Golden Arrow Killer Xeno Pro Gaming Network Card Review

Performance Analysis

We tested the Xeno Pro with three popular online games: Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike: Source and World of Warcraft. All games were run at 1,680 x 1,050 with maximum quality settings, using FRAPS to record frame rates.

We also used FRAPS to take 15 screenshots of the net_graph 3 consoles in CSS and TF2 at ten-second intervals to ascertain the ping, but we had to gauge the ping in WoW by sight alone. We tested the Xeno Pro against an integrated Realtek RTL8111B Gigabit NIC and an Edimax EW-7727In wireless card.

We played Team Fortress 2 on a constantly full 37-slot server, and found that the Xeno Pro provided roughly the same performance as the integrated NIC. The Xeno Pro managed a ping of 49ms, while the on-board NIC provided a slightly slower 51ms and the wireless card was 3ms slower again.


The Xeno Pro delivered the lowest frame rates of the three NICs, though, with a minimum of 36fps compared to the 39fps minimum of the wireless card and the 42fps minimum of the on-board NIC. The average frame rate with the Killer Xeno installed was 5-6fps slower than with the other two cards too.

In Counter Strike: Source, we entered a 40-slot server and ran the same routes across the map. The wireless card achieved the highest ping at 47ms, but the other NICs were only 1ms quicker. Frame rates were lower with the Xeno Pro, with a minimum of 44fps, while the on-board and wireless managed minimums of 49fps and 47fps respectively. The average frame rate with the Killer Xeno was also slower than with either of the other NICs, though only by 2-3fps.

In World of Warcraft, the Xeno Pro managed an average ping of 118ms, while the on-board NIC was slightly slower at 122ms and the wireless card slower again at 123ms. Frame rates, however, were much the same for the three NICs. We saw a minimum of 83fps with the Killer Xeno installed and 81fps with the other two cards, while the average frame rate with the Xeno Pro installed was 3fps faster than with the others at 103fps.


The Xeno Pro didn't even help when it came to online gaming while bit-torrenting. Using µTorrent's own throttling options and the onboard NIC of our motherboard we managed the same frame rates and a ping of 100ms as with the Xeno Pro. We even used µTorrent throttling on the Xeno Pro and got a minimum frame rate of 48fps and a ping of 80ms.

This is just the nature of the internet and there are simply too many variables taking place to get accurate results. But a common conclusion surfaces again. Performance was very similar no matter what device we used to connect to the internet. And let’s not overlook that the ping increases here suggest that if you are a serious about gaming online, don’t run torrents, unless you want to get kicked from servers, that is.

Conclusion

We were fans of the original Killer NIC but its lustre has worn off – there isn't a notable performance difference between it and generic on-board NICs this time, thanks to improvements in Windows. This is obviously a problem, as the two network controllers we tested the Xeno Pro against have more tangible benefits – the wireless card gives us a neater house, and the on-board NIC was free with our motherboard.

Even the hardware firewall and QoS features of the Xeno Pro are largely pointless, as these are now usually built into your router, and this will serve all the PCs in your home rather than just one PC. The Xeno Pro is only worth buying if you really can notice the difference between a ping of 40ms and 43ms – in which case, we suspect that you’re actually a Terminator in disguise.

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Score Guide