Is there a real difference in wireless performance between killer/non-killer

I was looking a the killer wireless option for a machine, it cost an extra $50. Is there any clear performance comparison that shows what kind of improvement you experience with a killer v. non-killer wireless?

 

AnandTech - Bigfoot enjoy

 

This report/test is completely biased. I've written a piece on it before. I don't remember the details but latencies are ridiculous (too high) and Wi-Fi transfers are also too high (170mbps for Netgear 3500L- right )

Atheros card (sold as Killer) is a very good card indeed but you'll be very disappointed if you expect anything close to what Anandtech described.

To answer an original question- it's not worth extra $50 and any improvements depend not only on a card but on your setup- card, router, modem (if applies) and ISP.

Note: Atheros' drivers for Win 8 are very bad at the moment so if you plan on buying Win 8 machine or upgrading I would advise not to go for anything Atheros based until they solve stability issues.

 

I've seen that. And I agree to somewhat a degree. There still a amount of truth in there. Ryan did a piece of it really quickly.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...1103-vs-intel-6300-speedtest-net-results.html

 

Very informative, I think I'm going to not get the killer for now. Looks more like good marketing than real value for the $

 

What I find interesting is that Intel is for some reason slower during downloads/uploads from the Internet yet i can exceed those values while transferring files over LAN so it's not the matter of it hitting its top speed.

 

my 2 cents (equally posted in a similar thread) - from my own experience:
There are lots of issues with the Killer/Atheros driver issues, resulting in random disconnects and other problems. No driver is fully working yet or without issues, speaking for 1103 card. In addition, it has no real benefit whatsoever, or even performs worse. I would highly recommend to use an Intel card as the support system is just so much better. I am still stuck with my Killer card but will replace it as soon as I get a chance (am travelling) with an Intel card.

 

Ryan's test show that atheros chipset have better signal reception, but it is only one of the many factors when comparing the cards performance.

 

Either way, this conversation will never end if we'll have to look at all the factors. But you have a point indeed