EVGA's latest network card--the Killer Xeno Pro--supposedly accelerates real-time killer Internet gaming utilizing an on-board NPU, 128 MB DDR2 memory and more.
For gamers who spend a good deal of gameplay time online, hardware performance is the most important factor hands down. With a slow CPU, GPU first-person shooters and MMORPGs become a laggy mess, churning out framerates as if the Energizer Bunny was on its last drum beat. When hardware performance falters, the experience becomes annoying, possibly hurting any chances to reign king on the frag list or score that special loot before another party hones in on the goods. Gamers and PC enthusiasts yearning to keep those framerates solid--while also wanting high-quality performance outside PC gaming--look for high-quality hardware without giving price tags a second glance.
EVGA, along with Bigfoot Networks, claim that your network card is a big factor in lag. Onboard network ports on motherboards? They don't cut it says EVGA.
EVGA has put aside its manufacturing apron--stamped with Nvidia's logo--and has teamed up with Bigfoot Networks to produce the EVGA Killer Xeno Pro. This isn't just any network card, but rather offers an on-board network processing unit (NPU), a nice chunk of on-board memory and even integrated audio for hardware-accelerated voice-chat. Ten years ago, who would have thought gamers would need all this extra hardware just for maintaining a blazing fast connection? Not this one, and quite frankly, it's difficult to imagine a PC today without something like the Killer Xeno Pro mounted in the rig's innards.
"We are extremely excited to partner with EVGA to deliver the Killer Xeno Pro to gamers across the globe," said Michael Howse, Bigfoot Networks CEO & President. "The EVGA Killer Xeno Pro using Bigfoot technology delivers the absolute best online experience, for this generation and next generation games."
According to the company, the Killer Xeno Pro uses the PCI-E slot for a higher throughput, decreasing latency. The card also features the Killer Xeno 400 MHz NPU, a dedicated smart packet processor for all network operations. This ensures that time sensitive data--such as game control information, player placement, and VoIP--reaches its destination on time. Moreover, by offloading the VoIP operations onto the integrated audio chip, the overall system's sound device thus doesn't have the extra strain, reducing the "hiccup" factor. The on-board 128 MB 266 MHz DDR2 memory helps with the whole process by taking on the extra burdens called forth by the VoIP, the built-in Linux-based firewall, and the card's Bandwidth Control feature.
"EVGA is excited to be offering this new technology to the online gamers," said Andrew Han, president and CEO, EVGA. "This new product improves the online experience and fits in perfectly with the high performance products that EVGA offers."
EVGA also said that the Killer Xeno Pro is plug and play compatible with all PC games, and even offers a Windows network stack bypass to provide direct-to-game interrupts. The card features a network speed of 10/100/10000 Mbps (Gigabit) and not only provides an RJ-45 Ethernet port, but USB 2.0, and 3.5mm audio input and output jacks. The Killer Xeno Pro certainly looks tasty, however the card is not yet available, and EVGA did not offer any price points at the time of the announcement. Hopefully, that information will be available soon.
