BigFoot Networks Killer NIC: Killer Marketing or Killer Product?
by Gary Key on October 31, 2006 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Networking
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter
While not the most popular online shooter this game has picked up steam lately with the 1.3 patch. We are playing on the Strongpoint map with a total of 12 players. Our video resolution is at 1280x1024 HQ and we found this game to be very playable at frame rates above 40 fps. The servers we connected with were generally showing ping rates around 45ms to 60ms at the time of connection.
We see a very slight frame rate improvement in this game but nothing that was noticeable during game play. It was difficult to tell any differences in game play between each product and as far as we could tell all systems played the game in a similar manner. If we had to make a choice we would choose the NVIDIA nForce 590SLI NIC as it seemed a tad bit smoother in certain areas.
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is one of our favorite RTS games around the office. We are playing the Lorraine map in one versus one player mode. Our other test party hosted the game and we found their system configuration to be nearly identical to ours. Our resolution was set to 1280x1024 with all options on high except for AA. This game is very playable with frame rates above 35 fps in multiplayer action.
Bigfoot Networks stated to us early on not to expect any measureable performance differences in the majority of RTS games. Sure enough we did not see any improvements although the Killer NIC did score a little higher than our D-Link solutions. Once again, we did not notice any real differences in game play between any of the products. We actually tried the Killer NIC in APP mode and were greeted with basically the same level of performance.
Rise of Legends
This game was released a few months back and like most real time strategy games is very CPU intensive but still offers a very visual experience. In order to experience the game properly you need a fast CPU, very good memory subsystem, and a decent GPU to play at the higher resolutions. This is one game that seems to have the perfect recipe for the Killer NIC. We are playing the Spire Forest map with Vinci versus Vinci. We generally found the game to be enjoyable with an average frame rate above 40 fps.
Although BigFoot Networks had stated most RTS games will not show any improvements we see a slight increase in frame rates with this game. We have to temper our results with the fact that there was not any noticeable difference in game play between the various products once again. In a blind performance test, any setup could have won for the most enjoyable game play experience.
World of WarCraft
WoW is the largest and probably most enjoyable MMO we have played and is a favorite amongst many of our staff members. This is another title that BigFoot Networks has explicitly stated will show performance improvements and is one that is mentioned in most of their marketing materials. We logged in at several different times that range from Wednesday morning to late night Saturdays to ensure we experienced a wide variety and number of players on the server. We started in the Dalaran Ruins and traveled to the Alterac Valley battlegrounds doing our best to battle the same creatures with each character.
We see about a 4% increase over our other products in frame rates. WoW is basically capped at 64 fps with dual core systems so it is difficult to determine if the Killer NIC would provide any further frame rate increases with our test platform. We have seen increases quoted in the 10% or plus range in this game so we utilized a 3.4GHz P4 in our test bed and noted a 9% increase in frame rates. The Killer NIC gets a point for increasing frame rates as advertised. Of course anything over 35 fps in this game is very playable so the increases while nice did not really improve our game play.
Ping rates did improve by up to 7% (host system improvements and server variables) and this is where we did notice a difference in game play during the busy test sessions on Friday and Saturday nights. When our area was full of players we did notice smoother game play at times with the Killer NIC. This did not happen when we were basically the only characters playing in certain sections. This game is designed to a certain degree for higher ping rates so there is some balancing that is already done by the server during combat. Overall, the Killer NIC performed almost as advertised in this benchmark.
In order to make sure we were not drinking the Snake Oil we did a blind performance test in WoW with a third party. The third party had no idea their on-board NIC had been replaced with the Killer NIC. The first reaction was a question asking if an additional one gigabyte of RAM had been added to the system or if the video card had been changed. This would normally make for very good publicity and we found it slightly amazing that someone would pick up on the differences in performance so quickly. However, this configuration was a dual core CPU based mid-range system and the user would not be one to spend $279.99 on a peripheral other than a new graphics card. If someone had offered them this card for $50 in order to improve their WoW experience they probably would have jumped at it instead of gasping when told the actual price.
While not the most popular online shooter this game has picked up steam lately with the 1.3 patch. We are playing on the Strongpoint map with a total of 12 players. Our video resolution is at 1280x1024 HQ and we found this game to be very playable at frame rates above 40 fps. The servers we connected with were generally showing ping rates around 45ms to 60ms at the time of connection.
We see a very slight frame rate improvement in this game but nothing that was noticeable during game play. It was difficult to tell any differences in game play between each product and as far as we could tell all systems played the game in a similar manner. If we had to make a choice we would choose the NVIDIA nForce 590SLI NIC as it seemed a tad bit smoother in certain areas.
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is one of our favorite RTS games around the office. We are playing the Lorraine map in one versus one player mode. Our other test party hosted the game and we found their system configuration to be nearly identical to ours. Our resolution was set to 1280x1024 with all options on high except for AA. This game is very playable with frame rates above 35 fps in multiplayer action.
Bigfoot Networks stated to us early on not to expect any measureable performance differences in the majority of RTS games. Sure enough we did not see any improvements although the Killer NIC did score a little higher than our D-Link solutions. Once again, we did not notice any real differences in game play between any of the products. We actually tried the Killer NIC in APP mode and were greeted with basically the same level of performance.
Rise of Legends
This game was released a few months back and like most real time strategy games is very CPU intensive but still offers a very visual experience. In order to experience the game properly you need a fast CPU, very good memory subsystem, and a decent GPU to play at the higher resolutions. This is one game that seems to have the perfect recipe for the Killer NIC. We are playing the Spire Forest map with Vinci versus Vinci. We generally found the game to be enjoyable with an average frame rate above 40 fps.
Although BigFoot Networks had stated most RTS games will not show any improvements we see a slight increase in frame rates with this game. We have to temper our results with the fact that there was not any noticeable difference in game play between the various products once again. In a blind performance test, any setup could have won for the most enjoyable game play experience.
World of WarCraft
WoW is the largest and probably most enjoyable MMO we have played and is a favorite amongst many of our staff members. This is another title that BigFoot Networks has explicitly stated will show performance improvements and is one that is mentioned in most of their marketing materials. We logged in at several different times that range from Wednesday morning to late night Saturdays to ensure we experienced a wide variety and number of players on the server. We started in the Dalaran Ruins and traveled to the Alterac Valley battlegrounds doing our best to battle the same creatures with each character.
We see about a 4% increase over our other products in frame rates. WoW is basically capped at 64 fps with dual core systems so it is difficult to determine if the Killer NIC would provide any further frame rate increases with our test platform. We have seen increases quoted in the 10% or plus range in this game so we utilized a 3.4GHz P4 in our test bed and noted a 9% increase in frame rates. The Killer NIC gets a point for increasing frame rates as advertised. Of course anything over 35 fps in this game is very playable so the increases while nice did not really improve our game play.
Ping rates did improve by up to 7% (host system improvements and server variables) and this is where we did notice a difference in game play during the busy test sessions on Friday and Saturday nights. When our area was full of players we did notice smoother game play at times with the Killer NIC. This did not happen when we were basically the only characters playing in certain sections. This game is designed to a certain degree for higher ping rates so there is some balancing that is already done by the server during combat. Overall, the Killer NIC performed almost as advertised in this benchmark.
In order to make sure we were not drinking the Snake Oil we did a blind performance test in WoW with a third party. The third party had no idea their on-board NIC had been replaced with the Killer NIC. The first reaction was a question asking if an additional one gigabyte of RAM had been added to the system or if the video card had been changed. This would normally make for very good publicity and we found it slightly amazing that someone would pick up on the differences in performance so quickly. However, this configuration was a dual core CPU based mid-range system and the user would not be one to spend $279.99 on a peripheral other than a new graphics card. If someone had offered them this card for $50 in order to improve their WoW experience they probably would have jumped at it instead of gasping when told the actual price.
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DaveatBigfoot - Thursday, November 30, 2006 - link
Dave from Bigfoot Networks here. We wanted to reach out to comments and forums around the Internet, address some of the issues being discussed, and be available for any questions you may have.I worked with Gary while he was writing this review. We have a tremendous amount of respect for him and Anandtech.com. I'd be liar if I didn't admit that we were disappointed with the performance and experience that the Anandtech review reflects. We welcomed the "Pepsi Challenge", and appreciated the real-world approach taken.
While the performance numbers reported were lower than what our customers report, and what we see internally, we thought one of the best testimonials for the Killer was the blind test where a the Killer was added to gamers PC without his knowledge, and he thought there was a new video card or more RAM in the system. Truly, that is what the Killer is all about...smoother, faster gaming...less lag, better performance.
Back when this review was written, we did have some issues with our drivers. I believe each and every issue manifested itself during Anandtech's testing. It was very unfortunate and not anticipated. Bypassing the windows network stack and putting a Linux computer on a PCI slot is a bit tricky. We aren't using that as an excuse, just stating it as a fact. Our latest software suite addresses all the issues that are referenced in this review.
We have also recently released IPtables firewall for the Killer NIC. Many more FNApps are on the way, and with time the Killer's value will increase. A rarity in the hardware world.
We sincerely hope, at some point, Anandtech will give the Killer another shot. We firmly stand by our product and believe it holds tremendous value for online gamers.
I am also happy to answer any questions you may have about the Killer, so fire away!
lwright84 - Thursday, November 9, 2006 - link
http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/34683/">http://hardware.gotfrag.com/portal/story/34683/explains some of the features and shows some better results with this card.
goinginstyle - Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - link
They only tested two games and both were optimized for the KillerNIC. They give it an editors award for improving FEAR by 6.7%, come on.trajik78 - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
did i mention $300 is f'in crazy for a NIC?cotak - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
This is as useful as something that makes guys quicker during sex.As for people talking about this being enterprise storage technology. They use fiber for that with expensive fiber switches not Ethernet and not something you'd be able to afford at home.
What's the point of reviewing something like this. In the first part of the review they say "the internet is variable". That's your key right there. There's no point in speeding up your connection to your cable/dsl modem when everything else from here to whatever is unknown. 300 bucks on a card like this and connecting it to your typical linksys router with the new VxWorks firmware with limited number of NAT connections it's about as dumb putting huge spoilers on a shitty car.
trajik78 - Sunday, November 5, 2006 - link
yup, pretty much every review has confirmed that this product is more than not-worthy of the $300 that could be better used for say a couple kegs of beer, or towards college tuition.when it comes down to it, your built in MB ethernet interface is more than worthy of your use for any circumstance, even it be HUGE FRAGFEST AT YOUR FRIENDS LAN PARTY!!
aswinp - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
Check out this site for more info on TNICS:In my (small) experience in enterprise storage solutions, I believe one of the main reason for using TOE NICS is for iSCSI (SCSI over IP) SAN applications, instead of using Fiber Channel or other SAN solutions. So you basically have a SAN whose fabric is not based on expensive Fiber Channel hardware but on regular Ethernet.
Top 10 Reasons to upgrade to a TNIC:
http://www.alacritech.com/html/toe_top_ten.shtml">http://www.alacritech.com/html/toe_top_ten.shtml
Benchmark Reports:
http://www.alacritech.com/html/benchmark_reports.s...">http://www.alacritech.com/html/benchmark_reports.s...
mlau - Thursday, November 2, 2006 - link
I strongly suggest you read this mail and the paper it links to:http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/linux/linux-kernel/2003-...">http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/linux/linux-kernel/2003-...
TOE is another marketing fad, nothing more.
aswinp - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
I guess Killer NIC saw this technology starting to rise in popularity in the enterprise storage market and thought... "Hey, what happens if we apply this thing to gaming?". And so you get the Killer NIC.Although I admit the FNA feature is very interesting, if ever any software ever gets written to take advantage of it.
What I'd really like to see is what happens when the Killer NIC is put in comparison to true TOE NICS in IP SAN applications. Coz its less expensive than these guys.
soydeedo - Wednesday, November 1, 2006 - link
hey guys. there have been scores of complaints regarding lag and such when running the new titan mode in battlefield 2142. if the titan [a very large airship] is moving while many players are aboard it things can get a bit hairy. i've experienced this myself although not very often, but it's pretty aggravating and severely impacts playability. i'm requesting that you play a couple rounds with a moving titan [it's imperative that it's moving] and report back your results with this killernic. i've made a post about this on firingsquad and totalbf2142 to no avail so if you guys would test this out i [and potentially many others if it offers any benefits] would appreciate it. thanks. =)