MSI Z87M Gaming Motherboard Review

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Killer E2205 NIC Ethernet

The Killer E2205 NIC Ethernet

As stated the BigFoot Killer NPU has been embedded as well. The Bigfoot Killer E2205 network processing unit (NPU) is a dedicated network co-processor that runs at 400Mhz and uses a PCI-E x1 lane. The Killer E2205 embedded game NIC uses dedicated core logic and Bigfoot Networks Game Networking DNA software to classify and accelerate online game traffic on embedded solutions. This expensive NIC will allow you to game online with less lag. Now the Killer E2200 gets traffic from the network, to the game, and back out to the network faster than any other PC network card. But I've always been a bit skeptical about the NIC as we say that lag is created outside your home network, e.g. in-between the router and the destination. The NIC can do very little about that, especially with the excellent Intel and Realtek NICs available these days. The hardware design and next to it the software is really good though; offering you a wide variety of settings and monitoring options.
 


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In an earlier review we did perform some manual tests. Upload performance on our 150/15 MBit/s internet connection for example:

  • Upload 14.45 Mbit/s over Intel NIC
  • Upload 14.97 Mbit/s over Killer NIC
  • Download 147.09 Mbit/s over Intel NIC
  • Download 147.12 Mbit/s over Killer NIC

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Ping times then, from the Netherlands towards the USA we are pinging comcast

  • ~100ms on the Intel NIC
  • ~100ms on the Killer NIC

So we can't see the performance benefit on our end but it really is one of the best NICs available on the market, and here you got it integrated into the motherboard, that is a huge plus. So yes admittedly, it is a lovely solution and the software suite is just grand AND you can shape network traffic on your PC and monitor it which is just great stuff. Below a couple of screenshots from the software suite. 

The screenshots are an indication of what you may expect software suite wise:

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