Whos seen the newest addition to the enthusiast workshop? Bigfoot Networks' "Killer NIC". Can be seen at http://www.killernic.com.
The funny thing about the killer NIC is that, even though it’s a great card (by spec at least), the 5% processor useage makes me think "overkill". As is typical with "enthusiast"-oriented gear, overkill sells. The funny thing is, this time you've got a network card selling for close to $300. I mean, comon. I've got dual-port Compaq (IBM processor) NICs in all my servers, 3Com NICs in the workstations, 24-port 3Com switch, P3-600Mhz, 256mb router, and without upgrading to gigabit I've got it pretty good. I'd even call what I have overkill, 'specially seing as I'm only on a 6Mbit DSL connection...
Back to the "Killer NIC". Most of us (especially in the USA, even though I'm in Canada) are on 2.5-3.0 Mbit connections right? Even without the ever bottlenecking router in place … that NIC is never going to hit its limit. On the other hand, I would love to see this thing on a fiber connection...
Talking about price, when it comes down to it, the price is right. You're paying for bling, and you're getting bling. You're also paying for a somewhat pricey 400Mhz TI or random x86 processor, 64mb of (oddly enough) DDR RAM, custom PCB, etc etc. The USB is a nice addition, but would any self-respecting "enthusiast" actually use a usb-only highspeed modem? I sure hope not. And the heatsink … I've seen better heatsinks on ECS motherboards, even the original ASUS Sli's LOL. Still, it should be good enough to cool the card, right? Or is that big "K" just too 'hot' to cool anything down? But again I diverge from the subject - just more bling.
I wonder how "bling" it'll be when someone purchases this card, installs it wrong, fries it and the PCI slot… or even better, when this person's friend looks at the dead NIC and asks "what is that?!". The embarassed friend then replies "an advanced networking card". "Oooh" utters the baffled friend, "how much did you pay for it?" "...$279" he replies, too proud to profess that the card is dead. The friend looks at him and replies "$279 on a networking card you f*cking idiot?!"
… yeah, point made.
Taking a look at the way the market is moving over the past year or two, you notice that things don't always progress in the way that I, and I'm sure a lot of you think it should. Obviously the dual-core this, and the digital, parallel, and express that all adds up to some fun developments, but are we actually going anywhere with it. Where did Moore go wrong? Funny how something rediculous like a $300 network card gets an oldschool member like myself talking, but this is just proof of how a market once full of innovation lost respect, but gained a buck. Wonder how many people are actually going to be buying that NIC, thinking about how 'cool' it is, or are going to flame this post. Lets see which way supply and demand really curves.
The funny thing about the killer NIC is that, even though it’s a great card (by spec at least), the 5% processor useage makes me think "overkill". As is typical with "enthusiast"-oriented gear, overkill sells. The funny thing is, this time you've got a network card selling for close to $300. I mean, comon. I've got dual-port Compaq (IBM processor) NICs in all my servers, 3Com NICs in the workstations, 24-port 3Com switch, P3-600Mhz, 256mb router, and without upgrading to gigabit I've got it pretty good. I'd even call what I have overkill, 'specially seing as I'm only on a 6Mbit DSL connection...
Back to the "Killer NIC". Most of us (especially in the USA, even though I'm in Canada) are on 2.5-3.0 Mbit connections right? Even without the ever bottlenecking router in place … that NIC is never going to hit its limit. On the other hand, I would love to see this thing on a fiber connection...
Talking about price, when it comes down to it, the price is right. You're paying for bling, and you're getting bling. You're also paying for a somewhat pricey 400Mhz TI or random x86 processor, 64mb of (oddly enough) DDR RAM, custom PCB, etc etc. The USB is a nice addition, but would any self-respecting "enthusiast" actually use a usb-only highspeed modem? I sure hope not. And the heatsink … I've seen better heatsinks on ECS motherboards, even the original ASUS Sli's LOL. Still, it should be good enough to cool the card, right? Or is that big "K" just too 'hot' to cool anything down? But again I diverge from the subject - just more bling.
I wonder how "bling" it'll be when someone purchases this card, installs it wrong, fries it and the PCI slot… or even better, when this person's friend looks at the dead NIC and asks "what is that?!". The embarassed friend then replies "an advanced networking card". "Oooh" utters the baffled friend, "how much did you pay for it?" "...$279" he replies, too proud to profess that the card is dead. The friend looks at him and replies "$279 on a networking card you f*cking idiot?!"
… yeah, point made.
Taking a look at the way the market is moving over the past year or two, you notice that things don't always progress in the way that I, and I'm sure a lot of you think it should. Obviously the dual-core this, and the digital, parallel, and express that all adds up to some fun developments, but are we actually going anywhere with it. Where did Moore go wrong? Funny how something rediculous like a $300 network card gets an oldschool member like myself talking, but this is just proof of how a market once full of innovation lost respect, but gained a buck. Wonder how many people are actually going to be buying that NIC, thinking about how 'cool' it is, or are going to flame this post. Lets see which way supply and demand really curves.
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