How does the Killer Xeno improve voice chat in games?

Short answer: we offload it fully into the card. Longer answer: running Voice Chat inside our NPU has 3 major benefits: 1) we can put Voice Chat packets at priority #2 (just below the game, but above everything else). 2) it reduces CPU cycles and Windows Kernel interrupts & processing time easing system resources and memory footprints dramatically, and 3) it sounds better because we not only bypass the Windows Network stack, but also the Windows AUDIO stack as well... This leads to lower latencies in your voice chat (and less cross-talk and jabber problems).

What other improvements and new features does the Killer Xeno have?

Better throughput, more memory, PCI-E, and easier to use/automatic features like Bandwidth Control are all packaged together with Voice to deliver more value to the gamer at a lower price point. Realize our 1st gen NPU launched at $249.99 and the Xeno Pro is launching at $129.99 with all the new features enabled.

Some might still say that having a network card that costs as much as the Killer Xeno is a waste of money as broadband access gets more widespread and faster. What is your response to this?

I'm sure it is true from some people. If you don't game, don't bit-torrent, don't use Voice Chat, etc., then you don't need our Network Processor. However, if you do any of those things listed (or you are just a tweaking geek like me), you should think consider it. Our card actually works BETTER with more and fatter broadband like FIOS, because the Windows Network stack becomes more of a percentage of the problem... so I think those are probably perfect customers for the Xeno.

How important is it for your product to be made available as an option on new Alienware PCs?

Well Alienware is just an awesome company and a great group of guys to work with. They are well known for being first-to-market with new technologies and innovation. It is really awesome to be able to work with them on the launch of our new Xeno. I would say it is very important for both Alienware and Bigfoot Networks to work together and make sure we are making products that gamers will want and love right out of the box.

Is Bigfoot already starting to develop the next generation of their products or do you have other gaming PC product ideas in the works?

Definitely. We have a full-time dedicated engineering staff always working on next-gen. We try very hard to release new features of existing products Quarterly (or faster), and also are working on a bunch of new products for the future. For example, on Killer Xeno we are already working on the next 2 driver updates which will include at least 1 new feature at each update.

Finally is there anything else you wish to say about the new Killer Xeno card and Bigfoot in general?

I only hope that people will finally get the idea of what Network Processing is really about! Education is a big part of what we are doing (and a personal passion of mine). Realize, Network Processing is NOT about fixing the Internet, or fixing severs in some farm out there you can't control... Network Processing is about letting an NPU handle things it is best at (Networked Applications & Network Packet Processing), your GPU handle what its best at (Graphics Processing), and your CPU do what its best at (General Purpose Processing).

I firmly believe that all gamers and Internet users should have a network processor like the Killer Xeno that can handle all the packet processing, and networked applications which have nothing to do with General purpose processing or graphics. Voice Chat is real-time, as is gaming. BitTorrent or Web Downloads are about making lots of networking connections to aggregate downloads and uploads. A Network Processor can do all these things with room to spare, and not burden the CPU, the GPU, or the user with complex utilities and software. Let the hardware do it!