NICs... Intel vs Killer

Poik

Weaksauce
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Dec 21, 2011
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I'm wanting to upgrade to Haswell and I'm trying to figure out what route to take. I really like the MSI MPower and GD65 Gaming. They come with Killer NIC. The Asus Formula is also on my radar tho I might not wait that long. ASRock also has the Extreme6/ac which has dual Intel NICs. I've Googled for Killer E2200 review and comparison but that doesn't seem to be a popular topic. In some reviews they talk about how the motherboard incorporates what was a $100 card but they don't do any kind of in depth review or comparison of the network connections.

While I want to believe that the $100 card is a benefit I don't want to just go ahead thinking well it would be $100 so it must be a good deal!

Thanks!
 
3DGuru did a Review awhile back and Found NO Diff in Speed or Ping Performance... They Used the MSI Z77 GD65 1155 Mobo in the Test... Both Versions Tested; One with Intel 82579V and the Gaming Version with Killer E2200... Granted these are Not Haskwell Boards but the Results should Yield some Info...
Here is a Link to the Review...
 
Killer is one of those companies that exploits the uneducated by selling them a $100 NIC which performs on par or worse than a $15 Intel NIC you can grab off ebay.
 
Intel has higher quality and better drivers, Killer has a high level of hype and BS marketing, but unless you're doing really serious networking of the sort unlikely to be seen in a home, you'll never notice the difference. NIC performance mattered when CPUs ran at 1GHz. NIC quality may matter if your cable runs are longer than 10 meters, which generally doesn't happen in the home. Also, a bunch of work management stuff that used to happen at the NIC now happens in the routers that everyone has now. If you don't know why you need dual Ethernet NICs, you certainly don't need it.
 
I understand the benefit of dual nics but Intel vs Killer vs Realtek is something that doesn't seem to have been tested. The Guru review is what got me thinking about this. There's been router comparisons but I've never seen a NIC comparison but I think it could be interesting especially with a company like MSI dumping Intel in favour of Killer. Is this good, bad, or just marketing as they virtually identical? Given the choice I'd definitely buy an Intel NIC over a Killer because as said $15>>>>$100 but when it's "free" onboard, I'd rather not have to go buy than Intel NIC because the Killer is a POS.

I'd tend to agree with the notion that the CPU is no longer holding things back. I'd hazard a guess that your cables actually could make a bigger difference than your NIC, router, of almost anything else. Being an electrician I have seen some sketchy stuff as an unbelievable number of people seem to think wireless is more than enough for the families computers, laptops, phones, PS3/XBOX/... etc.
 
If Killer were all that they'd have made a server version long ago because network performance in an enterprise environment is far more important than the relatively lightweight usage of gaming on the client end. But Killer's NICs can't even be used on a server platform because their drivers refuse to install on a server OS. Why? Because people filling up racks of servers are much more interested in proven performance and stability than in fancy graphics and marketing hype that gamers are oh so vulnerable to. Who's one of the biggest, if not biggest NIC supplier in the server arena? Oh yeah, Intel.

I used to have a Killer, performance was definitely better than onboard Realtek but then again what isn't? It did have this funny quirk where if I tried to open too many TCP connections too fast (like doing an IP scan of my local network, or had several online games open and was doing some web browsing), it liked to BSOD my computer. Replaced it with an intel NIC and saw no difference in performance, but all the BSODs went away.

If the MB/System I wanted had it built in it wouldn't stop me from buying it but I'd probably disable it and throw an intel NIC in.
 
Killer sucks. Adding additional layers to your networking can never, EVER improve latency. It can only worsen it.
 
a wired ethernet connection with properly configured QOS on switch/router is the way to go
 
Heck I'd go with a broadcom or Marvel before going with Killer. I'm sure killer is not BAD, but, it's just not worth that price.

Yeah, go Intel. :D
 
Intel.

Because support matters, and they got it in spades.

Their NICS are the standard for most people, With Broadcom a close 2nd.
 
Yeah Killer does suck. I have on in my notebook and Intel works just as good if not better for me.
 
Didn't the killer nic have other benefits? I vaguely remember people installing bitorrent clients directly onto the Linux distro that the killernic uses.

Ide google it if my internet wasnt going balls slow thanks to our wonderful usaf and their garbage internet contracts in japan. 200mbps connections are right outside this base lol.
 
I have always used Intel NICs. They are reliable, consistent, and have consistently had the highest sustained transfer speeds between my workstation and my NAS. I really cannot ask for anything more.

And while they may be $25 each (assuming you do not have the option of on-board Intel), nothing really changes in home networking. So I have not replaced them in years, aside from moving some systems from the PCI to PCI-E variant.
 
Intel just works and has broad OS driver support.

Nothing worse than wasting time chasing down server throughput issues over WAN because of Broadcom NIC drivers.

This is how I would rank them.

Tier 1
Intel

Tier 2
Broadcom
Marvell
Killer (Atheros)

Tier 3
Realtek
 
^ Good ranking system, I would have to agree.
But don't forget about Asante! ;)
 
Killer is one of the best NIC you can find in the market.

Said no one ever.
 
You'll be fine with either Intel or Broadcom
Killer WLAN-cards are Atheros cards with different driver and possibly firmware. I would the same goes for the Ethernet LAN controllers.
//Danne
 
This was answered over a year ago from the OP.

Not that bad of a necro thread. A year isn't too bad... :)

But, to add - If you are only using it as a standard NIC, go Intel. If you have the desire to play with or actually use the extra ability (Linux client) within the Killer NIC, go for that one. But, as far as a NIC only - can't beat Intel...
 
Good, more people then can see that Killer STILL sucks, since MSI and other are pushing them in their new laptops lines.
 
Intel just works and has broad OS driver support.

Nothing worse than wasting time chasing down server throughput issues over WAN because of Broadcom NIC drivers.

This is how I would rank them.

Tier 1
Intel

Tier 2
Broadcom
Marvell
Killer (Atheros)

Tier 3
Realtek

I wonder if Broadcom has gotten better? My experience with them puts them barely above Realtek. I've had good luck with Intel and Marvell.

This post of mine still rings true.
 
Many new Z97 "premium" mother boards feature the Killer NIC.....

Done to improve quality or done to save production costs?

Intel still better?
 
Serious gamers only use SolarFlare NICs.

But really, SolarFlares are really the best NICs on the market. There is a reason that they're like $1k even on the used market.
 
It's becoming harder and harder to distinguish sarcasm from genuine idiocy.
 
Killer also has some issues with memory leaks and it is near impossible to find only the drivers.
They do everything they can to force you to install their bloated software just to get your nic to work.
Bastages I say.
 
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