VisionTek Introduces its Killer Xeno Pro Gaming NIC

[btarunr]

VisionTek Products announced a technology partnership with Bigfoot Networks today in conjunction with the North American launch of the VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card. The introduction of this revolutionary gaming network card takes gaming to the next level with performance designed to enhance the online multiplayer experience. This new hardware caters to the growing online PC gaming audience and includes custom bandwidth controls to tailor the game play experience to the user's needs. When the dedicated Network Processing Unit (NPU) was born in the labs of Bigfoot Networks, VisionTek made plans to join forces for their next technology launch.

"My technology roots are grounded in the GPU, as the quintessential PC gaming hardware upgrade," said Michael Innes, COO & EVP of VisionTek Products, LLC, "It's too early to say that the NPU will overcome the GPU, but I do know it feels a lot like the advent of the PC graphics card. One thing is certain, online gaming is the dominant factor keeping the PC gaming platform alive."



According to NPD, over $2.6 billion dollars were spent over the last 3 years on PC games in the U.S. market, and the top sellers are consistently "online" multiplayer titles. PC gaming drives the demand for complimentary hardware and is the ultimate catalyst for VisionTek bringing new PC products to market. VisionTek's Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card accelerates game networking for smoother game play and faster frame rates, providing a superior online gaming experience.

The Killer Xeno Pro is built specifically for online gamers and is designed to provide up to a 40% increase in performance with popular online game titles.

"VisionTek and Bigfoot Networks are in a position to change the PC gaming experience and innovate the hardware upgrade market, just like graphics cards did 15 years ago," said Mark Bilson, VP of Sales for VisionTek. "VisionTek saw the demand for a dedicated GPU take off as 3D environments became more complex. We see the same demand growing as a result of online bottlenecks on the client side and the need for a dedicated NPU."

The VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro offloads game networking operations by getting data traffic to the game the instant it arrives. VisionTek is a pioneer in bringing consumer technology products to market that demand specialty processors to create the best overall PC entertainment experience. The VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card will be found at Best Buy.com, CompUSA, Dell.com, New Egg.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.

The VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro keeps game play smooth and frame rates high when the online action gets most intense. Bigfoot Networks' Game Detect technology automatically detects and prioritizies game traffic for the most responsive gaming experience. Intelligent Bandwidth Control lets users allocate bandwidth to other applications, such as voice chat, Web browsing and downloads. A hardware firewall runs on the card and not on the CPU, protecting users from online threats without slowing down their game play. The "Plug-&-Play" design automatically works with all online games to help improve performance without mods, patches or special settings. "Optimized Voice Chat" lets users chat with friends during the most intense game play without affecting performance.

"I would say that this card is outstanding and is worth every penny!" commented Raz, Team Dignitas Call of Duty 4 player and Call of Duty Player of the Year, 2009. "Never have I seen a piece of hardware like this."

The average World of Warcraft player spends over 10 hours a week engaged in online play,3 and all these features are a common wish. Stop wishing and start playing, with the VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card. Visit us at this page to learn more about the VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Reefer86]

overpriced and a crock of shite. the product not the news

 

[csendesmark]

“I would say that this card is outstanding and is worth every penny!” commented Raz, Team Dignitas Call of Duty 4 player and Call of Duty Player of the Year, 2009. “Never have I seen a piece of hardware like this.”

OMG... LOL
Someone should show a Core i7 + 5870 hardware for him

that was a paid advertising...

Integrated Gigabit lan is faaaa-aaa-aar enough for online gaming.

 

[theorw]

OMG!!!!!shadedshushadedshu
Now we dont only need GPUs we now need NPU...
Where exactly would that help gaming??Get 2% more processing power from the CPU to the game itself instead of being bothered to cooperate with the integrated network card?U ll earn 2.38*10^-4 FPS more!!!!YEAH!!!
Will it lower my ping??By how much?1 or 2 ms???
TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY
Next we will see HDPU for loading the maps EXTRA fast and faster than the server!!!

 

[Mussels]

40% better performance!

awesome, i want 40% faster load times, 40% higher FPS, and 40% less ping. now.


i really, REALLY want w1zzard to review one.

the performance per $ graphs will be something to remember.

 

[theorw]

the performance per $ graphs will be something to remember.

I agree!!!!!

 

[ste2425]

One thing is certain, online gaming is the dominant factor keeping the PC gaming platform alive.”

i disagree with that tho

 

[Reefer86]

These have been reviewed several times and everytime they cannot notice much of a diffrence if any. A NIC cannot increase my fps by 40%, its impossible.

Stick gaming infront of anything and some numbty will buy it.

 

[ste2425]

wait a minuet is that guy on the front of the box sparta?

 

[Mussels]

wait a minuet is that guy on the front of the box sparta?

well, MADNESS would be the main reason for buying the card...

 

[ste2425]

well, MADNESS would be the main reason for buying the card...

ooooo i like that one

 

[btarunr]

i really, REALLY want w1zzard to review one.

the performance per $ graphs will be something to remember.

TPU did review the PCI version of this: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Bigfoot_Networks/KillerNIC_M1

 

[Mussels]

TPU did review the PCI version of this: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Bigfoot_Networks/KillerNIC_M1

but not w1zzard


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Bigfoot_Networks/KillerNIC_M1/7.html


look, a prescott can get a 32% boost to minimum FPS!

 

[btarunr]

Fred can review this (PCI-E Xeno, on today's hardware) if there's demand.

 

[Easo]

I doubt anyone of you would mind this card in your system...
Of course, if it would cost no more than standart gigabit card from intel

 

[PP Mguire]

Actually thats wrong, if somebody even gave me this card i would smash it in my back yard to make an example of how stupid this really is. The only thing that creates your ping is how fast you get to your ISP, then to the game server. No "NPU" is going to increase the latency and speed of a WAN when your paying for "X" amount of speed from your ISP. And i know for damn sure this piece of shit will not increase my FPS because it is not doing anything but acting as a dedicated ethernet that STILL has to use my CPU to get information. /rant

 

[Reefer86]

Fred can review this (PCI-E Xeno, on today's hardware) if there's demand.

i would like to see that. The review on TPU is the only one ive seen that actually says it works or is any good.

 

[Mussels]

agreed, i'd like fred to do that review again, on modern hardware - and more games.


*if* possible i'd also like to see it on something LESS insane than 100Mb internet - like, 3Mb adsl/cable, for example (something far more common, at least)

 

[Zubasa]

agreed, i'd like fred to do that review again, on modern hardware - and more games.


*if* possible i'd also like to see it on something LESS insane than 100Mb internet - like, 3Mb adsl/cable, for example (something far more common, at least)

The 100Mb internet is the only thing that will likely to show any difference if there are that is.....
I have 100Mb Internet and I want to know.
My bet is this is not sparta

 

[lism]

Usually , nics onboard are controlled by the CPU.

What this card has is its own NPU (Network processing unit) or basicly, it can take care of things on it own, releaving the load from the CPU with Network-tasks.

Now, this will only work tho, if you play a game thats already maxing out, is having 100% load all the time and has trouble showing those high FPS.

By installing this card, it basicly means that you will lower the CPU time from its networkingtasks, so the CPU has a little more time pushing out those FPS.

But, this will be only noticable on lower end systems for example. And there's no game that will really use your 100Mbit NIC at all, many of home connections are'nt even designed for extreme hard uploads.

This card will give like 0.19999% boost, but basicly its not worth the money, and overal this product is hyped up. Even tho it changes the way it sends out packages towards your ISP, your ISP cannot send packages back faster then it already does.

But if you like the status of having a NIC killer card in your PC, be my guest

 

[WarEagleAU]

Interesting to see Visiontek pick this up as last time, Killer was the only one with their card. While it does very very very very very little help with latency and ping times, it taxes your processor and hinders on some other things. There was a review in either MaximumPC or CPU mag about this new card. BFG was the only other one offering the card. Maybe it might be worth a look, dont know.

 

[Mussels]

The 100Mb internet is the only thing that will likely to show any difference if there are that is.....
I have 100Mb Internet and I want to know.
My bet is this is not sparta

i'd like to see both.


more or less is this device worth it on standard internet, yes/no

is this device worth it if you're an asshole with internet faster than most peoples home networks, yes/no

 

[Zubasa]

Interesting to see Visiontek pick this up as last time, Killer was the only one with their card. While it does very very very very very little help with latency and ping times, it taxes your processor and hinders on some other things. There was a review in either MaximumPC or CPU mag about this new card. BFG was the only other one offering the card. Maybe it might be worth a look, dont know.

It might worth a look if this cost $20.

 

[Trigger911]

These cards are great to be honest but they are in the wrong market they should be selling these things to people in the network industry. The only thing that is nice about these things is that they process all information sent and received on the card so the CPU don't have to use cycles to control the device. My friend uses one for his gaming rig but he also has his XBOX (modded) and 360 with 3 other media center PC's connected to it and he can push allot more I brought my pc over and my CPU Stayed Max just feeding video files to the Xbox and the 360. So I wouldn’t just say its crock hardware but it all matters for what you want to do with it. All in your entire standard none file sharing\networking person shouldn’t need something like this but I am thinking about buying something of this nature but not the killer card unless I can’t find something that’s dedicated cheaper.

 

[Zubasa]

The only problem is these cards cost more than an Athlon II 620.
I am sure any quad core have no problem handling newwork loads.

At the end of the day is that the money can simply be better spent anywhere else than a NIC/NPU.
Its not like it gives your games K-RAM for EAK HD 5.0.
It simply not likely to make any difference in gaming.