Killer’s 400 MHz Network Processing Unit (NPU) and 64 Megabytes of dedicated DDR is one of the first applications of Corporate Network Acceleration Technology introduced to the consumer market.
Gamers know the more CPU cycles that can be devoted to the game, the better the games will perform. Killer utilizes LLR Technology to offload the network processing tasks of games away from the CPU and onto the Killer’s NPU. The Killer NIC speeds up and improves the online experience of the games already on the market today and unlike other recent gaming hardware products, the Killer NIC does not require game integration.
“Killer delivers better Ping times and allows the computer’s CPU to be able to focus on making the game run fast and smooth, even during the most intense action, which can often be the difference between winning and losing,” says Harlan Beverly, CEO of Bigfoot Networks. “Killer goes way beyond just offloading the network processing. Its designed specifically for online video games, which means it handles gaming data in faster and more responsive ways so gamers can experience lower Pings and have a real advantage in online games.”
LLR Technology allows Killer to improve performance in additional ways, by offering gamers the chance to write their own programs to run on the NPU. This functionality called Flexible Network Architecture (FNA) can be used by developers or inspired gamers to write their own applications and utilities. These utilities can further reduce the CPU utilization of the system, making the games run even faster. “The kinds of applications that can be developed using FNA are limitless,” says Beverly, also the companies Chief Architect. “FNapps can be anything from simple gaming chat programs or servers, to full online gaming VoIP solutions.”
The Killer NIC offers the following benefits to gamers in online games:
- UltimatePing Technology – maximizes the speed of your gaming PC with the Killer’s Network Processor Unit delivering data to games faster than traditional NICs or LOM, thus reducing your Ping in online games.
- MaxFPS Technology – offloads network processing from your computer’s CPU to the Killer NIC freeing up the CPU to focus on what is important – THE GAME!!!
- Flexible Network Architecture (FNA) – allows everyone to freely write, download, and run applications that execute on the Killer’s Network Processing Unit. FNapps are user and industry developed applications that free your computer’s CPU to focus on the game.
- PingThrottle Technology – allows gamers to adjust ping their Ping higher or lower depending on game play.
- GameFirst Technology – network packets for your games are prioritized and delivered before all other network activity on the system.
Additional Killer NIC technical specifications are as follows:
- 10/100/1000 PCI Network Card
- 400 MHz Network Processing Unit
- 64MB RAM
- Full NIC functionality
- USB 2.0 Port
The Killer NIC will go on sale starting August 16th. More details on the Killer NIC can be found on its new Web site at www.killernic.com. Stay tuned to the website as Bigfoot Networks will be releasing performance data and benchmarks as the official product launch approaches.