(Part 3) Top products from r/gamingpc

Okay. I have gained all of this knowledge from hours of research. I am not an audiophile, but a rising one. The AD700s are not for those that want pure enjoyment during gameplay. They are airy and do not provide that much bass. These headphones are good for competitive gameplay. i.e. if you you want to hear other players' footsteps and such. Otherwise, no, these are not good headphones for casual gaming.

The antlion modmic has some flawless reviews and each of them glorify it. Adding to that, it is a boom mic, it is easily attachable, easily adjustable, and does not pick up any unwanted sound. This is pretty hard to beat in my books. I have nothing against the zalman zm-mic1 in general, but for gaming it is not up to par with the antlion modmic. If I have yet to find anything better and more convenient than the antlion mic.

The headphones that I am targeting are miles ahead of any headset. The only headsets that I will recommend are the PC 360s or the Beyerdynamic MMX 300s. These are both great headsets, yet are quite expensive if you're on a tight budget. The headphones I am soon to recommend are professional audiophile-approved headphones. They are widely accepted in the audiophile community. Headsets besides the ones I recommended are nothing but a marketing scheme. They advertise 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound, yet they are nothing but gimmicks with crappy drivers. Speakers are much better if you're looking into surround sound. For pc gaming, the closest you can get to in high-end audio quality are these headphones. The microphones are only a necessity if you treat them as one. When you pair these headphones with a decent sound card and/or amp and use Dolby Headphone software, they do wonders.

The Samsons are merely there for those on a tight budget. They are a wonderful set of cans and I have heard great things about them in the audiophile community. If you don't have much money to spend, I suggest you get them.

Burning-in may be a myth but many in the audiophile community see it as truth. The drivers loosen up after a period of time, allowing for more quality sound. Burn-in times vary from headset to headset. With the SR850s, the audio quality is supposed to be outstanding in general and close to godly considering their price range. They are not better than all of the headphones out there. I would call them mid-range headphones. They are however, better than any headSET that I have encountered.

The average person may not notice the difference between a brand new set of cans and one that has burn in time on its belt, yet in some headphones the change is noticeable. They will sound more crisp, clear, and in some cases have more refined bass. This is the case with the SR850s. Burning in for more than 100+ hours is the standard for most headphones, yet as I said before, times vary from headset to headset.

Since this is an enthusiast subreddit, focused on everything extreme, I was assuming that all of you here would want the very best. Audio is a crucial component of pc gaming and I am just telling you that there is a better option than the headsets that many have been glorifying as of late. If you have the money, I happily suggest these headphones: for competitive play: K701/2, Q701, ATH-AD700, DT 990, HD 598, Ultrasone Pro 900, Samson SR850. If you want to look into other headphones, I suggest looking at the link I posted above, as it denotes the best headphones, in order, for competitive gameplay and for enjoyment.

I highly recommend doing some research and finding the best headset for your budget. There are much better alternatives to what is being advertised for gaming. Although companies market these 'gaming headsets' that have outstanding reviews, I can say with utmost confidence, that headphones w/ attachable microphones are most definitely the better choice.

Thanks for reading and I thank you especially for questioning me :)


EDIT: These are not theories. These are facts that are widely accepted by the audiophile community.

Here's my copy/pasted response to this sort of question because it comes up so damn often.

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Get a pair of headphones and a mic.

If you want surround sound with your headphones, go for the Asus Xonar DG($24) as your sound card. It is very inexpensive and offers Dolby Headphone(ie, it allows you to have virtual surround sound on any pair of headphones - certain headphones work better with this than others, check out this thread at Head-Fi for a plethora of headphones reviewed with Dolby Headphone in mind).

As for the microphone, the common choice is the Zalman zm-mic1($9). Another great choice if you want a better microphone is the Antlion ModMic($33).

As for the headphones, this is a very personal thing. Do you want to be able to accurately pinpoint the location of footsteps in first person shooters? Go for something that is reviewed well by Mad Lust Envy in his thread. Good choices would be the Audio Technica ATH-AD700, the AKG K701/K702/Q701, the Sennheiser HD558/HD598. All of these are open headphones, which tend to be better if you want positional accuracy, but if you'd prefer a closed pair, the Beyerdynamic DT770/DT880(partially open) are rather good. Keep in mind that the Beyers and the AKGs should not be used without an external amp. The other ones should be fine to run off the sound card.

If you don't need pristine positional accuracy in first person shooters, you could go for a huge number of different headphones to suit your tastes. Here is a great thread on Head-Fi comparing many different headphones.

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Also,

>USB if possible.

You win all of my why for the day.

I personally own the Sony Playstation Headset. After doing research on wireless headsets, because I need a wireless headset, this one seemed to hit a good price/performance mark. My experience with it has been great. For me it has great sound quality (not an audiophile), good wireless range (20-30ft depending on walls) and strong battery life. Also light on the ears and comfortable even after a few hours. You charge it using micro-usb and has a small dongle that is USB. Working on the PS3 is just a bonus, because I mainly use it on my PC. http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Stereo-Headset-Playstation-3/dp/B0053OLY9O/

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

These are extremely good speakers for pretty much anything. They are also a pretty damn good value. You could probably find them cheaper elsewhere if you shopped around. I have them and love them. Pretty much the next step up is a receiver and speakers (nice ones, not the $30 store brand ones) for a lot more money.

More reviews at newegg

I know you said that you don't want a korean one, but recently I bought a Yamasaki Catleap (perfect pixel), and I gotta admit that it is amazing.

Now, a great local monitor (I really liked it when I saw it) is the Viewsonic VP2365-LED

Definitely get a cheap 3rd party cooler for that CPU my dude. An H7 would do just fine.

Edit: On second thought, Cryorig must be going out of business because the cooler I paid under around $30 is now well over $100. Another great option would be the budget king H212 Evo and step-ups include Noctua's offering or the Scythe Mugen, BeQuiet's, all are great budget coolers.

I realize that you made this a few days ago, however I ordered some of the LED strip lights from Amazon to provide extra lighting above my keyboard and behind my desk. you can order these strip lights in many different colors and splice them as you see fit, or you could just buy the color changing kit found here:

http://www.amazon.com/Changing-LED-Strip-Controller-Ledwholesalers/dp/B0040FJ27S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335810586&sr=8-1

Since it is remote controlled you can apparently choose any color you wish from anywhere in the room. It also has the benefit of being quite cheap, yet seems to have reviewed very well.

I just ordered a single color kit in daylight white to provide a bit of extra desk light. It should be coming in sometime this week. If you have any questions about how easy it is to install message me and I'd be happy to detail my experience to you.

The quality of those Turtle Beaches isn't all that great. My personal recommendation is a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones and a decent mic. The sound quality will be much much better. If you just want cheap, these headphones and a decent mic would be the way to go, though I'm not sure how great they are for gaming. They're amazing for the price though.

If you really want a good gaming headset, pony up a bit more and grab the Sennheiser PC360 or settle for the PC350. The only other one that gets recommended frequently is the Astro A40, but it's because of the Mixamp that comes with it. The headphones are meh, but the amp is solid. Of course, you could get a good DAC/amp like the Fiio E7 or some of the other Fiio DACs and amps.

Get an EVGA with one of these suffixes: -A1, -A2, -A3, -A4, -AR, -AX, -CR, -CX, -DX, -FR, -FX, -SG, -SX. Those models have a limited lifetime warranty.

This one has a 3-year warranty, and it's a pretty good deal.

Here is a nice one with a twin-fan design.

Although, at that price range, I would go with a 6950, with 2 GB of VRAM. It is probably more flexible, will do better on BF3, and will handle multiple monitors.

Depends on your budget, but a Hyper 212 Evo would be a good place to start.

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO - CPU Cooler with 120mm PWM Fan (RR-212E-20PK-R2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XvW2xbCBE3XBV

Also, I can't see the rest of your case, but make sure you have a few intake and exhaust fans to keep the air flow going. I just purchased these:

Arctic F12 - Value pack 120mm Standard Low Noise Case Fan Cooling, 5 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NTUJRHK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_xzW2xbB9CGDNF

I bought a PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset a few days ago and I'm very pleased with it so far. I haven't used the microphone yet, but it's very comfortable and the sound quality is good. It's Windows and Mac OS X compatible, although some of the features only work with a PS3. I bought it specifically for computer use. It charges using a USB Mini cable (not included).

You're probably not going to find what you're looking for on such a budget; however take a look at monoprice maybe one or two of those could be configured to suit your needs.


What you're really looking for is something like Ergotron however at $260 that's probably a lot more than you're willing to spend. What I will say in regards to this stand though, having just bought one: it is worth every penny, the build quality is insane and the freedom of movement/adjustment with the arms is incredible.

There's the Rosewill with reds, WASD also has a selection of all switches, Leopold on elitekeyboards also with several for choice.
Then there's the Coolermaster Storm Quickfire Rapid with reds.

I'd recommend the Filco, but those are definitely expensive.

Ah, so usually there are just cooler differences and the possibility of a BIOS switch? I'm asking because I don't know the difference (apart from stock clocks) between the 7950 XFX DD "Regular" and the XFX DD "Black" versions. Could you help me out in choosing one? The Black edition really pushes my budget, so I'm just wondering if its worth the extra money.

I am also facing a similar decision with video cards. I was thinking of going with the XFX 7950 for $309.99 after rebate especially since I've heard they overclocked so well. Judging from the popular benchmarks at tomshardware it seems like the 7950 is actually faster than the 670 in a variety of tests.

I'm using this microphone but then the 3,5mm jack version of it http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Desktop-Microphone-Black-Silver/dp/B00009EHJV/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348398915&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+microphone+desktop

And the Panasonic HTF 600 is a very good headphone, if you're looking for Bass you can buy a Sony MDR XB 500 or 700.

My case is the Corsair 600Q Quiet Series with Sound Damping material, so with the AIO coolers I don't even hear it at all. I too Have my PC sitting behind my 55" 4K TV in my bedroom... but then I ran Fiber-Optic HDMI Cables to my Living room 55" 4K and my 4K 32" Monitor on my desk (I use a UltraHD HDMI 2.0 1x4 Mirror Powered Auto Scaling, 4K60Hz YUV444 18Gbps, HDR/Dobly Vision Splitter}.

The Logitech G810 keyboard I bought refurbished for $50 and that sits on my desk with the Logitech G602 wireless gaming mouse I got on Amazon for about $30 ... I use the Backlit Logitech K830 keyboard in the bedroom also got refurbished for $50 and I have the $40 Logitech K400 Plus wireless keyboard in the living room because I usually have some lights on while In the living room.

I have AD900's and an ASUS Xonar Essence STX, both upgrades from what you have. I have also owned the Zalman, but to be honest, the audio quality was awful and it never stayed slipped to the cord (thicker than the AD700 cord). I suggest a Logitech Desktop Microphone, which not only alleviates you of another cord running down your side, but can be turned on and off quite easily. The only thing that you need to remember is that when you first plug it in, Windows defaults it to 9% volume, so you have to turn that up.

The 4GB will be useless as the Memory Bus of a 670 can't utilise it, but if you want it there is no reason why not. These are my recommendations, ranked from best to worst:

1: http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-GeForce-GTX-670-DC2T-2GD5-GTX670-DC2T-2GD5/dp/B0081IFO3G/ref=sr_1_41?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345650846&sr=1-41&keywords=GTX+680

2: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Dual-Link-DisplayPort-Graphics-02G-P4-2678-KR/dp/B0083Y6MV6/ref=sr_1_37?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345650846&sr=1-37&keywords=GTX+680

3:http://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-GV-N670OC-2GD-GeForce-Windforce-Graphics/dp/B0080I06WQ/ref=sr_1_34?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345650846&sr=1-34&keywords=GTX+680

But trust me, in terms of nVidia GPU's, Asus rule the market for performance and cooling.

With regards to the price I wouldn't really know but it wouldn't hurt to check eBay and see what the are going for. They sell new for ~$300 so I wouldn't accept anything less than $200 for it, but you could probably get more than that.

Here are the specs:

Type|Item|
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-4820K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler | Corsair H105
Thermal Compound | Prolimatech PK-1 5g Thermal Paste
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 ATX LGA2011 Motherboard
Memory| Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133MT/s C9 4x 4gb
Storage | SAMSUNG 840 EVO 250GB
Storage | SAMSUNG 840 EVO 250GB
Case | Corsair Graphite 760T in White
Power Supply | Corsair RM1000 80+ Gold
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-bit)
Monitor | Asus PB278Q 27" 2560x1440 PLS
Monitor | Asus PB238Q 23.0" Monitor
Keyboard|Filco Ninja Majestouch-2 w/MX browns
Keyboard | Keycool 84 (white body) w/MX black
Keyboard | KBT Pure Pro 60% w/MX blues
Keyboard|KBT Pure 60% w/MX reds and blue LEDs
Keyboard|Leopold FC660M (gray keycaps) w/MX greens
Keyboard| KBT Pure 60% w/MX whites
Mouse | Mionix Naos 5000 Wired Laser Mouse
Video Card| XFX 290 DD Black edition
Video Card| XFX 290 DD Black edition
Headphones| AKG K702
Headphones| Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250Ohm
Headphones | Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250Ohm
Headphone stand| Woo Audio HPS-HB
Headphone stand| Just Mobile Aluminum
Microphone|Samson Meteor Studio Mic
DAC| Schiit Modi
AMP|Schiit Magni
Speakers|JBL LSR305 5-inch Two-Way Pair
Fan| 3x Corsair SP120 Quiet edition PWM
Fan| 3x Corsair AF140 Quiet edition
Router|Netgear AC1750 R6300v2
Modem|Motorola SB6141 DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
Custom Cables|Made by /u/Lavins

Big thanks to Corsair for sponsoring most of this rig.

Here's the review of the case I released a couple of days ago

Just realized the guy responded with the Swift haha. They do make a 27" version. VG278HE

Heres the led strip:
https://www.amazon.com/LEDwholesalers-Color-Changing-2034RGB-R2-3369-3208/dp/B0040FJ27S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482794085&sr=8-2&keywords=ledwholesalers

I used corsair's CUE software to link the colors of my keyboard and mouse to be the same. (K65 lux RGB keyboard, M65 rgb mouse).

The LED strip came with a remote which I use to change the colors and brightness as well as the mode (it has pulsing/breathing mode and a strobe mode). I usually set the color as violet, to match my keyboard, mouse and computer.

Heres my computer: http://imgur.com/a/3o235

Amazon have them in for $650, that's pretty much what I was expecting.

$300 IPS - I've seen something very similar to this done, very nice

http://www.amazon.com/Viewsonic-VP2365-LED-23-Inch-Monitor-Black/dp/B0053YKE72

This is basically the gold standard as far as monitors are concerned. Though the korean monitors share the same panel and are considerably cheaper. If you want to read about them a little check out this

I swear this question comes up everyday. The advice that is always given with regards to headsets is to buy some headphones and a cheap clip on mic. For your price range I would recommend these Sennheiser headphones and this clip on mic.

http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-MMX-300-Premium-Microphone/dp/B001BYMZ5W

The Beyerdynamic MMX-300 is basically the "top tier" of gaming headsets.

It is essentially a Beyerdynamic DT770 audiophile headphone with a mic. You get overcharged out the ass for it, but whatever, it's top tier right?

The PC350 is $148.44 on Amazon here. Similar headset but a closed-back design.

I just got these Klipsch Speakers and I am blown away by them. Figuratively and literally.

Something with aftermarket cooling? ASUS or Gigabyte? In the US, the Gigabyte comes with a factory OC, extra eletrical-power-gizmos, an enormous HS with three really quiet fans, and sells for the same price as a complete stock reference card.

e: Gigabyte at Amazon. ASUS version costs a bit more (OOS) and sources the aftermarket cooler from the same company.

Sennheiser HD201's and whatever cheap clip-on mic you want.

Logitech Illuminated: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illuminated-Ultrathin-Keyboard-Backlighting/dp/B001F51G16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405282184&sr=8-1&keywords=logitech+illuminated+keyboard

this is what i use its very thin plus it has back lighting. I'd say its decently silent, comparable to a laptop keyboard.

This PSU is much higher build quality, I'd consider it if I were you.

For a graphics card in that price range I'd look at this one

That comes very close to a GTX 560 Ti in performance while still saving you some money.

I just purchased one of these. It's a dual monitor mount that clamps onto the desk. The arms are fully adjustable in almost every way possible.

VG278HE 144hz (no 3D kit) $499 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00906HM6K/

VG278H $593 120Hz (w/3D kit) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0063BM5NK/


I have the 120hz version (second batch). I paid maybe $620+ for it. Since I could give a shit about 3D, I wish that I had held out for the 144hz version :/

I don't see why people keep complaining about the shipping.

I bet you would bitch EXTRA hard if it was a $300 screen with $250 shipping, right?

ALL THAT MATTERS is the final cost.

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MC007LL-27-Inch-Cinema-Display/dp/B0043GCBU4/

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-UltraSharp-U2711-27-inch-Widescreen/dp/B0039648BO

http://www.amazon.com/HP-ZR2740w-27-inch-Backlit-Monitor/dp/B005MR4P0W/

The same IPS panel at 60hz, and you say this catleap shipping makes it too expensive?