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BigFoot
Networks Killer NIC K1 and FNA Bit Torrent Client Review
by Ryan Shrout
PC Perspective.com -
Mar 23, 2007 - The following
is a summary of the more detailed analysis of the Bigfoot Networks
Killer NIC K1. For all the in-depth analysis and testing you'd
expect from us, be sure to click this link to
get all the details!
If there
has been one device that has caused turmoil and debate in last
year's hardware race, it was BigFoot
Networks' Killer NIC. Here
is a product that was priced at $249 or so asking users to shell
out big bucks to replace the basically "free" networking
that they got on their motherboards. There were numerous reviews
of the product, including our
very own, with results and opinions
that varied drastically from 'a waste of money' to 'potential blockbuster.'
I think my initial
review of the Killer NIC M1 (as it later became known) pined that the
product was good, but had more potential than was really shown in the product at the time. Has anything
changed with the new Killer NIC K1?
As you can see, the K1 looks much more like a standard PCI networking
card and less like a fashion statement! The hardware is very similar
between the M1 and K1 cards though, with the lack of the heatsink
and slightly down clocked processor because of it. The slower CPU
though should make very little difference in our gaming performance
testing.
The new
Killer NIC K1
How does the Killer NIC K1 perform in the new Windows Vista OS?
If you read my previous
Killer NIC M1 review you probably got
the hint that the FNApps was one thing that I really thought had
potential. It would appear that BigFoot Networks took some of this
to heart! As of a couple weeks ago, the very
first FNApp was released publicly on the Killer NIC website: FNA Torrent.
This program runs in Windows, on both Vista and XP, to download
torrent files over the Killer NIC card and to an external hard
drive or USB drive attached to the USB port on the card. There
are still a few bugs to work out, but in general it worked very
well and is a great showcase for what is possible with this card.
World of Warcraft was our big winner previously and is once again
showing the most improvement of any of the games tested. The average
frame rate was increased by 7% but even more importantly was the
increase of the minimum frame rate: 48 FPS to 57 FPS or 18%! For
users with a slower CPU and/or GPU that 18% could be even more
important when framerates are dipping into the teens and 20s. And
once again, the latency being shown in World of Warcraft was lowered
by 16%.
Pricing and Availability
What the Killer NIC K1
does though, is drop that introductory price substantially. The
K1 version can be found in two forms: one with and one without
FNApps enabled. The model that supports FNApps is going to cost
you around $179 retail, and Newegg.com
has it for sale for $178 as of this publication date. Some other
vendors have it for sale for slightly less; down
to about $169.
The initial release of the K1 also had a version that did NOT support
FNApps on it that sold for $149 but I am told now that it is being
phased out. And that makes sense: anyone that was going to pay
$150+ for a network card would want probably its most unique feature.
Final Thoughts
Even with this new, less expensive
model, the Killer NIC card is NOT going to be in every gamer's
system; but with a lower price tag, similar specs and the same
great features, the new Killer NIC K1 definitely takes a leap in
the right direction for high speed online gaming. The introduction
of the FNA Bit Torrent client should open user's eyes to the possibility
of what the Killer NIC MIGHT turn out to be, but BigFoot Networks
needs to continue to prove that they are going to support the card
with more applications to take advantage of the unique design of
the card. And because I initially gave the Killer NIC an award
for innovation, it seems only right that the new Killer NIC K1
card receive the same award for offering the same features and
performance at a lower price.
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