Killer 2100 network card sees $40 price drop, adoption by Alienware
By Darren Murph 
posted August 12th 2010 3:39PM
posted August 12th 2010 3:39PM
For a computer peripherals startup, there's nothing quite like landing a contract with the big boys, and that's precisely what the whiz kids over at Bigfoot Networks have done. When we spoke with company executives back at Computex, we got the impression that they were pushing for OEM integration, and if you're going to aim, you may as well aim high. As of today, Dell's Alienware line can be configured with one of the well-regarded network cards pre-installed, and while you may find it impossible to believe that a NIC could lower your ping time, quite a few critics have been proven wrong. The card can be added to the Alienware Aurora, Aurora ALX, Area-51 and Area-51 ALX desktops, and if you've already got a tower you're pleased with, you'll probably enjoy the $40 price drop on standalone retail units. If you need your memory jogged, that makes the once-$129.99 card a far more tantalizing $89.99. Bigfoot Networks KillerTM 2100 Ships in Alienware Gaming Computers
World's Best QUAKE LIVETM Players to Experience KillerTM 2100 Performance at QuakeCon 2010
DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - August 12, 2010) - Bigfoot Networks, the networking company behind the Killer™ line of gaming network cards, today announced that Dell is now selling the award winning Killer™ 2100 in its latest Alienware desktop computers (NASDAQ: DELL). Dell's Alienware gaming brand delivers peak performance for PC gaming enthusiasts with maximum performance, aggressive designs and unmatched customization and personalization. Killer™ 2100 improves networking speed, intelligence and control, enabling online game players to achieve quicker response times, better in-game performance and higher scores. This combination of technologies results in the ultimate online gaming advantage.
"Online gamers demand exceptional network performance," said Frank Azor, Product Planning Manager at Alienware. "The combination of Alienware PCs and the Bigfoot Networks Killer™ 2100 gaming network card represents a lethal combination -- maximizing performance for more frags, faster leveling and higher scores."
"Your PC's ability to efficiently handle network traffic is critical for maximum gaming responsiveness," said Michael Howse, CEO, Bigfoot Networks. "With Killer™ 2100, users can be confident they have the fastest network card available for online gaming. With Killer™ 2100 in Alienware gaming PCs, gamers can truly create an exceptional online gaming system."
Killer™ 2100 gaming network cards are configurable in Dell's Alienware line of desktop PCs now available at www.Alienware.com including the Alienware Aurora, Aurora ALX, Area-51 and Area-51 ALX desktops. Killer™ 2100 is also available as a direct purchase upgrade from Dell.com. For more details on Bigfoot Networks Killer™ 2100 gaming network card, please visit http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/killer-2100/.
Come experience Bigfoot Networks Killer™ 2100 gaming network cards in action inside the latest Alienware desktop PCs during the QUAKE LIVE™ tournaments at QuakeCon® 2010, August 12-15 at the Hotel Anatole in Dallas, Texas. Alienware PCs and Killer™ 2100 cards will be at the center of the three pro and amateur tournaments, where players will vie for more than $50,000 in prize money -- including the Intel® Masters Championship, the Capture the Flag (CTF) Tournament and the Open Tournament.
A fool and their money are soon parted.
Must lower ping!
@TheCake Don't even try to tell me that the standard 3-5ms PING on a LARGE LAN is noticeable in any application, or even a game. That is BS.
@loocas
What if said application is measuring the latency?
@fingers Clever! Though, not that much useful in this case, is it. :D
@Prevacator so, lol
I forgot Alienware was a brand
@rmbrown09
I didn't know it was a brand :/
@rmbrown09 It used to be a brand, now it's just a subsidy of Dell.
@rmbrown09
So I can go buy a brand new Dell and they'll subsidize my purchase with a new Alienware too? Hot dog!
@Cash9007 I assume you mean subsidiary?
"one of the well-regarded network cards"
Someone's been smoking crack.
I spent my $89 alienWHERE?
@koneill Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!
my friends would laugh me out of our next lan party if I told them I just dropped 90 bucks on a NIC.
@admlshake Yes, but slightly less than if you spent $129.99 on it.
Dell has failed me for the last time
@Chad Vader How? They don't make the card. If you don't want it, don't get it.
@VetteDude
i just felt like typing it
@Chad Vader
Well. Dell does own Alienware.
@JigokuSan
hence dell failed me for yada yada you know the rest
@Chad Vader Impostor! Lord Vader, where are you on this one?
@Chad Vader
Probably off getting his "helmet polished" by the emperor...
@LegoGuy23
i am his little brother Chad Vader
Except for the lawsuit, they should have been called MONSTERNic!
I would take a Intel PRO/1000 GT any day over that piece of junk...
It's cheaper as well, which means more money for my snake jar!
@SheldonCooper
I have the dual port pro\1000 MT, it's worth every penny.
Intel nics are the gold standard, you can not beat their feature set and performance, and support -- they have drivers for just about every OS in existence.
@ those who just slam reviews- do you guys bother checking empirical evidence before mouthing off? Good grief. The Killer cards do work. They off load tons of crap that frees up the rest of the CPU to get with the crunching. If you have a marginal machine vs a monster rig, it's an easy way to reduce lag/latency. You may not see it as obviously on your box with 2 highend vid cards, a fast HDD, gobs of RAM and the latest overclocked intel chip, but it can breath life into an ok machine for casual online romps.
@Sp4rky
Um, you think people with "ok machines" buy $90 NICs?
Spend it on a video card upgrade, or more ram, or pretty much anything else and you will see a much bigger difference in performance.
@Sp4rky
Yeah...and so does every Intel or Broadcomm server NIC, for a lot less.
What's your point? There's nothing special about the "killer" nic at all.
@DoctarPeppar actually a true server card that actually offloads the traffic, not the gt intel cards that are software run, are the same or more expensive. So no you cant get a true server card for less.
@DoctarPeppar
The KillerNICs have hardware UDP acceleration. Show me a cheaper card that has it. Its "special" because of the hardware UDP acceleration.
The card is largely useless for what they market it as, but to say it does nothing other than a generic NIC is just showing how ignorant you are about it.
$90 on a NIC?!?!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha
What is this 1997 all over again?
@Hazdaz
Lucky you. Around that time I was usually busy constantly dialing NetZero and/or Bluelight trying to get a decent connection.
@Hazdaz You didn't complain on $250 price, did you?
LAN use taxes the CPU? How come nobody else noticed or attempted to remedy this in the 30 years LAN have been around?
@SecretlyFat
It actually does...but only if you're doing crazy shit non stop.
Almost all server nics (intel, broadcom, etc) have some kind of TCP offload...it's best to do stateless offload though.
Problem is for this price you can get a dual port Intel NIC with tons of features plus LACP (link aggregation), so you can get over 200 MB\sec from one NIC card provided you have a switch that supports it.
I've got a bridge to sell to anyone who buys one of these crapwares.
I have to get one of these! I am SO tired of waiting for my current card taking so long to ping things. Given that I spend 14 hours a day pinging other machines once a minute, those extra milliseconds will really add up! I mean, I'll be saving 6.3 seconds a day! Every 2 weeks I can take an extra 1 minute for my break!
Wait'll I tell mom!
This card really is a gimmick. I made a latency test with a mate and my Intel PRO 1000 VT Quad Port blew his bigfoot card on every level.
Admittedly the price is a little different. But if you're gonna blow money on a NIC, might as well do it properly ;-)