# Do Killer NIC's make gaming on the internet faster?



## Ephremius (Jun 17, 2013)

I have heard of these ethernet ports from the Killer brand, said to be faster than Intel for gaming, less lag, etc...

Has this ever been tested by the professionals on this forum?  If so, is it worth the investment?  I have fiber optic internet by the way, just want to maximize its potential.


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## McSteel (Jun 17, 2013)

I remember the Killer NIC 2100 being tested a while back... It proved to be ~10% faster at best. When I say "faster", i mean having lower latency, and that was compared to a Realtek Gigabit onboard NIC...

It's just a gimmick, even though the idea seems feasible on paper.


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## Ephremius (Jun 17, 2013)

McSteel said:


> I remember the Killer NIC 2100 being tested a while back... It proved to be ~10% faster at best. When I say "faster", i mean having lower latency, and that was compared to a Realtek Gigabit onboard NIC...
> 
> It's just a gimmick, even though the idea seems feasible on paper.



My motherboard has an Intel and Realtek port, so I just use the Intel one anway.  I guess I will save my money and forget the Killer NIC, I doubted it was legit.


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## dark2099 (Jun 17, 2013)

Yeah, if I remember from doing all my research once, all it really is meant to do is offload all the network processing from the CPU, which just allows for better latency/pings.  Doesn't actually make you're network faster.


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## Ephremius (Jun 17, 2013)

dark2099 said:


> Yeah, if I remember from doing all my research once, all it really is meant to do is offload all the network processing from the CPU, which just allows for better latency/pings.  Doesn't actually make you're network faster.



Wouldn't that still make FPS online gaming a smidge better?

If ping is better...


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## Black Haru (Jun 17, 2013)

Ephremius said:


> Wouldn't that still make FPS online gaming a smidge better?
> 
> If ping is better...



only if your CPU was bottle necking enough to bog down when processing your network, which is not going to happen much on anything remotely modern. don't waste your money.


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## Castiel (Jun 17, 2013)

I believe they have improved the way the NIC's protocol handles the packets. Honestly its really nothing special. If you want a great NIC get an Intel one, but if you don't have a choice, the Killer NIC isn't going to be terrible. I believe its better than the normal Realtek.


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## Ephremius (Jun 17, 2013)

Black Haru said:


> only if your CPU was bottle necking enough to bog down when processing your network, which is not going to happen much on anything remotely modern. don't waste your money.



Yeah, I am running a 2500k at 4.8ghz, so I should be good lol

Edit:  @ cast I already have an Intel one that I use built into my mobo.


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## remixedcat (Jun 17, 2013)

It basically uses some QoS to optimize your connection. Many routers can do the same QoS settings the Killer NIC can. This just makes it easier on the gamer or for someone who does not have access to adjust the QoS settings on their router (shared environment-no access to router config menu).


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## brandonwh64 (Jun 17, 2013)

You NIC can only be as fast as your router/LAN. Having a killer1 NIC will do nothing if you have a crappy router


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## de.das.dude (Jun 17, 2013)

as said above, everything needs to be as fast in the whole network. besides, games are pretty well optimised for latency these days.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jun 17, 2013)

If you have a Intel nic onboard you don't need a killer nic.


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## RejZoR (Jun 18, 2013)

The main problem with latency are buffers everywhere. Every networking device has buffers and every buffer, while providing a pool for a queue, it also automatically generates additional latency. Buffers are found on routers, modems, NIC devices and even on software level throughout OS.

Other thing is, configure your router with priority for things that matter. If you configure it right, other computers can download stuff heavily and the ping in game might only increase for 10-15ms which is very little. Without properly configured QoS, ping can go beyond 300ms easily with many nasty latency spikes...


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## Compgeke (Jun 18, 2013)

I've personally found that you have more lag from using a residential internet connection than anything else unless you're playing local games. 

I've personally never had any problems at all using onboard ethernet or a PCI-X Intel Pro/1000 MT card. The Broadcom gigabit network on my old laptop is the exact same chip as that in the Sunfire X2200 and Dell Poweredge 2950, and I have a feeling enterprise network cards are going to be designed for latency and speed...many people rely on the fact that they just work.


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## Zen_ (Jun 19, 2013)

As others have said, the killer nic's are total hogwash. Intel nic's are the gold standard in function and universal compatibility, and a pci or pci-e model can be had for under $20 on eBay. 

Imagine if UPS tried to deliver packages faster by having their drivers run to the door instead of walking. They might cut five seconds off a delivery time of 1-4 days, which basically what a "faster" nic is going to do for you cutting a small fraction of a ms off latency of 20-200ms to a game server. If you open a command prompt, type ipconfig, then ping the default gateway for your PC, latency should already be under 1ms for a wired connection. 

If you're running a lot of bandwidth hungry file sharing and streaming services, then you need to implement caps and / or quality of service. 

Lastly I would add that if it is a game that is hosted on a private server, look for renting a game server from a company that uses Internap. You can actually speak with them about routing problems to your ISP and they will look into optimizing tables. That is the only real solution if you're consistently experiencing high latency to a particular server.


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## Bo$$ (Jul 3, 2013)

I've tried one, It's bloody awesome if 'multi-tasking' on the internet and you still want to game hard


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## erocker (Jul 3, 2013)

I tried one, didn't really notice a difference. I prefer my Intel NIC. My pings are always quite low... which is usually great, unless you're playing a game with client side hit detection cough cough...


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## Bo$$ (Jul 3, 2013)

erocker said:


> client side hit detection cough cough...



^ this ^


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