[SOLVED] Do I need to keep Killer Networking Installed?

[TYTSoldier]

I have a Gigabyte LGA1151 Intel Z170 ATX DDR4 Motherboards GA-Z170X-Gaming 3. It has Killer™ E2200 Gaming Networks as one of its features. I kept having connection issues on Call of Duty Black Ops 4, and I saw one of the recommendations was to update the killer driver. I noticed that there was a new software suite with a driver update that did not auto install. So I uninstalled my old Killer Software and replaced it with the new Killer Suite and then I noticed that my Internet connection kept connecting and disconnecting. I decided to then uninstall it completely and then it did the same thing. About 30 minutes later, I tried using the Internet without Killer installed and it appears to be working fine, but I haven't tested it much. I remember when I initially assembled the PC it required the driver to be installed for Ethernet to work, but now it seems like it works with it uninstalled. Will I be missing anything by having it uninstalled or have slower download speeds?

I also tried going back to my old settings with the older driver with system restore, but I got an error so I'm sticking with no Killer software for now. Could a system restore error on Windows 10 harm my computer or will it just revert to how it was before I attempted system restore.

I guess it also could have been issues with my home Internet. Sometimes there will be frequent disconnects for no apparent reason thanks to the ISP providing the bare minimum service.

 

[nigelivey]

Completely uninstall and delete driver and utility package. Restart and install the killer driver only. Failing that, swap out for an Intel NIC!!!! (I couldnt live with killer in the end, way too flakey).

 

[bill001g]

Lets say the killer software worked perfectly. What can it possibly do of any value. It can not affect any traffic outside the machine so if another device in your house is hogging the internet connection it can do nothing. It can do nothing about the path to the servers or the other traffic in the internet.

All it can do is affect traffic between programs on your own machine. That means if you are doing something really stupid like seeding torrent files while you are playing your game it can prioritize the game traffic. It is much simpler if you want performance on a game to just not do stupid stuff and dedicate the machine to the game.

They ran out of features to put on the box so now they make some up to make you think you need to buy a new motherboard.

 

[TYTSoldier]

Completely uninstall and delete driver and utility package. Restart and install the killer driver only. Failing that, swap out for an Intel NIC!!!! (I couldnt live with killer in the end, way too flakey).

I was looking at Killer's website, trying to see if the latest driver is for the E2200 and couldn't find that information.I guess it doesn't list the E2200 in the driver download section, so maybe I do have the latest since that what it says in device manager when I try to update from there? I also noticed that in power managament "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is checked." Should I disable that? Wake computer is also enabled.

If I go with an NIC, is the Intel EXPI9301CTBLK Network Adapter 10/100/1000Mbps PCI-Express 1 x RJ45 a good card? I'm not really sure what Ethernet adapter cards are good.

 

[bill001g]

They change their site around from time to time. There should still be drivers for the 2200. They may have a single driver for both chipsets. There is a different page that has only the drive without the killer suite.

It is pretty stable once you get rid of the killer features. I forget I think it is based on a realtek chip and the primary difference is the drivers....been a while after getting burned it is the first thing I check on a motherboard. If it has killer I immediately put it on the list of not to buy

 

[TYTSoldier]

They change their site around from time to time. There should still be drivers for the 2200. They may have a single driver for both chipsets. There is a different page that has only the drive without the killer suite.

It is pretty stable once you get rid of the killer features. I forget I think it is based on a realtek chip and the primary difference is the drivers....been a while after getting burned it is the first thing I check on a motherboard. If it has killer I immediately put it on the list of not to buy

I decided to uninstall the driver and download the newer one (there was only a single driver) from the Killer site. Won't know if it solved the frequent disconnects for awhile, but it's at least working for now. I didn't know anything about their products when I bought the motherboard, but I will avoid them next time I buy a new motherboard. Thanks for your help.