nic system performace increase?

[deimos1090]

Does a dedicated NIC card actually improve system performance noticably for:

gaming on a standalone computer?

gaming on a LAN/WAN computer?

I cant seem to find any documentation on the subject, and with the insane price of some NICs it has really made me wonder...

P4 3.4GHz
Intel D915PBL mobo
2GB RAM
ATI Radeon X600 Pro
10k WD raptor 73GB (OS)
200GB 7.2k seagate + 300GB 7.2k maxtor (storage)
Soundblaster Live! CT4830

 

[CrazeD]

Nope.

It doesn't take much CPU power to handle ethernet, unless you have a terrible, terrible CPU.

Also, keep in mind that a NIC is a NIC. There are different kinds as far as how many ethernet plug-ins there are, or what speed it runs at, but other than that they are the same, and they only cost like 5 - 10$.

I assume you were probably referring to those Killer NIC's when you said "insane price". Please don't fall for that BS company. Their NICs may look sweet, but they perform no different than any piece of crap that you can buy at Radio Shack.

 

[Sui]

I'm actually unsure of the real gains of a nic. I used to see around 25-30 ping in games and now with a new location but same service I'm seeing 35+ and more spikes then when I had a nic at my last computer/home. I don't know if this is because of location, or the nic, or the house wiring, or the hours of time tweaking the old machine. I know I get about the same download rates so I don't reallt know.

That killer nic say they get a lower ping and more stable ping as well. This was tested somewhere and they found their claims to be true, so it all depends on how much you play games, if your a clan player, ect and so on.

 

[xwgpx55]

I think that it is too expensive, and the ends do not justify the means.

 

[Sui]

I think it does, but only if your a serious gamer. Think about how many things can you do to lower your ping, because I can only think of 3 or 4, yet I can think of 10 different things to increase FPS.

 

[deimos1090]

so youre saying that a dedicated NIC does improve fps?

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

a dedicated NIC won't give any FPS improvements on new(er) hardware.

Also, Killer NIC, or whatever is a scam. it is PHYSICALLY impossible for a NIC to improve your ping times as drastically as they claim. Ping times have to do with many factors WAY BEYOND the end user's control.... such as, amount of traffic on links traversed, pieces of hardware the packet has to travel through, etc. etc.


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