Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100

Zitat: At $89, it´s still a little bit too high, in my opinion, to recommend over other components to upgrade as it´s really hard to see the tangible improvements with the Killer 2100. The software´s really cool though and there are a few tests where I saw little improvement over my internal NIC. Really hardcore online gamers might want to consider upgrading though.

Zitat: Bronze-Award Pro: + Hochwertige Verarbeitung + Spitzen Optik... + ...mit roten LEDs + Gute Latenz trotz Download + Komfortable und umfangreiche Software Kontra: - Karte sonst mit nur geringem Vorteil gegenüber der Onboard-Lösung Netzwerkkarte für Profis

Zitat: Pros: + Card offloads network communication from system + Increased network performance, especially for UDP traffic + Plug and play hardware + Application-level prioritization and control + The ability to turn off the onboard red LED + Real-time network and system monitoring + Integration with Fraps for FPS contro After running the Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100 through the ringer, I have a fond respect for what it does. The claim is that it offers lower pings and higher FPS in games using UDP packet styles, which are the vast majority of online games out there that connect to the Internet for play. UDP is a connection-less protocol that spams packets onto the wire without first establishing a session or using a delivery confirmation method like TCP does. With the nature of UDP, if a packet gets lost it is not retransmitted, which if enough packets are dropped, then you start to notice a real interruption in your games. The Killer 2100 is designed to give your UDP packets first priority to the wire to help lessen the probability of dropped game packets. After seeing the tests, the combination of the hardware and the Killer Network Manager provided UDP transfers that were faster than both the onboard and Netgear discrete NICs. The Killer Network Manager is one of the key components that make the Killer 2100 as good as it is. The software allows you to control the priority of packets from applications using your system´s network resources, as well as the ability to control how much bandwidth each one is allowed to use. As an example, when I was running the tests with the Bittorrent application, I was able to throttle down the upload and download speeds to a maximum of 1Mbps, keeping it from using a lot of my bandwidth. This gave my game the ability to squeeze a few more packets onto the wire faster, which could mean the difference between my bullet killing my opponent or his killing me first. While this card will not double your network speed, if you are hardcore into gaming and every second counts, then you will benefit from the abilities of the Killer 2100. If you are a casual gamer, then the onboard NIC will suit you just fine. The Killer 2100 is designed for gamers that put everything into their systems to get the most out of it. Think of it like you would your GPU — while some integrated graphics are fine for casual gamers, those who demand the best add better, discrete cards. Your network card is no different — if you are wanting every edge you can, then this is the card for you. I have seen it as low as $77 on some sites, which is a steal for the Killer 2100.

Zitat: Pro: hochwertige Verarbeitung + Verbesserungen bei Pings, Latenzen und FPS + umfangreiche Software; zahlreiche Optionen und Einstellungsmöglichkeiten + geringe Leistungsaufnahme Contra: Preis - nur ein Port - nach wie vor nur etwas für Enthusiasten Die neue Killer 2100 Netzwerkkarte konnte uns überzeugen. Vor allem Enthusiasten, die weniger auf ihren Kontostand achten müssen, dürfen sich über niedrigere Latenzen und (im Idealfall) über eine bessere Spiele-Leistung freuen. Highlight ist und bleibt aber das umfangreiche sowie leicht zu konfigurierende „Network Manager" Tool. Hier hat Bigfoot Networks ganze Arbeit geleistet. Christoph meint: Eine leistungsstarke Netzwerkkarte für Zocker!

Zitat: It says a lot that it was so difficult for us to see any tangible difference from the Killer 2100 despite our best efforts to test in a scientific and consistent way. Even in our theoretical tests where we could control the variables of our local, private network we saw little benefit from the Killer 2100. When gaming we saw little difference between our (free) on-board network controller and the Killer 2100 in terms of ping and frame rate. The only advantage we found was that the Killer 2100 allowed us to download in the background while gaming - possibly handy if you buy loads of games via download services but haven´t the patience to wait for those downloads. This makes it very difficult to recommend the Killer 2100 as, at the end of the day, everyone wants some kind of tangible benefit for their £68. For the gamer who has everything, the Killer 2100 could be a consideration, as we did see very slight ping improvements in CoD 4 and CSS, after all. Having said that, you might see better improvements in online gaming performance by spending that £70 ditching your ISP and getting a more gamer-friendly one (pay close attention to whether, and how much, gaming traffic is throttled). Alternatively, invest in a new mouse or keyboard, or put the money toward a larger monitor.