Home | Forums | Article Search | Subscribe & Shop | Contact Us | Log Out VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Email This Print This View My Personal Library Heavy Gear January 2010 • Vol.10 Issue 1 Page(s) 28 in print issue Add To My Personal Library VisionTek Killer Xeno Pro Killer Xeno Pro $104.99 VisionTek www.visiontek.com CPU Rating: 3 Specs: Speeds: 10/100/1000Mbps; Network Processing Unit clock speed: 400MHz; Memory: 128MB DDR-266; Interface: PCI-E x1; Ports: RJ-45, USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio Test System Specs: Processor: 2.66GHz Intel Core i7-920; Motherboard: MSI X58M MS-7593 v1.1; GPU: Evga GeForce GTX 295; Memory: 6GB OCZ DDR3-1600; Hard drive: 300GB WDC; 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD; Operating System: Windows Vista 64-bit With the help of Bigfoot Networks’ technology, VisionTek is tackling gaming network performance with the Killer Xeno Pro network card. The Killer Xeno works by routing all game traffic through the card, rather than the Windows network stack on the CPU, theoretically speeding up performance by 40% and increasing the frame rate by 27%, according to VisionTek. We tested the Killer Xeno by monitoring the frame rate and latency in Team Fortress 2 and World of Warcraft. We compared averages between our system’s onboard Realtek 8111C PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Adapter and the Killer Xeno using Fraps and also the PerfMon add-on for WoW. In our TF2 tests, the Killer Xeno came out ahead in terms of frames per second, averaging 202fps, while the integrated card averaged 135fps. VisionTek asserts that the Killer Xeno shows the most improvement in WoW, so we spent some time comparing scores while competing in Alterac Valley, a 40v40 battleground. We attempted to create as similar a test experience as possible for each network card by running the same battleground back-to-back. Our integrated card averaged 144fps and held a steady latency of 235ms. With the Killer Xeno, our scores improved slightly, averaging 164fps and a latency of 215ms. Even though this translates to a nearly 10% improvement in latency, there wasn’t a significant difference to the feel of actual gameplay. VisionTek’s Killer Xeno is available on Newegg.com for roughly $100. Although it functioned as promised, the price tag seems a little hefty for the small performance boost. However, if you still have a little Christmas cash lying around and are vying for the ultimate gaming experience, the Killer Xeno Pro can get you a little closer. by Kris Glaser Brambila  User Reviews Be the first to write a review of this product Want more information about a topic you found of interest while reading this article? Type a word or phrase that identifies the topic and click "Search" to find relevant articles from within our editorial database. Enter A Subject (key words or a phrase): ALL Words (‘digital’ AND ‘photography’) ANY Words (‘digital’ OR ‘photography’) Exact Match ('digital photography'- all words MUST appear together) Home      Copyright & Legal Information      Privacy Policy      Site Map      Contact Us Copyright © 2010 Sandhills Publishing Company U.S.A. All rights reserved.