I can't think of anyone offhand that's still a believer in the Killer brand. It has a decidedly poor reputation among the few people that are even aware of the brand's history. However, this article and the other one covering Dell's usage of Rivet Networks' work is focused on their peddling software solutions that are supposed to give you better performance by assigning priority to various sorts of traffic leaving the network adapter, an adapter that may not be a Killer-branded product.
That software fails to address the fundamental problem of traffic not being given priority by the dozen apathetic routers between your computer and its end destination that belong to various ISPs and consequently fall totally outside of your administrative control. You can split hairs on whether a Skype packet leaves your ethernet adapter before a packet destined to a Gmail server, but that doesn't mean anything once those packets are outside of your local network. Why add extra software and impose and additional burden on your PC to make the first hop a couple nanoseconds quicker when your total latency end-to-end is measured in thousands of milliseconds? It also fails to address a lack of packet priortization on the distant end system. Say you're in a Skype session with a relative and they don't have Killer's latest software and therefore don't prioritize traffic. Honestly, this looks like value-added crapware you'd see on a late-90's desktop.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
4 Comments
Back to Article
lmcd - Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - link
At this point, the "Killer" brand name seems to have been slaughtered past any viable return to value.Does anyone trust a "Killer" network adapter?
BrokenCrayons - Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - link
I can't think of anyone offhand that's still a believer in the Killer brand. It has a decidedly poor reputation among the few people that are even aware of the brand's history. However, this article and the other one covering Dell's usage of Rivet Networks' work is focused on their peddling software solutions that are supposed to give you better performance by assigning priority to various sorts of traffic leaving the network adapter, an adapter that may not be a Killer-branded product.That software fails to address the fundamental problem of traffic not being given priority by the dozen apathetic routers between your computer and its end destination that belong to various ISPs and consequently fall totally outside of your administrative control. You can split hairs on whether a Skype packet leaves your ethernet adapter before a packet destined to a Gmail server, but that doesn't mean anything once those packets are outside of your local network. Why add extra software and impose and additional burden on your PC to make the first hop a couple nanoseconds quicker when your total latency end-to-end is measured in thousands of milliseconds? It also fails to address a lack of packet priortization on the distant end system. Say you're in a Skype session with a relative and they don't have Killer's latest software and therefore don't prioritize traffic. Honestly, this looks like value-added crapware you'd see on a late-90's desktop.
rtho782 - Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - link
I actively avoid motherboards with "Killer" networking at this point.andychow - Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - link
I also actively avoid motherboards with "killer" hardware. And now a software solution is an even more ridiculous proposition.