MSI Bringing "Killer" NIC Tech to MoBos?

By Kevin Parrish
published

MSI and Bigfoot Networks will announce a joint venture next week at CES 2011.

HotHardware acquired a press release from MSI Computer Corp earlier this week that announced an upcoming partnership with Bigfoot Networks. Both companies will be sharing the stage at CES 2011 next week jointly showcasing new computing and PC gaming solutions.

According to the PR-- which is directed to those in the press attending the show-- spectators will see "the benefits a Killer 2100 gaming network card can offer as an upgrade to even an industry-leading motherboard." It's speculated that this comment could be hinting to a new unannounced motherboard with integrated Bigfoot technology.

"We are pleased to be working with MSI," said Michael Howse, CEO of Bigfoot Networks. "The Killer 2100 gaming network card is a perfect complement to the MSI Big Bang family of mainboard solutions that will give gamers a competitive edge in online play."

MSI said that it will be giving away Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100 cards within its prize drawings at the annual MSI Master Overclocking Arena (MOA) Overclockers event, taking place on January 6th during CES 2011. The company also added that it will be teaming up with Bigfoot Networks to pursue a variety of joint marketing programs in 2011 with leading online and retail outlets.

Although adding Bigfoot's Killer 2100 NIC tech to gaming-oriented MSI motherboards seems logical, it's quite possible that the companies will join forces to offer a motherboard/network card bundle. Either way, we'll find out next week during MSI's Press Conference and Technology Showcase event immediately following CES Unveiled on January 4th at Bellini 2006 in The Venetian.

Kevin Parrish
49 Comments Comment from the forums
  • abswindows7
    My next mobo might now be a MSI :)
    Reply
  • christop
    All the review I have read about this nic shows no improvements over the normal one that comes on board. I would guess this will add another 100 bucks to the price also.
    Reply
  • deadlockedworld
    christopAll the review I have read about this nic shows no improvements over the normal one that comes on board. I would guess this will add another 100 bucks to the price also.
    I agree. Is there unbiased proof it does anything useful?
    Reply
  • The big bang mobos already come with pcie sound cards, so bundling a NIC card with it as well wouldnt be that big of a surprise. I would go MSI over Asus for that feature if it does not add any cost.
    Reply
  • Haserath
    Tom's needs to do a review of the newest Killer 2100 card, since they seemed to have improved it over their last gen.

    I would definitely try the card if it had 2 ports with a $60 price tag, but as of now it only has 1 port for $70 at newegg.
    Reply
  • Blessedman
    I think all mobo's should have a built in co-processor that handles nothing but audio and networking tasks.
    Reply
  • jskilnyk
    I don't understand why buying that thing is such a big deal. Spend $30 on an Intel based PCI or PCI-E NIC and it will have just the same performance.
    Reply
  • LLJones
    Does anybody actually do any research before they post a comment? Here is another idea, try owning the product before commenting the usefulness of it. Or at the very least, you've tried the component for a while.

    I have a Killer nic (2007) and it does work. It only dropped my ping by 2ms BUT, there was a definite improvement when all hell breaks loose on the battlefield.

    As for your review

    http://www.kitguru.net/networking/zardon/bigfoot-killer-2100-gaming-network-card-review/

    See you(first) on the battlefield.
    Reply
  • boiler1990
    Couple this with the new Lucid Hydra chip and MSI could have one of the best all-around motherboards for gamers on their hands...
    Reply
  • proxy711
    The killer nic has some cool features like allowing the nic to take over the processing of VOIP and torrent configs but really the every day user isn't going to use that and spending that money would be better spent on other hardware.

    If MSI can add this tech without any added cost that would be great.
    Reply