i sometimes get as low as the teens in counterstrike(source) using an intel pci network card and dsl. generally 30 ping is what i can expect, but lower isn't rare at all. so i don't see what the fuss is about. its not exactly a new card either. it was 50 bucks when it came out, so its nothing special.

It runs Linux? I'm sold! :D
I'm gonna turn it into a firewall!

Although...If it ends up costing MORE than that Snapgear firewall-NIC solution (which also runs an embedded form of Linux), then I wouldn't bother...

Here's how a psychologist might evaluate the card:

Have two people with identical machines in separate rooms play 1 vs. 1 deathmatch on a public server. Keep track of the # of wins.

Take one machine and replace the NIC with the "Killer NIC". Take the other machine and either overclock the GPU or replace the GPU so that you get the same boost in FPS.

Tell both subjects that they received the "Killer NIC" and have them resume play. Track the # of wins.

Repeat with 20 pairs of people to get a nice statistical sample and publish.

How accurate is the ping-o-meter in Counterstrike? I was playing on a server last night as was getting a solid 100-102ms ping in-game. I logged out and pinged the game server and got a solid 68ms. This may mean something or it may mean nothing, depending on what's actually being measured and how well it's measuring it.

On the surface, though, if there is indeed a 32-34ms delay in processing packets while in 3D apps, maybe it bears looking into.

Forget TR reviewing it, for $280.00 I could get more than 10 more fps.

Another way to test it:

Have two identical machines (with synchronized clocks) playing a multiplayer game on the same _internet_ server. Keep a log of ping times and compare to see if the ping times are close to one another.

As an aside, communication for this type of game is only from client to server, never from client to client, so being on the same public IP and same local network should not be an issue.

Anyhow, assuming that the ping times are close to one another during the play session, replace one NIC with this "Killer NIC" and play again, comparing the results once more.

Isn't really only useful if your connection is being used simultatneously for other purposes, e.g. gaming while your kid sister's filesharing and your brother is Quaking?

OMG, I cannot believe people are taking this thing seriously...

If someone wants to review this properly, it needs to be done under controlled settings on the network side. The way to do that is to play on a LAN that is not connected to the Internet, but simulate the WAN latencies and packet drops of a typical Internet connection using something like the NISTNet Network Impairment Simulator http://www-x.antd.nist.gov/nistnet/

Here's an idea on how to bench this card,

Get 2 same spec machines on a lan and start playing games, 1 with the Killer card, the other with onboard, both should be in the same game session, record average ping/stats/fps in both machines. Swap ONLY the network card and play again, record stats.

If the card really does work then it should show better average numbers in both test.

Even if this thing drops your ping from say 60 to 30ms and gave u 20fps say 90 from 70fps. Is it worth almost $300 dollars ?

and #21 that is an excellent idea, this needs to be benchmarked on a LAN setting and a Public internet server so people can see what the deal is.

The Killer NIC is actually running an onboard Linux build that handles all its networking duties, and, best of all, is entirely accessible to the end user via console prompt or with what Bigfoot Networks is calling Flexible Network Applications (FNA).

That's pretty neat.

This feature could easily become one of the chief selling points of the Killer NIC, as there is massive potential for interesting applications that will be developed by the user community. Firewalls and anti-virus software could run on the NPU and screen network traffic before Windows even gets close to it. The Killer NIC also has its own USB 2.0 port, which expands its capabilities even more. A BitTorrent client designed for the NPU could run on the card and use an external USB hard drive for storage, which would make it invisible as far as Windows is concerned.

Or your NIC could EASILY be folding!

Spend the money on a better ISP or broadband modem/router which will help reduce latency by a sigificant amount if the existing unit is sub-standard.

Anyway, when latency gets to >50ms it begins to depend upon how the fast data moves around your system's interial buses not the network connection. I know this first-hand from LAN'ing with fast systems versus slower systems.

The bottom line is that "Killer NIC" is nothing more then a casturated server-grade NIC (PCI bus = auck!). It's actual benefits only come into play when you are transfering a crapload of data(100+Mbps) with a lot of connections which is clearly not found in gaming or torrenting on the average broadband connection.

good luck benching your latency on a public network, traffic is never gonna be the same... better have a much larger sample size than two sessions if u wanna even have a rough guesstimate

So uh did they use the same server for both tests?

You know they could also benchmark it by running a series of pings through command prompt while a game is just running without actually being connected to a server (run a normal benchmark while a preset number of pings run in the background). It would simulate a game enviroment and the ping associated with it without the 'volatile' nature of online games.

Hi there vapid press release people, my ping from NIC to x86 router is <1ms @ 1gbit with a very low cpu util, wake the hell up.

TR please aquire one and show it for the BS it is...just please don't actually pay from your own wallets.

TR needs to review this against some "regular" gigabit ethernet cards. Including "onboard" :P

For $280, upgrading the video card is a better use of the money.

Seeing a benefit in FPS would be one thing, but couldn't "gamers" buy NIC cards that are already available? There *has* to be NIC cards with dedicated chips for maximum performance, right?

For the netplay gain: getting a linux based router and configuring it for UDP priority would do you a larger benefit, right? Ultimately, it's your bottleneck to the net -- you might as well configure it to your benefit.

I guess if "Fatal1ty" branded products are selling well, these should go pretty good too.

Wow! I want one ... for me to poop on!

Still needs an authoritative review from TR.

looks a lot better than I would have expected. If only it were under $100 it might be worthwhile assuming those results are correct.