Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card – MMOMFG Review
Bigfoot Networks: Killer 2100 Gaming Network Card Review
Bigfoot Networks’ Killer 2100 Gaming Card enters a market full of gaming peripherals each claiming to provide the ultimate performance boost for online gamers. On Bigfoot Networks’ site, it claims the 2100 is the “Fastest Network Card for Online Games”. In our review, we’ll put multiple games to the test with both the Killer 2100 Gaming Card and our current onboard Network Interface Card (NIC) and determine the benefits of the card and how it actually stacks up against the company’s claims.
Not being a very technical individual (and this not being a technical site), I put my ability to read numbers on a screen and note take during my online gaming experiences to help qualify whether the 2100 is worth your hard-earned scratch. I not only look at gaming improvements, but tested download and connection speeds, as the card delivers all-around Internet improvements beyond just your gaming needs. Or so says the card’s claims. Let’s jump right in and find out if you should purchase one today or wait until the “next big thing” for online gamers comes along. For your reference, I have a top of the line gaming rig I just built and have 70-150+ FPS on most games in Ultra settings, so graphical performance will not be an issue in this review. On to the bullets, my friends!
What’s Good
Specs and software packed with techy goodness – Being a relatively small PCIe card, the Killer 2100 is packed with quality tech that will take your online gaming to the next level. The 2100 plays host to a Gigabit Ethernet connection, 400 Mhz Network Processing Unit, 128MB RAM, and a whole lot of other whizbangs and thingermajigs. As noted, I’m not very technical, but I can tell when something that you plug in is working and delivering what it claims from the get-go, as this thing boosted my online download speeds, blocked annoying bandwidth hogs while gaming and boosted my FPS within a matter of minutes.
On top of all of that, the software that comes packaged is unrivaled in quality. With Online Gaming PC Monitor, Visual Bandwidth Control and Application Blocking, you feel like captain of your ship (read: PC). This isn’t your grandma’s weaksauce software, as Bigfoot Networks added more things than you can shake a stick at as data you can track and evaluate, including CPU usage, Connection Status, Total Bytes sent, Total Bytes received, Average ICMP Ping, Average UDP ping, Frames Per Second and a lot more. You can even record your gaming time and note the peaks, valleys and where your biggest demands are coming from during gaming, so you can adjust priority levels with your connection. The reporting is unparalleled, for all you nay-sayers.
Relieving stress on the processor is a good thing – One of the rare advantages I didn’t expect to see using the 2100 was improved frame rates on the games I was playing. When playing Bad Company 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Team Fortress 2 and World of Warcraft all on max settings, I actually received improved frame rates. In Team Fortress 2 and World of Warcraft, I actually had 10-20 percent improvements in my FPS while playing even in the most demanding portions of the game. In WoW while raiding in Icecrown Citadel, my latency never wavered and the 2100 helped keep my ping and connection under 40Ms, which for me on my server, Akama, is impressive. When the prior week I had been using my onboard NIC, I was in the high 100s, low 200s and would receive packet loss (terrible, I know), especially if my PC was trying to download anything during the process. I wouldn’t even consider running Steam or another similar service while gaming, for fear of putting stress on my CPU and bandwidth. Your typical NIC card requires routing your connection through Windows on your PC and it drains your connection and CPU processing speeds while gaming, which can then cause lag/latency spikes. Now gaming with the 2100, it is as if my CPU can breathe freely and I can really tell the difference. Who would have thought a Gaming Network Card could improve frames per second? This is madness!
Game Networking Data, um what? – Upon first installation of the Killer 2100, the card has been custom programmed to detect when games are running, optimizing your card to deliver the most direct processing to provide gaming speed benefits and performance. With your typical onboard NIC, data is immediately drawn from your Internet connection through Windows, and then dispersed throughout the number of programs, drawing from the available bandwidth. The 2100 has been programmed to reroute your data by going around Windows and offloading traffic on the card without following your traditional networking path in your PC. Wow! What the hell am I talking about? Basically, you will instantly see gaming speeds improved without having to be an IT specialist or mathmagician to work around Windows’ slow drain of your Interwebz.
What’s Bad
Casual gamers likely to not apply – Products of this caliber, similar to custom PC set ups, rigged out peripherals and multiple graphic cards, will not appeal to amateur or casual gamers. You’ll never find a weekend gamer wanting to throw down on something that costs nearly 70 percent of a next-gen console, just to drop their bandwidth numbers possibly by single or double digits. Not every casual gamer will even notice those minor moments of lag or delay, like us hardcore guys, and won’t be able to feel the same level of benefits as a 2100 user. If you look at the software provided in action for less than five minutes, you can actually see and feel the improvement, but that’s for people seeking to improve their experience. Casual gamers tend to just deal with mediocre systems or pre-built units. Don’t even get me started on guys who game on laptops…
Do I reaaalllllly need this? – There are certain gamers who will always be skeptics and try and argue that your Internet speed is going to be your set Internet speed. If you really care about your online ping, you’d likely try to get the fastest connection available in your area. I don’t feel this negative point should count against Bigfoot Networks, per se, as this is more on the consumer than the actual card, but with a price over $100, gamers will question the cost. If the price was lower, most hardcore gamers would likely shell out the dough. As a previous Bigfoot Networks’ Killer Xeno Pro user, I can attest that these products work, are worth the cash and will change your mind. The problem is making gamers aware that they exist and work.
Worth Remembering:
The customization due to the software is one of the most impressive ways of seeing exactly where your bandwidth is going, while being able to instantly improve your download, online gaming and Internet speeds in general, which is pretty incredible. When comparing the same games on the same servers with the same PC using the onboard NIC and then the Bigfoot Networks’ Killer 2100, you immediately know where your money went and why you should never game again without a gaming network card.
Worth Forgetting:
Your reservations that this product seems like another gaming gimmick out for your money. The cost may seem high, but with gaming mice, headsets and keyboards running you close to $100 to $150 these days, there isn’t much reason why the staple of online gaming – your connection – shouldn’t be the first thing you attempt to improve if you take online gaming seriously. There is no reason to own one of these if you don’t play online games, as you won’t see a ton of improvements if you’re just a Sunday afternoon online crosswords player. But would you even be reading this if you were?
In a world filled with overpriced computer accessories and peripherals on every shelf of your local Frys or Best Buy, finally there is a product that delivers the bang for the buck. At the relatively reasonable cost of anywhere from $99-130 for the Killer 2100, you can finally have validation you’re spending your money in the right place, and will instantly deliver online gaming improvements. Unlike upgrading to a dual SLI or Crossfire set up to only see a 10-20percent increase in additional frames per second, you’re going to instantly notice improvements in your online pings, lack of lag spikes, lowered latency, and customization to control where your Internet speeds are going and why. There rarely is a piece of hardware that comes with software that delivers complete control, whether you’re regulating download speeds while gaming, setting up your priority of Internet usage, or just simply monitoring where your biggest drains are coming from and instantly fixing them on the fly. From the moment you install the Killer 2100, you’ll notice a drastically improved online gaming connection, so you can deliver that deadly headshot, final axe swing or last second heal, without worrying about rubber-banding or packet loss. You won’t be seeing another friend on screen out run you to the loot drops, frag you before you frag them, or beat you race after race. That is, unless you just suck at gaming in general, then the 2100 can’t help you there.
If you’re looking for a cheap and effective way to improve your online gaming experience, the Killer 2100 should be the first item in your shopping cart. There is no reason any hardcore gamer shouldn’t own one.
*MMOMFG was provided a Killer 2100 from Bigfoot Networks for review
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