Gamers will soon be able to get their hands on a new Wi-Fi module and an Ethernet controller from Killer Wireless, both designed to offer OEMs low-latency I/O options that are optimized for gaming.
Both the Killer Wireless-N 1202 and the Killer E2200 will be announced on Monday. Killer Wireless, part of the Bigfoot Networks team that Qualcomm Atheros acquired last year, focuses on network technology that minimize the latency involved in the network connection.
Both will be available as component to notebook and other OEMs, meaning that Killer declined to quote prices for individual pieces.
One gaming laptop maker will ship the Wireless-N 1202, and another will be shipping the E2200, executives said. A third laptop partner has also committed to using the technology. Bigfoot/Killer technology has been shipping on Alienware PCs since last year.
On the surface, Killer is trying to achieve the same goals as cloud gaming companies like Gaikai, OnLive, and others. But OnLive, according to Sean McCann, a marketing manager for Killer, is more about the upheaval of traditional game distribution business models than the overall latency that's present, he said.
"With that said, Killer technology could absolutely help with that," McCann said. We like to identify latency-sensitive applications and prioritize them."
The Killer E2200 introduces Bluetooth for the first time in a Killer part, pairing its with a 2x2 MIMO module that yields a maximum of 300 Mbits/s of throughput. The 2x2 antennas outperformed "traditional" 3x3 antennas in terms of latency, McCann said.
The average latency? One millisecond, McCann said, versus 10-ms latency on competing devices, with 60-ms spikes.
For the Ethernet part, the record is just one microsecond, McCann said, based on a roundtrip UDP packet.
All of the Killer products ship with the Killer Network Manager, a piece of software that prioritizes certain applications: game data gets top priority, followed by Skype or VOIP apps, then streaming video like Hulu or Netflix.
For more from Mark, follow him on Twitter @MarkHachman.
