starley takes an in-depth look at Bigfoot Network's Killer Network Interface Card from the perspective of an MMORPG gamer.

DemonOvrlord · December 2006

Personally I liked this kind of article on hardware as it pertains specifically to MMORPGs. Not many comments about this article but I'd like to see more like it.

Agent_X7 · December 2006

There were a bunch of comments, but the server crashed and it wiped them out.

midhex · December 2006

thanks alot this was great i wasnt too sure about it myself but ima go get one now

Mirandel · December 2006

Don't forget to tell us about your impression if you do buy one

therain93 · December 2006

Bummer I missed the previous comments.

My only concern is that having any software operate outside the boundaries of the windows kernel (i.e. any software talking directly to the hardware) can have disasterous results. I wonder if it will be windows "approved".

I question its usefulness given lag usually is coming from beyond your nic card as pointed out in the WoW example.

I guess if you go out and buy a physX card, you're going to get this too.

Sturmrabe · December 2006

I didn't know what to expect from the article considering how much advertising I see for on this site, but as a network professional I can tell you the article pretty much fell into line with what I expected the Killer NIC to do..

And not do.

Anofalye · December 2006

Hehe,

Now, if I feel that a game that was not made by SoE/Sigil has a lot of lag and I want to reduce it, I will know there is another option, if I am ready to bypass all the techs issues (I don't think I would have try all the slots on the motherboard myself hehe).

But...as a PvE player who value instancing and relatively high-end computers, I dunno...see, my computer is still much better than his fianc

ryvrdrgn14 · December 2006

I'm curious as to how it affects performance with regards to RF Online during Chip Wars? Some Chip Wars in my server have up to 500-700 people duking it out in the same map at the same time (which generally kills performance). If anyone has tested it on this particular game and has any feedback, please post. Thanks.

Stark · December 2006

Excellent review. Jeremy Starley did a great job with an honest to the point review. The KillerNIC is not just a luxury type item and could help alot of people with mid range computers. Give him more work!

Whitewater · December 2006

U turn a mid range into a high end system for that money(cpu,gpu,mem?).It is a niche luxury product for moneythrowers atm

High end sys dont need it,low-mid end sys can use that money for better stuff.Killernic is kinda castrating themself imo

premierebori · December 2006

This is a great article. It relates to the MMOG gameplay and is not tech-infested with charts. I had a fun time reading this article and I hope more like this will come!

Salvatoris · December 2006

Originally posted by Whitewater
U turn a mid range into a high end system for that money(cpu,gpu,mem?).It is a niche luxury product for moneythrowers atm

High end sys dont need it,low-mid end sys can use that money for better stuff.Killernic is kinda castrating themself imo

I agree there. I think that the network card is probably at the very bottom of the upgrade list on low to mid range machines. If I had 280 bucks to dump in to my system, I think I could get more of a performance increase from increasing my RAM or a new video card. I also have to say, as a network engineer, even with an on-board NIC on a cheap motherboard, it probably isn't having a noticeably adverse affect on your actual latency or throughput.

What I see this card doing is freeing up other resources for use in other places, It just doesn't make any sense to me to go this route, rather than just upgrade and increase those resources at the source.

hbosman · December 2006

When I read this review I hear 2 things. Reduce CPU needs and give game trafic priority.

One thing pops in mind when reading this story. If the network trafic is screwed because the CPU can't handle it, why not buy a second CPU (Dual core CPU). I am really curious if this NIC still has an advantage with a dual-core system.

Another thing is the trafic priority. This can also be done with a good router and/or software running on the PC managing the trafic. With a dual-core system the CPU load does not matter.

Same goes with the teamspeak software. Using a dual-core will solve the CPU problem.

Agent_X7 · December 2006

Originally posted by hbosman

When I read this review I hear 2 things. Reduce CPU needs and give game trafic priority.
One thing pops in mind when reading this story. If the network trafic is screwed because the CPU can't handle it, why not buy a second CPU (Dual core CPU). I am really curious if this NIC still has an advantage with a dual-core system.
Another thing is the trafic priority. This can also be done with a good router and/or software running on the PC managing the trafic. With a dual-core system the CPU load does not matter.
Same goes with the teamspeak software. Using a dual-core will solve the CPU problem.

Re-read the review. An Athlon 64 X2 4200+ is a dual-core CPU. It doesn't matter how many cores you have, you can still benefit from reduced CPU overhead.

Gorilla · December 2006

Nicely written arcticle...I'd like to see more of this length and depth on MMORPG's cant remember when I last saw a 4 pager there probably E3 if then!!!!

Im in the "sure it can smooth things a bit on a lower spec machine but there are a bazzillion things that will give more bang for your buck" school of thought.

Internet latency and throughput is not going to be solved by a NIC and some of the slow down issues the author mentions are clearly server latency problems. Buy another stick or memory upgrade the graphics card or upgrade the motherboard and cpu and see noticeable performance increases across the board is my advice!

Cheers.

arfritz · December 2006

Great Review, and infact the first "good" review I've read for Killer NIC. My concerns are with Windows Vista and how the Killer NIC will perform. If Killer can get Vista Certified (or what ever they call it) I may get one in my system when I rebuild my current system next spring/summer, but if they can't guarentee it'll work on Vista I will not be spending the extra 250 on maybe a DX10 Video Card instead of Duel DX9's.

I'm still a spetic on the issue, but I think you figured there would still be those spetic's still around on the issue of this card. (Wasn't there some software, I think it was called "Gear" that did something similar to this NIC card that many FPS's and MMO have banned people from servers for?

Antioche · December 2006

Yeah I prefer reading Anandtech for my hardware reviews. Hopefully not too many suckers actually buy this thing. I'd feel sorry for them - high price + low performance increase = crappy investment.

boinged · December 2006

I think the benefits seen by this card on the low end system are due to the motherboard and cpu. You didn't say which nForce 4 you had, but the later ones have TCP/IP acceleration built in which is all I hear the Killer NIC does. If you'd splashed out a bit more on your system (come on, it is christmas

) and got a top end 500 or 600 series mobo then you might not see any difference as these have even more network features. www.nvidia.com/docs/IO/35382/nforce_600_amd_linecard.pdf

I'm still using an onboard, non-nForce network card and was considering a Killer NIC but now I'll probably spend the cash on a new board and I won't have to worry about the extra slot, card not booting etc. It would mean upgrading all my system components though - so not as 'cheap' as the Killer NIC option but certainly more future-proof.

I'd like to see a review of the top end nForce vs. Killer NIC vs. the best other PCI network card out there.

Great review though

valium83 · December 2006

But why does it cost that much!!!

Agent_X7 · December 2006

Originally posted by valium83

But why does it cost that much!!!

I don't know how much it costs them to manufacture the card, but I do know that the only other NICs on the market with built in network processing units cost upwards of $800 US, and they aren't really meant for consumers. Also, it's new technology, so the retail price is bound to drop as the cost to manufacture them goes down. Remember earlier this year when the new NVidia 7900 video cards cost over $500? Now you can pick up a new 7950 for less than $300. It's not just because the new 8800 cards are out, it's because the cost of manufacturing the chips for the 7900 series dropped dramatically.

Taram · December 2006

All I really see that this thing does is offload overhead from the CPU and prioritize traffic.

Traffic prioritization can be done at your router (or via software on the system)

Offloading CPU only means you need a faster CPU which is probably cheaper to just get an upgraded CPU for your system.

All in all for power-tweakers this might be an option but I don't see it as something your average gamer is going to want to sink money on. Bleeding edge systems are going to see VERY little, if any, benefit from this sucker and, honestly, anything else you'll get a lot more bang for your buck by upgrading ram, processor, mobo, audio or video (or all of the above).

Good review, though. It's nice to see a well written and thought out review on this site. I would love to see more reviews done in this manner.

mynameisob3l · January 2007

saying a NIC can increase FPS in an MMORPG is like saying getting a new blender will help you make better toast. unless you're using a 1400 baud modem, a new nic isn't going to help much.

it's misleading to state this to people who don't know what hardware is and what it does. you say your self that you aren't a hardware site, and one of the first comments on this article even points out 'that this is the first positive review of the Killer NIC i've ever seen'.

then we have people chiming in with crap like:

This is a great article. It relates to the MMOG gameplay and is not tech-infested with charts. I had a fun time reading this article and I hope more like this will come!

god forbid we have charts. those might show how much something like this is a huge waste of money.

and:

I'm still a spetic on the issue, but I think you figured there would still be those spetic's still around on the issue of this card.

spetic?

bottom line:

don't waste your money on this crap. it'll give you as much of an increase in performance as a new exterior case (i.e. ZERO).

a faster connection will help lag, not a swanky new NIC with a big stupid K on the chipset.

i hope anyone actually reading this review does more research before they plunk down hard earned dollars for this thing.

[H]ardOCP says:

I see a product such as this carving out a solid niche in the high-dollar boutique gaming boxes that we see sold from companies like Velocity Micro, Maingear, Falcon Northwest, and Dell's XPS class machines. When you are buying a $3000+ computer, I see many opting for the fancy NIC that they likely know nothing about to begin with.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTE1MywyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Anandtech says:

Our current opinion is, without FNapps, improved performance across a wider variety of titles, and a significantly lower price tag, this card is destined to be nothing more than an interesting footnote in the annals of hardware history.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2865&p=11

these are HARDWARE REVIEW SITES. not fluff guys that put it in their box and look around orgimmar for a sec.

taus01 · January 2007

First of all, i enjoyed reading the test. Very good writing, Jeremy.

As for it's usefullness, i suggest you first check your provider and his routings. My provider offers a fast ping routing for an additional monthly fee. This instantly changed my ping from ~200ms to 60-80ms.

I like the concept of the card with the ability to provide more specialized applications (like Ventrillo/Teamspeak) possibly even USB keyboards/controlles to free up more CPU resources. It might all be small improvements but it could be quite good if used to it's full potential.

Thanks for the interesting review.

Agent_X7 · January 2007

Originally posted by mynameisob3l

saying a NIC can increase FPS in an MMORPG is like saying getting a new blender will help you make better toast. unless you're using a 1400 baud modem, a new nic isn't going to help much.

it's misleading to state this to people who don't know what hardware is and what it does. you say your self that you aren't a hardware site, and one of the first comments on this article even points out 'that this is the first positive review of the Killer NIC i've ever seen'.

then we have people chiming in with crap like:

This is a great article. It relates to the MMOG gameplay and is not tech-infested with charts. I had a fun time reading this article and I hope more like this will come!

god forbid we have charts. those might show how much something like this is a huge waste of money.

and:

I'm still a spetic on the issue, but I think you figured there would still be those spetic's still around on the issue of this card.

spetic?

bottom line:

don't waste your money on this crap. it'll give you as much of an increase in performance as a new exterior case (i.e. ZERO).

a faster connection will help lag, not a swanky new NIC with a big stupid K on the chipset.

i hope anyone actually reading this review does more research before they plunk down hard earned dollars for this thing.

[H]ardOCP says:

I see a product such as this carving out a solid niche in the high-dollar boutique gaming boxes that we see sold from companies like Velocity Micro, Maingear, Falcon Northwest, and Dell's XPS class machines. When you are buying a $3000+ computer, I see many opting for the fancy NIC that they likely know nothing about to begin with.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTE1MywyLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Anandtech says:

Our current opinion is, without FNapps, improved performance across a wider variety of titles, and a significantly lower price tag, this card is destined to be nothing more than an interesting footnote in the annals of hardware history.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2865&p=11

these are HARDWARE REVIEW SITES. not fluff guys that put it in their box and look around orgimmar for a sec.

It's interesting that you choose to quote from a preview article at [H]ardOCP, but ignore the fact that Killer NIC won an Editors Choice Silver award from them in the December 08, 2006 review.

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTIzOSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

Anandtech also notes that while they were unimpressed overall, the Killer NIC does do what it says: i.e. it lowers ping and increases framerates.

As for us not being a hardware site: it's true. I admit it. I review hardware from the Every-Joe perspective, so that the people who play MMORPGs can read a review and figure out if it is right for them and their game without trying to decypher a bunch of techno-babble. Does this mean I don't know what I am talking about and I am not qualified to techno-babble? NO. Truth is, my day job is at a pharmaceutical automation company supporting computers, robots, and bleeding edge technology. Before I worked at my current job, I worked for IBM supervising the inspection of chip carrier products for customers such as ATI, Nintendo, and Tivo. If I'm not qualified to review hardware, I don't know who would be.

You may want to actually read articles instead of cherry-picking comments that you think will support your point of view. Both sites you quote from confirm that the Killer NIC does indeed improve FPS. Have fun with your cute little blender-toast analogies over there in blissfull ignorance land.

mynameisob3l · January 2007

Originally posted by Agent_X7

It's interesting that you choose to quote from a preview article at [H]ardOCP, but ignore the fact that Killer NIC won an Editors Choice Silver award from them in the December 08, 2006 review.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTIzOSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==
Anandtech also notes that while they were unimpressed overall, the Killer NIC does do what it says: i.e. it lowers ping and increases framerates.
As for us not being a hardware site: it's true. I admit it. I review hardware from the Every-Joe perspective, so that the people who play MMORPGs can read a review and figure out if it is right for them and their game without trying to decypher a bunch of techno-babble. Does this mean I don't know what I am talking about and I am not qualified to techno-babble? NO. Truth is, my day job is at a pharmaceutical automation company supporting computers, robots, and bleeding edge technology. Before I worked at my current job, I worked for IBM supervising the inspection of chip carrier products for customers such as ATI, Nintendo, and Tivo. If I'm not qualified to review hardware, I don't know who would be.
You may want to actually read articles instead of cherry-picking comments that you think will support your point of view. Both sites you quote from confirm that the Killer NIC does indeed improve FPS. Have fun with your cute little blender-toast analogies over there in blissfull ignorance land.

Hardly cherry picking.

I read the reviews when this crap first came out, and then just went back to the sites and punched Killer Nic into their search fields. The results I found weren't flattering, and I linked them. You'll notice that the results I linked weren't even BAD, per se... they just weren't good.

God forbid you confuse your readers with techno-babble. We wouldn't want to confuse their simple little minds. Insulting the intelligence your reader base is a surefire way to get new fans. Go ahead and recommend a $300 LAN card to them. I'm sure they'll appreciate it when they could have spent that money on a better video card or more RAM.

So many things contribute to lag, but to say the "killer nic" is for an 'everyday joe' that can't decipher a simple benchmark chart is stupid. A fool and his money are soon parted, I suppose.

Your title of "chip carrier product inspection supervisor" is certainly impressive. It's right up there with 'middle management at a software firm'... a.k.a. 'can't code himself, but took a business class, and knows how to organize shifts'. Congratulations on that. It must have gone smashingly well since you've now been promoted to 'everyday joe hardware reviewer for an MMO website'. I've worked in IT for 6 years as the IT Manager for a PDF conversion firm in the california bay area. We regularly slosh large amounts of data back and forth across the LAN on a daily basis. I'm not trying to throw that around like it means anything fantastic, I'm just saying that I don't "supervise the inspection of chip carrier products". I build boxes and put them out on the floor.

The Killer NIC has a place. It might be on a local counterstrike server in a gaming cafe, or a high end workstation at a video editing lab. To say an 'everyday joe' will get increased framerate in molten core is laughable, considering most motherboards these days come with onboard gigabit jacks, and the average DSL or cable line uses only a very small fraction of that pipe.

Good luck out there. You'll notice I registered just to post on this ridiculous article. Feel free to delete this post and ban this account, I won't be coming back.

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Hardware: Bigfoot KillerNIC Review

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Hardware: Bigfoot KillerNIC Review

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