Gpu vendors intentionally estimate high on power recommendations because they can't possibly know what else your system has in it or if your psu is actually capable of outputting it's rated wattage.
I'd go with the 450 unless you are looking to heavily oc or the price difference is minimal
0
GonmunHe keeps kickin' me inthe dickRegistered Userregular
Gpu vendors intentionally estimate high on power recommendations because they can't possibly know what else your system has in it or if your psu is actually capable of outputting it's rated wattage.
I'd go with the 450 unless you are looking to heavily oc or the price difference is minimal
Awesome! TY for the info guys. It is greatly appreciated.
Well, I guess one last question. It's saying it should be 30 Amps for the 12V. So would multi-rail be out of the question then?
Do you mean the 2 x molex to PCI-E cable adapter? Using them is fine, it's just that it's meant as a kludgey fix, not really a permanent thing. If you don't care what your wiring looks like or you can hide it, stick with what you've got.
Ahh, so there's no specific wrong thing in using it aside from a cosmetic sense?
Correct. They are perfectly capable of carrying the required electricity from the PSU to your GPU.
Alright. Now, if a psu calculator is showing I'm only needing about 406W but manufacturer is saying I need 500W for the GeForce GTX 560ti should I stick with 500W then and not 450W?
gfx card manufacturers always way overstate the wattage you need, mostly to cover for people who have badly designed psu's that don't actually output their stated wattage.
I'd personally stick with the 500, but I always err on the upper end of the range. In case I get a bug up my ass and decide to run dual GPUs or 10 HDDs.
But hopefully Alec can give me a bit more of an idea.
Get the Corsair, it's a decent design, they didn't skimp on parts in the filtering stage, very clean power, and it can actually pull up to 500w safely on it.
The Coolermaster is ok, about the same results as the Corsair, can't pull more than it's stated wattage, runs a little hot near 100% load.
the Antec is junk, old multi 12v rail design, don't even look at it
So I tried searching but figured everyone here could weigh in, rather than making a new thread...
What's a good gaming headset for <$100? I'm not an audiophile, and have a $30 pair of Sennheiser's with no mic. Some say to just get a clip-on boom but I'm not sure where to start with that, or if I'll have to worry about echo or anything. Plus if it's not integrated I feel like having a dangly extra mic/cable could be annoying. A desktop mic would probably present the same problem.
I'm considering something like the Logitech G35 or the Steelseries Siberia v2. I don't really game with headphones though; I use a 5.1 Logitech setup and an XBL wireless headset/adapter. I need something better for the VOIP aspect though, since the headset is shoddy and sometimes I like to do LP's.
you can't OC an i3 (well you can, but it involves things like increasing fsb speeds and has a chance of frying the cpu and your ram), Intel unfortunately doesn't sell an unlocked version of them.
The chips that you can OC are designated with a K.
so the i5-2500k for sandy bridge or the i5-3570k for ivy bridge are the cheapest chips capable of being overclocked easily.
Ah. I remembered the K designation meaning the multiplier was unlocked, or something, but just naturally assumed the i3s were also OCable (safely).
So a 2500k is my best bet, because apparently the only difference between it and the 2600k are HyperThreading, which is only important to me if I'm gonna be doing lots of encoding ...?
If you're running a P67 or Z68 motherboard, yes, go with the 2500K. If you're running a Z77 board, go with the 3570K for full support of PCI-E 3.0.
Hyper-Threading is desirable only for users that do *a lot* of work with heavily threaded applications that are CPU-bound. So basically professional (or close to it) work with video/image editing, 3D modeling, CAD, etc.
So this is from a few pages back, and requires a little bit of context, but...
So apparently I've accrued a lot of rewards points on my credit card. Specifically, I have enough to purchase a second 560 Ti (I can mix and match brands as long as they're both 560 Tis with the same specs, right?), OR an i7 2700k, OR spend $50 on more points and buy a 3770k.
I basically need to know which option (the second 560 Ti, 2700k, or extra cash for the 3770k) will be best specifically for playing WoW at 1920x1080 and "future-proofing" for gaming in general, given that the specs on my current decrepit PC are:
Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB of DDR2
ASUS P5QPro mobo
560 Ti
I know that WoW isn't generally GPU-bound so much as CPU-bound, so I'm leaning towards spending my points on one of the CPUs... but that means I'll have to put down cash to upgrade the GPU at some point soon. The build I've been wishlisting for awhile now includes an i5 3570k, which isn't terrible in comparison to a 2700k or 3770k, afaik -- especially given that I plan to OC it. For the record, here's my current wishlist:
i5 3570k -- $229
Antec P280 case -- $120
ASUS P8Z77 mobo -- $150
8GB (2 x 4GB) G-Skill Ripjaws RAM -- $40
Corsair CWCH60 HSF -- $65
Everything else will be carried over from my current build. Whaddaya think?
EDIT: Actually... is the 2700k a good CPU? No one but Best Buy seems to have it in stock. I originally thought it might've been a typo on the credit card company's website, and they actually meant 2600k.
So I tried searching but figured everyone here could weigh in, rather than making a new thread...
What's a good gaming headset for <$100? I'm not an audiophile, and have a $30 pair of Sennheiser's with no mic. Some say to just get a clip-on boom but I'm not sure where to start with that, or if I'll have to worry about echo or anything. Plus if it's not integrated I feel like having a dangly extra mic/cable could be annoying. A desktop mic would probably present the same problem.
I'm considering something like the Logitech G35 or the Steelseries Siberia v2. I don't really game with headphones though; I use a 5.1 Logitech setup and an XBL wireless headset/adapter. I need something better for the VOIP aspect though, since the headset is shoddy and sometimes I like to do LP's.
Any thoughts?
Seriously a Zalman MC1 mic is all you need. No echo, picks up sound really well, omni directional and has little clips along the length of the cable so you can just clip it to your headphone cable.
I have a $500 sound setup and I use that mic.
If you're still not convinced, the Razer Charcharias is a great set of phones for headsets at that price point. I always add the caveat that YMMV in terms of build quality; I've personally had a lot of dramas with razer products yet a lot of other people have had no issues with things dying.
I really do believe your better off with a dedicated set of 'phones and a clip on mic though
Did you want to upgrade those Senns or are you happy to keep using them?
I'm more than happy with the Senns...the problem is that using a simple X360 headset allows me to enjoy my 5.1 system for game sound and then use the headset for chat. I'd be 100% happy with the system if the mic wasn't awful.
You can do that with a clip on mic though? I'm a bit confused here I think.
The clip on Zalman mic is functionally identical to having the mic attached to the 'phones themselves except it clips to the side of the headphone cable. My mic sits about 6" below my chin and I have no problem with clarity and I use mine for online chatting all the time
you can't OC an i3 (well you can, but it involves things like increasing fsb speeds and has a chance of frying the cpu and your ram), Intel unfortunately doesn't sell an unlocked version of them.
The chips that you can OC are designated with a K.
so the i5-2500k for sandy bridge or the i5-3570k for ivy bridge are the cheapest chips capable of being overclocked easily.
Ah. I remembered the K designation meaning the multiplier was unlocked, or something, but just naturally assumed the i3s were also OCable (safely).
So a 2500k is my best bet, because apparently the only difference between it and the 2600k are HyperThreading, which is only important to me if I'm gonna be doing lots of encoding ...?
If you're running a P67 or Z68 motherboard, yes, go with the 2500K. If you're running a Z77 board, go with the 3570K for full support of PCI-E 3.0.
Hyper-Threading is desirable only for users that do *a lot* of work with heavily threaded applications that are CPU-bound. So basically professional (or close to it) work with video/image editing, 3D modeling, CAD, etc.
So this is from a few pages back, and requires a little bit of context, but...
So apparently I've accrued a lot of rewards points on my credit card. Specifically, I have enough to purchase a second 560 Ti (I can mix and match brands as long as they're both 560 Tis with the same specs, right?), OR an i7 2700k, OR spend $50 on more points and buy a 3770k.
I basically need to know which option (the second 560 Ti, 2700k, or extra cash for the 3770k) will be best specifically for playing WoW at 1920x1080 and "future-proofing" for gaming in general, given that the specs on my current decrepit PC are:
Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB of DDR2
ASUS P5QPro mobo
560 Ti
I know that WoW isn't generally GPU-bound so much as CPU-bound, so I'm leaning towards spending my points on one of the CPUs... but that means I'll have to put down cash to upgrade the GPU at some point soon. The build I've been wishlisting for awhile now includes an i5 3570k, which isn't terrible in comparison to a 2700k or 3770k, afaik -- especially given that I plan to OC it. For the record, here's my current wishlist:
i5 3570k -- $229
Antec P280 case -- $120
ASUS P8Z77 mobo -- $150
8GB (2 x 4GB) G-Skill Ripjaws RAM -- $40
Corsair CWCH60 HSF -- $65
Everything else will be carried over from my current build. Whaddaya think?
EDIT: Actually... is the 2700k a good CPU? No one but Best Buy seems to have it in stock. I originally thought it might've been a typo on the credit card company's website, and they actually meant 2600k.
You have a socket 775 motherboard and any of the CPUs you are considering upgrading to require a socket 1155 motherboard... For a little background info, the 2600K & 2700K are Sandy Bridge processors and the 3570K & 3770K are Ivy Bridge processors. Sandy Bridge is the previous generation microarchitecture, and does not support Thunderbolt or PCI-E 3.0. Ivy bridge is more efficient per clock cycle and uses less power. To be quite frank, a 3570K is more processor than WoW needs or can even effectively utilise.
So I tried searching but figured everyone here could weigh in, rather than making a new thread...
What's a good gaming headset for <$100? I'm not an audiophile, and have a $30 pair of Sennheiser's with no mic. Some say to just get a clip-on boom but I'm not sure where to start with that, or if I'll have to worry about echo or anything. Plus if it's not integrated I feel like having a dangly extra mic/cable could be annoying. A desktop mic would probably present the same problem.
I'm considering something like the Logitech G35 or the Steelseries Siberia v2. I don't really game with headphones though; I use a 5.1 Logitech setup and an XBL wireless headset/adapter. I need something better for the VOIP aspect though, since the headset is shoddy and sometimes I like to do LP's.
Any thoughts?
Seriously a Zalman MC1 mic is all you need. No echo, picks up sound really well, omni directional and has little clips along the length of the cable so you can just clip it to your headphone cable.
I have a $500 sound setup and I use that mic.
If you're still not convinced, the Razer Charcharias is a great set of phones for headsets at that price point. I always add the caveat that YMMV in terms of build quality; I've personally had a lot of dramas with razer products yet a lot of other people have had no issues with things dying.
I really do believe your better off with a dedicated set of 'phones and a clip on mic though
Did you want to upgrade those Senns or are you happy to keep using them?
Would that mic clip to something else, like a shirt? GW2 is finally convincing me to get a mic after almost 15 years of only typing. I don't really want to wear a headset if I don't have to.
So I tried searching but figured everyone here could weigh in, rather than making a new thread...
What's a good gaming headset for <$100? I'm not an audiophile, and have a $30 pair of Sennheiser's with no mic. Some say to just get a clip-on boom but I'm not sure where to start with that, or if I'll have to worry about echo or anything. Plus if it's not integrated I feel like having a dangly extra mic/cable could be annoying. A desktop mic would probably present the same problem.
I'm considering something like the Logitech G35 or the Steelseries Siberia v2. I don't really game with headphones though; I use a 5.1 Logitech setup and an XBL wireless headset/adapter. I need something better for the VOIP aspect though, since the headset is shoddy and sometimes I like to do LP's.
Any thoughts?
Seriously a Zalman MC1 mic is all you need. No echo, picks up sound really well, omni directional and has little clips along the length of the cable so you can just clip it to your headphone cable.
I have a $500 sound setup and I use that mic.
If you're still not convinced, the Razer Charcharias is a great set of phones for headsets at that price point. I always add the caveat that YMMV in terms of build quality; I've personally had a lot of dramas with razer products yet a lot of other people have had no issues with things dying.
I really do believe your better off with a dedicated set of 'phones and a clip on mic though
Did you want to upgrade those Senns or are you happy to keep using them?
Would that mic clip to something else, like a shirt? GW2 is finally convincing me to get a mic after almost 15 years of only typing. I don't really want to wear a headset if I don't have to.
If you have Rock Band (or any USB mic) you could always just plug that mic into your computer and use that. Thats what I ended up doing when my headset died a while back and its worked pretty well. I have it sitting next to my keyboard and I never get complaints about being too loud/quiet/staticy. You could always try using the 360 headset if you have one (but it is kinda uncomfortable and you would need a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter).
I know its not a headset, but you dont have to wear it and it might be free.
Would that mic clip to something else, like a shirt? GW2 is finally convincing me to get a mic after almost 15 years of only typing. I don't really want to wear a headset if I don't have to.
Maybe, but the Zalman is designed to be clipped to a headphone cable and not a shirt because it's more of a slot than a clip. Also, no one likes hearing you talk over your speakers when you're talking. It can create feedback and it makes you sound terrible. I have never heard someone who used a mic and speakers that sounded good or didn't get, with differing levels of politeness from those in vent, asked to put on a pair of headphones and/or turn down their speakers.
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Yeah, you should be on headphones if you're doing voice chat. Even a good unidirectional mic is going to get a fair amount of feedback and background noise from the speakers.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
you can't OC an i3 (well you can, but it involves things like increasing fsb speeds and has a chance of frying the cpu and your ram), Intel unfortunately doesn't sell an unlocked version of them.
The chips that you can OC are designated with a K.
so the i5-2500k for sandy bridge or the i5-3570k for ivy bridge are the cheapest chips capable of being overclocked easily.
Ah. I remembered the K designation meaning the multiplier was unlocked, or something, but just naturally assumed the i3s were also OCable (safely).
So a 2500k is my best bet, because apparently the only difference between it and the 2600k are HyperThreading, which is only important to me if I'm gonna be doing lots of encoding ...?
If you're running a P67 or Z68 motherboard, yes, go with the 2500K. If you're running a Z77 board, go with the 3570K for full support of PCI-E 3.0.
Hyper-Threading is desirable only for users that do *a lot* of work with heavily threaded applications that are CPU-bound. So basically professional (or close to it) work with video/image editing, 3D modeling, CAD, etc.
So this is from a few pages back, and requires a little bit of context, but...
So apparently I've accrued a lot of rewards points on my credit card. Specifically, I have enough to purchase a second 560 Ti (I can mix and match brands as long as they're both 560 Tis with the same specs, right?), OR an i7 2700k, OR spend $50 on more points and buy a 3770k.
I basically need to know which option (the second 560 Ti, 2700k, or extra cash for the 3770k) will be best specifically for playing WoW at 1920x1080 and "future-proofing" for gaming in general, given that the specs on my current decrepit PC are:
Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB of DDR2
ASUS P5QPro mobo
560 Ti
I know that WoW isn't generally GPU-bound so much as CPU-bound, so I'm leaning towards spending my points on one of the CPUs... but that means I'll have to put down cash to upgrade the GPU at some point soon. The build I've been wishlisting for awhile now includes an i5 3570k, which isn't terrible in comparison to a 2700k or 3770k, afaik -- especially given that I plan to OC it. For the record, here's my current wishlist:
i5 3570k -- $229
Antec P280 case -- $120
ASUS P8Z77 mobo -- $150
8GB (2 x 4GB) G-Skill Ripjaws RAM -- $40
Corsair CWCH60 HSF -- $65
Everything else will be carried over from my current build. Whaddaya think?
EDIT: Actually... is the 2700k a good CPU? No one but Best Buy seems to have it in stock. I originally thought it might've been a typo on the credit card company's website, and they actually meant 2600k.
You have a socket 775 motherboard and any of the CPUs you are considering upgrading to require a socket 1155 motherboard... For a little background info, the 2600K & 2700K are Sandy Bridge processors and the 3570K & 3770K are Ivy Bridge processors. Sandy Bridge is the previous generation microarchitecture, and does not support Thunderbolt or PCI-E 3.0. Ivy bridge is more efficient per clock cycle and uses less power. To be quite frank, a 3570K is more processor than WoW needs or can even effectively utilise.
I guess I left out part of the situation.
I understand that I'll be getting a new motherboard (and CPU). The question is whether I want to use the rewards points I have on getting: A) a CPU that I can already get with the points I have; a CPU that would cost me the points + $50; or C) a second 560 Ti and get the 1155 CPU in cash.
All I can do is speak from experience and Ive used my setup with a bunch of random people (lots of PA people and then lots of randos on the internet for raids and stuff) over Vent, Mumble and TeamSpeak and nobody has ever said anything. Which is weird since my mic is kinda close to my speakers.
Im sure its not an ideal solution, but if you dont want to wear a headset and you have a USB mic laying around...
For $8 I'll try that clip-on mic with my Sennheiser's. I can still game with 5.1 speakers when I'm not on VOIP (which is like 75% of the time).
0
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
I just got a check in the mail, and I am ready to go shopping. Anyone sum up the last month worth of posts for an old hardware enthusiast who hasn't kept his hand in the game?
Just looking to get my game on, I don't currently photo-edit or anything like that.
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
0
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
But hopefully Alec can give me a bit more of an idea.
Of those, the Corsair is my preference. Foomy is right in noting that it's a pretty solid supply, despite the fact that they claim a wattage rating that the 12V rating they note doesn't really back up, but for your money I'd spend 5 more bucks and grab an Antec Neo Eco 520W. It comes with 2 PCI-E leads (so you won't need to use an adapter), it's based on a slightly more basic version of the Seasonic platform you'd find in an S12II supply, and it gives you a reasonable but not ridiculous amount of headroom for future changes and upgrades.
Gpu vendors intentionally estimate high on power recommendations because they can't possibly know what else your system has in it or if your psu is actually capable of outputting it's rated wattage.
I'd go with the 450 unless you are looking to heavily oc or the price difference is minimal
Awesome! TY for the info guys. It is greatly appreciated.
Well, I guess one last question. It's saying it should be 30 Amps for the 12V. So would multi-rail be out of the question then?
The main issue that people had with multi-rail units is that, early on, PSU makers didn't really think too hard about what shit should be on what rails, so you'd end up with PSUs that crowded really power hungry stuff, like GPUs, all on one rail and you could trip the OCP on a supply that should actually run your stuff just fine. Since then they've done a better job.
At wattages below roughly 600W, single rail is slightly better, in that you don't have to worry about the rails at all. Above that wattage, though, no single rail supply has OCP (or totally effective OCP at least) so any short circuit that isn't caught is going to run so much current through your shit it isn't even funny.
That's a truly unusual situation, of course, good supplies have short circuit protection that prevents that in 99.9 cases out of 100, but if you are looking at high wattage supplies and want the absolute safest possible supply, Multi-Rail is preferable.
TLDR: With quality, modern supplies there's no practical difference between multi-rail and single rail.
Yeah, upon further thought what I really want is a nicer headset exclusively for Vent.
It's an interesting idea and i wonder if you do go ahead and buy a decent set of phones (which is possible under $100) you might find you enjoy listening to game audio through the 'phones as well as running Vent. You're you-beaut 5.1 speakers would still get use when you're watching video/playing SP games when you don't need VOIP
I like them a lot. They never get uncomfortable, but like any well padded headset they get warm and you have to let your ears dry. They work anywhere in my condo, and have a good battery life. You can also use them plugged in so they can charge in the event you have them on your head all damned day, like I usually do.
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Leather (or faux leather) earcups result in sweaty ears after a while. That's why I prefer headphones like the ones @Tef mentioned that use a velour-type padding. I use Senn PC360s with these earcups and my ears don't get sweaty even after 4+ hours. On the other hand, I'd get the sweaty ear thing on the Logitechs I used a couple years back after like half an hour because of the fauxleather earcups.
Everything looks beautiful when you're young and pretty
0
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
I really prefer not to have absorbent padding on my headphones. Damp ears is a small price to pay for headphones that don't soak up your skin oils.
Seriously, yuck.
Personal preference though.
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
you can't OC an i3 (well you can, but it involves things like increasing fsb speeds and has a chance of frying the cpu and your ram), Intel unfortunately doesn't sell an unlocked version of them.
The chips that you can OC are designated with a K.
so the i5-2500k for sandy bridge or the i5-3570k for ivy bridge are the cheapest chips capable of being overclocked easily.
Ah. I remembered the K designation meaning the multiplier was unlocked, or something, but just naturally assumed the i3s were also OCable (safely).
So a 2500k is my best bet, because apparently the only difference between it and the 2600k are HyperThreading, which is only important to me if I'm gonna be doing lots of encoding ...?
If you're running a P67 or Z68 motherboard, yes, go with the 2500K. If you're running a Z77 board, go with the 3570K for full support of PCI-E 3.0.
Hyper-Threading is desirable only for users that do *a lot* of work with heavily threaded applications that are CPU-bound. So basically professional (or close to it) work with video/image editing, 3D modeling, CAD, etc.
So this is from a few pages back, and requires a little bit of context, but...
So apparently I've accrued a lot of rewards points on my credit card. Specifically, I have enough to purchase a second 560 Ti (I can mix and match brands as long as they're both 560 Tis with the same specs, right?), OR an i7 2700k, OR spend $50 on more points and buy a 3770k.
I basically need to know which option (the second 560 Ti, 2700k, or extra cash for the 3770k) will be best specifically for playing WoW at 1920x1080 and "future-proofing" for gaming in general, given that the specs on my current decrepit PC are:
Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB of DDR2
ASUS P5QPro mobo
560 Ti
I know that WoW isn't generally GPU-bound so much as CPU-bound, so I'm leaning towards spending my points on one of the CPUs... but that means I'll have to put down cash to upgrade the GPU at some point soon. The build I've been wishlisting for awhile now includes an i5 3570k, which isn't terrible in comparison to a 2700k or 3770k, afaik -- especially given that I plan to OC it. For the record, here's my current wishlist:
i5 3570k -- $229
Antec P280 case -- $120
ASUS P8Z77 mobo -- $150
8GB (2 x 4GB) G-Skill Ripjaws RAM -- $40
Corsair CWCH60 HSF -- $65
Everything else will be carried over from my current build. Whaddaya think?
EDIT: Actually... is the 2700k a good CPU? No one but Best Buy seems to have it in stock. I originally thought it might've been a typo on the credit card company's website, and they actually meant 2600k.
You have a socket 775 motherboard and any of the CPUs you are considering upgrading to require a socket 1155 motherboard... For a little background info, the 2600K & 2700K are Sandy Bridge processors and the 3570K & 3770K are Ivy Bridge processors. Sandy Bridge is the previous generation microarchitecture, and does not support Thunderbolt or PCI-E 3.0. Ivy bridge is more efficient per clock cycle and uses less power. To be quite frank, a 3570K is more processor than WoW needs or can even effectively utilise.
I guess I left out part of the situation.
I understand that I'll be getting a new motherboard (and CPU). The question is whether I want to use the rewards points I have on getting: A) a CPU that I can already get with the points I have; a CPU that would cost me the points + $50; or C) a second 560 Ti and get the 1155 CPU in cash.
A 560Ti should pe pretty good for running WoW at 1920x1080, so I'd get a nice 1155 mobo and the 3570K. Later on if you want to upgrade further, ebay your 560 and get a 670. That combo should run anything you throw at it beautifully.
0
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
I have a grand to play with, and I need a new mobo, processor, ram, vid card, and cooling. I have a roomy case, SSD and optical drive I can carry over from the current system. I am not ruling out a setup for two vid cards, but I want to just start with one and add another later if I feel like it. Totally looking to future proof, as I don't see myself spending on primary hardware components again for the next several years, unless I decide on the previously mentioned second vid card.
Someone pimp my ride?
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Posts
I'd go with the 450 unless you are looking to heavily oc or the price difference is minimal
Awesome! TY for the info guys. It is greatly appreciated.
Well, I guess one last question. It's saying it should be 30 Amps for the 12V. So would multi-rail be out of the question then?
gfx card manufacturers always way overstate the wattage you need, mostly to cover for people who have badly designed psu's that don't actually output their stated wattage.
Well, if that's the case then I'm hoping to have narrowed it down to one of these...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=CX430
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045
or possibly...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060
But hopefully Alec can give me a bit more of an idea.
Get the Corsair, it's a decent design, they didn't skimp on parts in the filtering stage, very clean power, and it can actually pull up to 500w safely on it.
The Coolermaster is ok, about the same results as the Corsair, can't pull more than it's stated wattage, runs a little hot near 100% load.
the Antec is junk, old multi 12v rail design, don't even look at it
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/ is the best site on the net if you ever want an excellent breakdown/review of a psu.
Runs a [email protected] and a gtx480 like a champ
The main downside is if I remember right it doesn't have a ton of connectors but that shouldn't be an issue on any system in it's power range
What's a good gaming headset for <$100? I'm not an audiophile, and have a $30 pair of Sennheiser's with no mic. Some say to just get a clip-on boom but I'm not sure where to start with that, or if I'll have to worry about echo or anything. Plus if it's not integrated I feel like having a dangly extra mic/cable could be annoying. A desktop mic would probably present the same problem.
I'm considering something like the Logitech G35 or the Steelseries Siberia v2. I don't really game with headphones though; I use a 5.1 Logitech setup and an XBL wireless headset/adapter. I need something better for the VOIP aspect though, since the headset is shoddy and sometimes I like to do LP's.
Any thoughts?
So this is from a few pages back, and requires a little bit of context, but...
So apparently I've accrued a lot of rewards points on my credit card. Specifically, I have enough to purchase a second 560 Ti (I can mix and match brands as long as they're both 560 Tis with the same specs, right?), OR an i7 2700k, OR spend $50 on more points and buy a 3770k.
I basically need to know which option (the second 560 Ti, 2700k, or extra cash for the 3770k) will be best specifically for playing WoW at 1920x1080 and "future-proofing" for gaming in general, given that the specs on my current decrepit PC are:
- Core 2 Duo E8400
- 4GB of DDR2
- ASUS P5QPro mobo
- 560 Ti
I know that WoW isn't generally GPU-bound so much as CPU-bound, so I'm leaning towards spending my points on one of the CPUs... but that means I'll have to put down cash to upgrade the GPU at some point soon. The build I've been wishlisting for awhile now includes an i5 3570k, which isn't terrible in comparison to a 2700k or 3770k, afaik -- especially given that I plan to OC it. For the record, here's my current wishlist:- i5 3570k -- $229
- Antec P280 case -- $120
- ASUS P8Z77 mobo -- $150
- 8GB (2 x 4GB) G-Skill Ripjaws RAM -- $40
- Corsair CWCH60 HSF -- $65
Everything else will be carried over from my current build. Whaddaya think?EDIT: Actually... is the 2700k a good CPU? No one but Best Buy seems to have it in stock. I originally thought it might've been a typo on the credit card company's website, and they actually meant 2600k.
Seriously a Zalman MC1 mic is all you need. No echo, picks up sound really well, omni directional and has little clips along the length of the cable so you can just clip it to your headphone cable.
I have a $500 sound setup and I use that mic.
If you're still not convinced, the Razer Charcharias is a great set of phones for headsets at that price point. I always add the caveat that YMMV in terms of build quality; I've personally had a lot of dramas with razer products yet a lot of other people have had no issues with things dying.
I really do believe your better off with a dedicated set of 'phones and a clip on mic though
Did you want to upgrade those Senns or are you happy to keep using them?
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The clip on Zalman mic is functionally identical to having the mic attached to the 'phones themselves except it clips to the side of the headphone cable. My mic sits about 6" below my chin and I have no problem with clarity and I use mine for online chatting all the time
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You have a socket 775 motherboard and any of the CPUs you are considering upgrading to require a socket 1155 motherboard... For a little background info, the 2600K & 2700K are Sandy Bridge processors and the 3570K & 3770K are Ivy Bridge processors. Sandy Bridge is the previous generation microarchitecture, and does not support Thunderbolt or PCI-E 3.0. Ivy bridge is more efficient per clock cycle and uses less power. To be quite frank, a 3570K is more processor than WoW needs or can even effectively utilise.
Would that mic clip to something else, like a shirt? GW2 is finally convincing me to get a mic after almost 15 years of only typing. I don't really want to wear a headset if I don't have to.
If you have Rock Band (or any USB mic) you could always just plug that mic into your computer and use that. Thats what I ended up doing when my headset died a while back and its worked pretty well. I have it sitting next to my keyboard and I never get complaints about being too loud/quiet/staticy. You could always try using the 360 headset if you have one (but it is kinda uncomfortable and you would need a 2.5 to 3.5 adapter).
I know its not a headset, but you dont have to wear it and it might be free.
Maybe, but the Zalman is designed to be clipped to a headphone cable and not a shirt because it's more of a slot than a clip. Also, no one likes hearing you talk over your speakers when you're talking. It can create feedback and it makes you sound terrible. I have never heard someone who used a mic and speakers that sounded good or didn't get, with differing levels of politeness from those in vent, asked to put on a pair of headphones and/or turn down their speakers.
I guess I left out part of the situation.
I understand that I'll be getting a new motherboard (and CPU). The question is whether I want to use the rewards points I have on getting: A) a CPU that I can already get with the points I have;
Im sure its not an ideal solution, but if you dont want to wear a headset and you have a USB mic laying around...
You could probably make it work if you kept it away from your speakers though.
Just looking to get my game on, I don't currently photo-edit or anything like that.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
You sound like a man that doesn't own a really great set of headphones.
We can fix that for you.
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Of those, the Corsair is my preference. Foomy is right in noting that it's a pretty solid supply, despite the fact that they claim a wattage rating that the 12V rating they note doesn't really back up, but for your money I'd spend 5 more bucks and grab an Antec Neo Eco 520W. It comes with 2 PCI-E leads (so you won't need to use an adapter), it's based on a slightly more basic version of the Seasonic platform you'd find in an S12II supply, and it gives you a reasonable but not ridiculous amount of headroom for future changes and upgrades.
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The main issue that people had with multi-rail units is that, early on, PSU makers didn't really think too hard about what shit should be on what rails, so you'd end up with PSUs that crowded really power hungry stuff, like GPUs, all on one rail and you could trip the OCP on a supply that should actually run your stuff just fine. Since then they've done a better job.
At wattages below roughly 600W, single rail is slightly better, in that you don't have to worry about the rails at all. Above that wattage, though, no single rail supply has OCP (or totally effective OCP at least) so any short circuit that isn't caught is going to run so much current through your shit it isn't even funny.
That's a truly unusual situation, of course, good supplies have short circuit protection that prevents that in 99.9 cases out of 100, but if you are looking at high wattage supplies and want the absolute safest possible supply, Multi-Rail is preferable.
TLDR: With quality, modern supplies there's no practical difference between multi-rail and single rail.
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If you're going to use speakers for audio with a mic you HAVE to use push to talk and even then, like people have already said, it's less than optimal
It's an interesting idea and i wonder if you do go ahead and buy a decent set of phones (which is possible under $100) you might find you enjoy listening to game audio through the 'phones as well as running Vent. You're you-beaut 5.1 speakers would still get use when you're watching video/playing SP games when you don't need VOIP
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http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming/headsets/wireless-gaming-headset-g930
I like them a lot. They never get uncomfortable, but like any well padded headset they get warm and you have to let your ears dry. They work anywhere in my condo, and have a good battery life. You can also use them plugged in so they can charge in the event you have them on your head all damned day, like I usually do.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
I have worn ath ad700s, charcarias', and senn 598s for 8 hours or so straight and never got sweaty ears
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Seriously, yuck.
Personal preference though.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Personally I think my ears getting all sweaty and gross is worse!
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
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A 560Ti should pe pretty good for running WoW at 1920x1080, so I'd get a nice 1155 mobo and the 3570K. Later on if you want to upgrade further, ebay your 560 and get a 670. That combo should run anything you throw at it beautifully.
Someone pimp my ride?
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $189.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K $229.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL $39.99
EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-3662-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $299.99
$759.96
You can look around and modify brands/features as needed; I threw this together in just a few minutes without really comparing prices or anything.
Or, as always, hit the Falcon Guide. Updated October 10th!