EVGA rolls out first Killer Xenon network card

Bigfoot Networks has teamed up with EVGA to release the first Killer Xenon Pro network cards. The card features a 400MHz network processing unit (NPU) and 128MB DDR2 memory, it promises to reduce lag in games. The firms claim gamers can see a 10-20 percent increase in frame rate during intense action, but I'd take that with a grain of salt. More info can be found at EVGA. EVGA lists the Killer Xeno Pro for $129.99, which is pretty expensive considering the rather limited functionality of this card.

EVGA Corporation, the leading-edge 3D NVIDIA graphics cards and motherboard manufacturer, today announced a partnership with Bigfoot Networks, to release the EVGA Killer Xeno™ Pro. This new product comes with more memory, an upgraded network processing unit (NPU), and integrated audio for hardware-accelerated voice-chat, all designed to bring gamers the ultimate online experience. EVGA is Bigfoot's first exclusive third party AIB partner to license Killer Xeno and distributed under the EVGA brand.

"We are extremely excited to partner with EVGA to deliver the Killer Xeno Pro to gamers across the globe," said Michael Howse, Bigfoot Networks CEO & President. "The EVGA Killer Xeno Pro using Bigfoot technology delivers the absolute best online experience, for this generation and next generation games."

"EVGA is excited to be offering this new technology to the online gamers," said Andrew Han, president and CEO, EVGA. "This new product improves the online experience and fits in perfectly with the high performance products that EVGA offers."

The Killer Xeno Pro delivers the ultimate online gaming experience, decreasing latency and offering better framerates, thus enabling smoother gameplay. Key features of the Killer Xeno Pro include:

• PCI-E interface: provides for higher throughput.
• Killer Xeno NPU: dedicated smart packet processor for all network operations, ensures the delivery of time sensitive data like game control and VoIP.
• Plug and Play compatibility with all games.
• Windows network stack bypass: provides for direct to game interrupts.
• Integrated audio chip: offloads VoIP operations to Killer Xeno Pro NPU for '"hiccup-free" voice communications while gaming.
• 128MB on board RAM: enables applications such as Firewall, VoIP chat and bandwidth control to run on the card simultaneously with no system performance degradation.
• Firewall: Stops intruders with zero gaming performance impact. Based on robust Linux iptable implementation.
• Bandwidth control: Prioritize network traffic for each application by setting bandwidth priorities and max/min limits through a simple interface.