[H] Killer NIC Evaluation

Wow, great questions!

We're selling this to people who love online games. (myself included).

As for what you are missing: it's this...IMO

Killer is a new product category that DOES impact online gameplay.

I think Kyle's Award is MORE due to the fact that the testers he brought in Really felt the difference, and I think that was surprising.

A new category, that people can really feel, means another dimension of performance possibilities... and I think that's cool.

I also think FNA technology (ability to run Linux apps on the card seperate from your Windows OS) is cool and has a lot of potential for the future.

Hope this helps. As for accusations of impropriety in our marketing, seriously we FIGHT against such things. Some of our etail partners have confirmed how hard we fight against it...

ON a final note: we have started addressing some technical issues in our forums... (to see if it can work, and as a result of some of the discussion here): so i'll let you know how it goes... Here's a couple of examples:

http://www.killernic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=541
http://www.killernic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=535
 
Here's one man's take on this product.



I -used- to own one. I no longer do.


That should tell you everything :

Looking at the systems in my sig, one would say that I am a power user. Since I did not keep the card in my system, that should indicate I did not find it useful :)


tomstomper said:
As for accusations of impropriety in our marketing, seriously we FIGHT against such things.
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There have been articles claiming people have artificially boasted the benefit of your products on many review sites.

http://www.xyzcomputing.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4557

However, it seems that your statement that you oppose this sort of thing **might** hold water.
 
sad you didn't find it useful. Hope we can win your business back soon!

e.g.: more FNApps, more performance, and more features.

We've got some GREAT feedback so far about FNA Firewall BTW... people really like the slick (and very lightweight) GUI, and the fact that the firewall itself runs inside Killer.

http://www.killernic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=450
 
I used to be really into audiophilia... high end stereos. The killer nic reminds me ALOT of that stuff. You have all the similarities. Subjective performance, shady marketing, high price (diminishing returns). A NIC is your interface to the internet... and no amount of technology can overcome the problems that happen elsewhere. The best speakers and amplifier in the world cannot overcome the problems of a bad recording and the best quality power cord can't fix everything that happens elserwhere in the many miles of powerlines from the plant. 99% of connection problems are not in your house... they are in the miles of cable, fibre, switching stations, servers, ect...
 
No offense to BFN since I'm sure they believe in their product wholeheartedly, but the posting above rings true and reminds me of those people that pay $20 for a 6' piece of telephone cord that is "Gold Plated for Better Speeds!" on each end.

I've seen those in computer stores, and I've seen people looking for some phone cord see them, see the marketing speak on the package, then turn to their significant others and say, "Oh wow, check this out honey, I'll bet this will definitely get us 56K now!" and then watch them waste $20 for no reason at all.

If I stop them - and I usually do - and explain how the signal has traveled thousands upon thousands of miles over wiring that goes from really good stuff to cheap stuff and back again many times in the chain, so obviously that 6' of cable, even gold plated on each end, simply isn't going to matter to their dialup - and be greeted with, "So, do you work here?" to which I say no, that would never happen and then they turn and walk away and buy the damned cable anyway.

Oh well, can't say I didn't try.

Reminds me of the people that spend $485 for a piece of wood and magically "hear the difference" because someone told them so.

I can imagine, for myself based on my level of knowledge, that yes, offloading the network resources to a dedicated processor would have some effect on not only gameplay but overall perforamnce of the PC itself, but $250? I mean... wow, that's really [H]ardcore, definitely. :)

Good luck with the product, either way...
 
Great posts, Yashu, Digitali, and bbz_ghost..

My only real interest in this product personally is as an internet gateway or 'router'. Is there linux support for this product? Would the performance carry across a network if used at the start (in the case of a linux pc router or pc internet gateway), or would you have to drop a killerNIC in each box?

Also, about the usb port, what official use does it have? On your site, you say: "USB 2.0: Works with Killer's Flexible Network Architecture (FNA) to enable gamers to access hardware accessories (USB Drive, Microphone, etc...) while they run their FNApps." What exactly does this mean? As Kyle suggested, is it possible to use a usb drive as storage for a BT FNApp to offload resource usage, or for that matter is the use of the device restricted to FNApps? What about using it for net access for those unfortunate enough to be restricted to a usb broadband modem (guess that's not your market,though)?

Also, could you explain the 'modes' I've heard referenced? What exactly are the differences between 'game mode' and 'app mode,' what are the detriments of using the wrong one, and what is involved in changing modes (simple tray icon right-click, or reboot)?

And most importantly, why not give a sample card to Kyle so he can give use a real review? I know it's expensive, but you guys have a lot more to lose than the 'big' companies sending out dozens of $400+ review samples.

______________________________

As far as [H] goes, this reminds me of all the FS vs. [H] bs, and if I remember the community's response correctly, Kyle was disapointed to find that people want hard data, specs, and benchmarks; not his 'impressions'. After all, the [H] is now a business. The more people read the reviews, the more money [H] makes.
 
noc_81,

Thanks for the questions, hope I can answer them for you.

1.) Yes, Linux drivers are available from our website, and the community is in the progress of making them better.

2.) Right now, you can plug in any USB Flash device and it will auto-mount and is visilble from linux on the card. you can even run programs from the usb drives. USB Modem support is a cool idea (and possible). More USB Device support will be added as we go on. (Killer's only been out for 3 months!)
FNA Firewall has recently been released as well to run as an FNApp.
An FNApp is ANY linux compiled program to run inside Killer.


3.) Game Mode = bypass windows stack. App mode: doesn't. Why? Because some apps don't like it when you bypass the stack (Like VPNs, ethereal, etc.). Yes, simple right click on tray... no reboot required to switch modes.

4.) Kyle has a sample card (2 I think). I suspect he Won't like to do another review (he's done 2 already)... but maybe that will change as more FNApps come out (BitTorrent FNApp is due out Very Soon).
 
Any information about the use of the killernic in an internet gateway or linux router system? Personally (maybe if not for the price) I'd jump on one of these if I could drop it in a linux box (to use as a router) and still use all the acceleration technology to speed up my whole network (I need at least a few computers with net access in my household, seeing as the HTPC still needs guide updates). Also, do the linux drivers have support for the capaibilities of the killernic, or just the ability to use it as a typical NIC? Furthermore, what about the effects or performance gains one would see using their PC with the killernic as an internet gateway to other household PC's? On a different note, on what type of connection do you typically test (or recommend) for using the killernic -- direct to modem or through a router? For that matter, have you tested performance on a T3+ line to see if even the fastest speeds see improvement?

Also, you mentioned an attached usb drive would be visible and mounted in the embedded linux, but what about using the device with windows (or would that cause too much worry of conflict)?

Sorry to seem somewhat critical of your product, but I once fell victim to the viral marketting of USR's 'Internet Gaming Modem,' which was basically a vanilla v90 modem with an init string to limit downspeed to the same as the upseed for triple the price, and they abandoned the product's support shortly after they made their bundle.

Honestly, the thought of having a network card with a 400mhz npu, 64mb of memory, and running linux-embedded is amazing (if even a little amazingly ridiculous). I'm sure if you can prove your products (and get rid of all the current negative vibes by truly opening your forum), in a few years I might be seeing you guys venturing into the performance router or wireless networking markets.
 
I wonder after a couple of years now, how many people actually put out the cash for this so called "wonder card". I think it was smart for the manufacturer to put that price on this thing. Whether it actually works or not for the average joe, because it's priced so high a lot of people will maybe buy it for that reason thinking they must be getting something worth that much money. The Silver award kind of trips me out because that pretty much says the card is worth it and will lead some people to buy it. I'll bet most users would not be able to tell one iota of difference after they spent all that money especially with the systems out today where there is a lot better performance from when this card first came out. The so called results of this thing are so subjective it's not even funny because it relies on the user's input sensitivity and thought process on any given day. The Silver Award and the card still being advertised on this site leave a bad taste in my mouth. No offense but it seems like a corporate sell out to me and this is from someone who has Hardocp as my home page and does put a lot of stock in the information presented. Needless to say this review didn't set very well with me.
 
Mike89 said:
I wonder after a couple of years now, how many people actually put out the cash for this so called "wonder card". I think it was smart for the manufacturer to put that price on this thing. Whether it actually works or not for the average joe, because it's priced so high a lot of people will maybe buy it for that reason thinking they must be getting something worth that much money. The Silver award kind of trips me out because that pretty much says the card is worth it and will lead some people to buy it. I'll bet most users would not be able to tell one iota of difference after they spent all that money especially with the systems out today where there is a lot better performance from when this card first came out. The so called results of this thing are so subjective it's not even funny because it relies on the user's input sensitivity and thought process on any given day. The Silver Award and the card still being advertised on this site leave a bad taste in my mouth. No offense but it seems like a corporate sell out to me and this is from someone who has Hardocp as my home page and does put a lot of stock in the information presented. Needless to say this review didn't set very well with me.
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wow... hard to believe its been a couple of years already... i'm old

imo a pretty neat toy for hardware hackers and linux devs... unreasonable for use just as a nic
 
I had way too many problems getting this thing working. Even using it for email and web browsing I would get computer crashes and lock-ups, despite RMAing twice.

No high-end device like this should be so troublesome for basic networking functionality.
 
Balthazor said:
I had way too many problems getting this thing working. Even using it for email and web browsing I would get computer crashes and lock-ups, despite RMAing twice.

No high-end device like this should be so troublesome for basic networking functionality.
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For what it is worth, a couple of years ago we had no hands-on issues. Still not worth the money though. We turn down advertising these things now days.
 
Wow,memory lane on this one. It's a great idea, and it did it's job...it's just....well..."WHY?" isn't it?
 
I suspect that the issues I'm having are related to heat. But even with my case cabling re-routed and GPU fans on max I still having issues with this card anywhere from a few hours after boot to within a day.

The crash begins with the loss of internet connectivity, then immediately the computer goes unresponsive, and then it crashes within a minute or two. Its happened with three different Killer NICs.

It happens at idle as often as during gaming.

Tech support and Killer forum mods insists that heat isn't an issue and it must be due to:

-Windows error reporting
-Windows indexing
-Auto-updating programs (Java, NOD32, that sort of thing)

I'd be inclined to suspect the same IF I had these same issues with my onboard NIC. But I don't. So either the Killer is less capable / less functional / less robust than an onboard NIC, or it has trouble with heat. Either way I'm not seeing how it could be marketed to enthusiast gamers.

I did want this card to do what it claimed to do; any little bit of work offloaded from my semi-aging FX-60 would have been great. But after many hours of troubleshooting, uninstalling, and re-installing this card since I got it in January 2008, I just have to put an end to it.

In the end, the Killer killed me.
 
Just wanted to add:

Apparently the dying Killer NICs in my system was the result of them not receiving enough power. I upped the voltage on my southbridge slightly and now its been working fine for three days straight, including a lot of online gaming (Left 4 Dead, Company of Heroes.)

So my apologies to BFN for directing my frustration at them when the problem appears to be from Asus.
 
Looks like this is making a come back, they are now integrating it into video cards and motherboard.
 
AMD_Gamer said:
Looks like this is making a come back, they are now integrating it into video cards and motherboard.
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Only if you pay for it. I can see maybe getting one of these as opposed to a high dollar Intel NIC, but that would be about it. A high end feature on an already expensive mobo, I could roll with that, but it would not be a reason I bought the board.
 
AMD_Gamer said:
Have you seen the software that comes with it now? Looks really interesting and has some nice features.
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I tried the Killer 2100 and its new software. It is a step up, but I'm having some minor compatability issues with the Killer and NOD32 that I don't feel like working through after some basic troubleshooting.

The new software allows per-application priority settings, which means you no longer have to manually switch modes, similar to how Nvidia's drivers allow per-application graphics settings. It is a nice change.
 
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