Tuesday, June 8th 2010

VisionTek Announces its Killer 2100 Gaming NIC

Press Release by
btarunr
 Discuss (43 Comments)
VisionTek Products today announced the official launch of the VisionTek Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card. VisionTek has partnered with Bigfoot Networks to manufacture and sell the fastest network card ever made for online games through North American online and retail channels, as a compliment to VisionTek's full line of PC graphics cards and accessories.

This network interface card (NIC) combines elements of speed, intelligence and control demanded by gamers with major throughput and latency enhancements and an innovative and easy-to-use software interface. The VisionTek Killer 2100 epitomizes blazing speed and maximum performance of up to 10X better than that of standard connections, with a sleek, new race-inspired exterior.
"The majority of new PC game titles are built for the on-line environment," said Michael Innes, COO & EVP of VisionTek Products, LLC. "Everyone is looking for an edge to enhance their on-line experience and the launch of the Killer 2100 product brings significant improvements to this environment. Online gaming is the dominant factor keeping the PC gaming platform flourishing and the new Killer 2100 product takes it to another level."

"Killer 2100 is the only network card that actually improves the online gaming experience," said Michael Howse, CEO, Bigfoot Networks. "Its Network Processing Unit and unique Game Networking DNA offload and accelerate game traffic, providing the smoothest, most responsive experience online gamers have ever had. We're delighted to partner with PC enthusiast vendor, VisionTek to give their gaming customers a crucial edge over their competition."

The VisionTek Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card is based on Bigfoot Networks' groundbreaking Game Networking DNA technology, comprised of a dedicated network processor (NPU), Advanced Game Detect, Windows stack bypass, Visual Bandwidth Control and other optimizations designed to deliver the best online gaming experience possible. A plug-and-play solution, the VisionTek Killer 2100 accelerates latency-sensitive game traffic while reducing stuttering, freezing and other symptoms of lag, giving online gamers a competitive edge at every level of experience. For those who want to tune their PC, this card offers powerful tools for monitoring and optimizing network performance from Visual Bandwidth Control real-time feedback to an Online Gaming PC Monitor feature for at-a-glance graphical displays for tracking performance statistics.

The VisionTek Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card starting at an MSRP of $129.99 is now available or coming soon to Best Buy.com, CompUSA, Dell.com, NewEgg.com, Tiger.com, NCIX, Amazon.com, Buy.com, D&H Distribution and Ingram Micro Distribution, in Systemax and MainGear PCs and at other leading PC consumer outlets in North America.

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43 Comments on VisionTek Announces its Killer 2100 Gaming NIC

#26
Unregistered
CheeseballSomeone needs to do a test to see if these specialized NICs actually have any difference compared to onboard Gigabit solutions. :P
They have. Here's one:

www.thinkcomputers.org/bigfoot-networks-killer-2100-gaming-network-card-review/

There's a few other reviews out there, all of which are positive. More will be coming out soon too - I believe Anandtech has one coming up. I could have linked to a more glowingly positive one (which admittedly has more fancy charts and benchmarks), but I actually do think that one sums things up fairly reasonably between the benefits you get, the value of the card, and what that might mean for you.

Admittedly, prior versions haven't received such wonderful reviews, but prior versions suffered from drivers and a user interface that were ... well, less good, lets say. That is also why one of the posters here reported lousy LAN transfer speeds, because of a sacrifice in throughput over latency in old versions. The 2100 (and the Xeno because of a recent update) doesn't suffer from that issue now.

We (because I do work as the community manager for Bigfoot Networks, who designed the card itself) have done a lot to improve our internal development process and take the feedback we've had from our customers to create more solid products. So, it is our hope that you will be seeing these sorts of opinions on our products more commonly in the future.
#28
TheMailMan78
Big Member
ArrakivThey have. Here's one:

www.thinkcomputers.org/bigfoot-networks-killer-2100-gaming-network-card-review/

There's a few other reviews out there, all of which are positive. More will be coming out soon too - I believe Anandtech has one coming up. I could have linked to a more glowingly positive one (which admittedly has more fancy charts and benchmarks), but I actually do think that one sums things up fairly reasonably between the benefits you get, the value of the card, and what that might mean for you.

Admittedly, prior versions haven't received such wonderful reviews, but prior versions suffered from drivers and a user interface that were ... well, less good, lets say. That is also why one of the posters here reported lousy LAN transfer speeds, because of a sacrifice in throughput over latency in old versions. The 2100 (and the Xeno because of a recent update) doesn't suffer from that issue now.

We (because I do work as the community manager for Bigfoot Networks, who designed the card itself) have done a lot to improve our internal development process and take the feedback we've had from our customers to create more solid products. So, it is our hope that you will be seeing these sorts of opinions on our products more commonly in the future.
Send one to Wizz for a review. If he says it worth while Ill buy one. So will half the members of this forum. With all due respect man you really have to sell this thing to us.
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#29
erocker
*
Personally, I'd like to see a price tag, perhaps a version for around $79 bucks.
Posted on Reply
#30
Yukikaze
TheMailMan78Send one to Wizz for a review. If he says it worth while Ill buy one. So will half the members of this forum. With all due respect man you really have to sell this thing to us.
Seconded. That one review of this thing seems rather amateurish to me. Send one to W1zzard, then we'll take a good, long look at this thing and perhaps reconsider our opinions.
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#32
YaGit™
SuijinI've said it before in other threads, that when they originally came out back in the single core days where you would use close to 100% of your CPU that they actually worked (Tom's Hardware reviewed one back then, they were still expensive for the performance increase). In today's terms if you are using 100% of however many CPU you have then you would be far better off getting a better CPU. Their only benefit is offloading CPU use.
so does this means that any other add-on nic card will do the offloading from the cpu's? :)
i got some pretty old belkins add on nic from my old dell .. sitting around getting dust .. :)
Posted on Reply
#33
Yukikaze
YaGit™so does this means that any other add-on nic card will do the offloading from the cpu's? :)
i got some pretty old belkins add on nic from my old dell .. sitting around getting dust .. :)
If the NICs you have offer offloading features, then yes. Most do not, though.
Posted on Reply
#34
Unregistered
YukikazeIf the NICs you have offer offloading features, then yes. Most do not, though.
With today's processors it almost not necessary. Quad - Hex cores pushed to 4ghz + aren't really going to gain much from these.
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#35
Unregistered
iamajunkyi think i'd rather just get shot in the face in the game respawn and go kill before they get a chance to regain there health or let the guy behind me finish the person off so i get the assist lol then spend 100 bucks on a NIC card for 6ms
The only people who will buy these are probably ricers. This NIC has as much use as a bodykit on a 92 Corolla. What a useless POS. Does anyone actually understand the protocols for networking? It will take more than a NIC to decrease latency, there are so many factors.

Id suggest you get your networking facts straight. Perhaps even educated on the protocols, just like it takes more than a bodykit and fart cannon muffler to make a car "fast" :rolleyes: (Most bodykits on ricers create drag anyways)

www.tcpipguide.com/free/t_NetworkingFundamentals.htm

Very basic fundamentals.


(Sorry for the double post!)
Posted on Edit | Reply
#36
Yukikaze
$immond$With today's processors it almost not necessary. Quad - Hex cores pushed to 4ghz + aren't really going to gain much from these.
It isn't necessary for clients. It can be quite important on servers with multiple 10GbE links, though.
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#37
Unregistered
YukikazeIt isn't necessary for clients. It can be quite important on servers with multiple 10GbE links, though.
Most servers aren't going to need a killer gaming NIC, Id personally choose something much more economical for a business application, and something more useful.
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#38
Yukikaze
$immond$Most servers aren't going to need a killer gaming NIC, Id personally choose something much more economical for a business application, and something more useful.
I was talking about protocol offloading, which is standard-fare on server NICs, not about this "Killer NIC" which nobody needs, much less servers.

As for economical, server NICs can go for around 50$ for just the chip itself, and over 2k USD for a PCIe card, especially if we're talking about 10GbE devices. In servers which actually utilize 10GbE links, 150$ is chump change.
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#39
Unregistered
YukikazeI was talking about protocol offloading, which is standard-fare on server NICs, not about this "Killer NIC" which nobody needs, much less servers.

As for economical, server NICs can go for around 50$ for just the chip itself, and over 2k USD for a PCIe card, especially if we're talking about 10GbE devices. In servers which actually utilize 10GbE links, 150$ is chump change.
yes that is true but the cost to benefit ratio is what I am talking about.
$150 Killer NIC Cost>Benefit 100% useless.

Would you spend $150 for hood pins to make it seem your car is faster or, $1500 on a new throttle body and manifolds to actually increase power? Cost to Benefit ratio is allot greater with what you had mentioned for servers therefore it is more expensive but more economical in terms of benefits.

Its the principles, the Killer Nic is 100% useless IMO, unless your gaming on a rig from the year 2003, and even then Id put the money elsewhere.
Posted on Edit | Reply
#40
Unregistered
TheMailMan78Send one to Wizz for a review. If he says it worth while Ill buy one. So will half the members of this forum. With all due respect man you really have to sell this thing to us.
No disrespect taken - it is different, and I can completely get where you're coming from.

For sending one over to TechPowerUp for a review, I don't have a lot of control over that personally, but I'll pass the idea along. :-)
Posted on Edit | Reply
#41
TheMailMan78
Big Member
ArrakivNo disrespect taken - it is different, and I can completely get where you're coming from.

For sending one over to TechPowerUp for a review, I don't have a lot of control over that personally, but I'll pass the idea along. :-)
Well I really hope you do. Wizz (The owner) has a lot of respect and if he says its good we buy. :laugh:
Posted on Reply
#42
Unregistered
TheMailMan78Well I really hope you do. Wizz (The owner) has a lot of respect and if he says its good we buy. :laugh:
"IF" has many factors for the forum's fearless leader to prove or disprove.
Posted on Edit | Reply
#43
santiagodraco
Wow, came to the forum to read up on hopefully useful information on this card and so far other than "it's a POS (from those who haven't used one) to "everyone knows it sucks, just check! (from those who fail to link ANY evidence to these "facts" to "less ping doesn't matter" from those who PWN everyone they play against.

I know I'm putting myself out there to be shot, as a newb to the forums, but how about more facts (and I don't mean linking wiki networking fundamentals that don't mean shit when making your case against this card or others).

The facts are, as I can see them, that this is a card that will offload network processing from the cpu. If you have little of such, say you are only playing 1 game and doing little else and already have low locally introduced latency, then it's probably not needed. But what about those of us who do a lot of stuff while gaming? I'm quite often playing a movie or streaming broadcast TV to my PC via my Slingbox HD while playing WoW/COD4/etc and downloading from a newsgroup at the same time. Are you saying that an on board NIC, with no processing power of it's own, which has to be processed via the OS networking stack and handed back to the NIC has NO disadvantages over a NIC like this... assuming one can easily afford the premium? I find that hard to believe. I already see issues sometimes when the game action get's heavy and I have a lot of local network use active. I'd see no benefit?

I guess I'd love to see more evidence that these cards are the waste everyone says they are, with a bit less emotional drama and more specific details and especially review links stating so. Until then I'm going to withhold my opinions.
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