Is the Killer K1 worth it?

[Computer_Gamer]

I have heard the killer K1 NIC really improves your online gaming. the question is, does paying 150 dollars for a NIC improve online gaming by a wide margin?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

NO, that thing is a major waste of money. At most you'll see a 5% improvement.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/478/7/

After spending an evening of gaming with and without the Killer NIC and Killer K1 on both our Windows XP Pro and Windows Vista Ultimate test systems it was the unanimously agreed by all that the Killer NIC and Killer K1 is not worth the added $180-$250 cost. The Killer NIC and Killer K1 did reduce our pings and improved frame rates, but by less than 5%. The difference was so small that no one could correctly tell when the Killer NIC was or wasn't installed in our 'blind' taste test, which was rather alarming. If someone is going to spend $180-$250 on something they better be able to see and notice the difference when they game.

Legit Bottom Line: The benchmarks show that the Killer NIC and Killer K1 were able to lower ping times and improve frame rates, but none of our testers could tell when the card was or wasn't installed in our test system.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2105495,00.asp

The issue is not whether or not the Killer NIC K1 works or not. Our testing shows that it does work, but the performance benefits are rather small and inconsistent. Is that worth replacing your free NIC with one that costs $180? Not by our standards. When you compete with something free, you have to offer a substantial, immediately recognizable benefit. The Killer K1 simply doesn't do that. Our testing shows limited benefits, and our subjective opinion is that games don't really feel smoother, more responsive, or less laggy with it.

 

[nevermind1534]

I think it might be good if you have the money and host huge LAN games, or for an older computer, but if you care much about your money, don't get it unless you can easily afford it. They had it in Game Informer when it was new.

 

[Holysky]

his account got disabled quick

i was gonna give +1 Reputation for Gameinformer

 

[Computer Head]

Yeah, that's what happens when you have six accounts.

 

[Neodude1123201]

Nope.

Just get your self a good 1gbps NIC if you already havnt got one.

 

[Holysky]

yea lol i didnt know he had 6 accounts

 

[Cabbs]

I'm gonna go ahead and say no. I'm sure the features it comes with do help, but not enough to justify the price of it.

 

[andrew26]

From my own actual testing there is NO difference in ping between onboard, $13, and $400 cards. I mean, come on! If it improved it that much, someone would steal their idea and make it $10!