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Jeremy Starley takes an in-depth look at Bigfoot Network's Killer Network Interface Card from the perspective of an MMORPG gamer.
- MMORPG.COM Staff - |
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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.
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There were a bunch of comments, but the server crashed and it wiped them out.
Agent_X7 AKA J Star |
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thanks alot this was great i wasnt too sure about it myself but ima go get one now
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Don't forget to tell us about your impression if you do buy one :)
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therain93
 Apprentice Member
Joined: 11/01/06
“Game Experience May Change During Online Play” is about ESRB ratings, not changing game content! |
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. |
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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.
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Anofalye
Advanced Member
Joined: 11/19/03
The enemy is so dumb! They believe that WE are the enemy! - A famous orc commander. |
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 fiancée, and I am about to change it...I don't update regularly, I change.
If I would play WoW, well, I wouldn't do MC and if I lag in Ironforge, it suck but I would live with it...just like I was living with lag in the Bazaar.
Anyway, 1 more option to attack the evillagmonster is always good.
*Bite at the lagmonster* - "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - René Levesque about the denial NO on the poll to his dream, project and goal. (Free translation) |
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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. |
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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!
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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 |
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premierebori
 Apprentice Member
Joined: 8/20/05
"If you are not part of the solution, there is profit to be made by prolonging the problem." |
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!
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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. |
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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.
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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. Agent_X7 AKA J Star |
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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. |
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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? |
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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.
It is pathos we lack, and this lack of pathos makes the worlds we explore quite stale. http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Antioche |
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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.pdfI'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 
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But why does it cost that much!!!
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Originally posted by valium83
Agent_X7 AKA J Star |
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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. |
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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. |
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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.
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Originally posted by mynameisob3l
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. Agent_X7 AKA J Star |
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For example, the only places where I would have appreciate less lag would be lagville in CoV (Grandville) and some bases-missions with instanced grids, way too many grids prolly. He talk about lag in mayhems, and honestly, I didn't lag much at all in any mayhem ever. I wouldn't spent $300 for Lagville alone or 1 particuliar mission, since in CoV, I don't play in Lagville, I go to my mish, so I can endure the lag while I bump between mishs...even if it is really annoying.
