MSI has just revealed that they will be hosting a press event at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show were they'll be sharing the stage with Bigfoot Networks. The latter is responsible for creating the Killer NIC card, a dedicated gaming NIC that's said to reduce latency and boost networked gameplay over standard onboard controllers. We're not sure what to expect at the event but for now all they're saying is that the "Killer 2100 gaming network card is a perfect complement to the MSI Big Bang family of mainboard solutions that will give gamers a competitive edge in online play."
It may be that they are planning to bundle a Killer 2100 card with Big Bang motherboards, or perhaps embedding the technology on certain boards. The latter doesn't seem too far-fetched considering the Killer 2100 has already been married with a graphics card – the Killer HD 5770 from VisionTek. Pairing the technology with a gaming oriented motherboard to smooth out online play makes much more sense than the VisionTek offering in our opinion, as you are less likely to replace the board on a future upgrade compared a year-old mainstream graphics card.
We'll have to wait and see what exactly will be revealed at the show and if the pairing – in whatever form it takes – will be worth the investment. A standalone PCIe Killer 2100 card currently goes for about $80 on Amazon.