• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Advice on a gaming headset

Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
48 (0.01/day)
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro Intel P67 (REV B3)
Cooling Corsair Memory Cooling Hydro Series H60
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz RipjawsX
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti 950MHz 1GB X2
Storage Intel X25-M Gen2 Mainstream 80GB, 500GB Samsung SATAII 16MB, WD Raptor
Display(s) Samsung 22"
Case Corsair 600T
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Xense Sound Card
Power Supply Corsair 850W Corsair Modular PSU
Software Windows 7 64bit
I've never used a headset in games before, but I've been playing a lot of left 4 dead and just brought arma II and mic would be really useful. ATM I use my digital Z-5500s with a creative X-FI, but the X-FI uses a flexi jack so I can't use a mic and digital out at the same time. Hence the headphones.

I have no idea which one though. I've read a few reviews but can't really decide on how much I need to spend. Are 5.1 headphones a gimmick?

I want decent sound quality, a mic for online games and fairly good build quality. They also need to work on Vista 64bit.

These are the ones I've looked at so far. But any advice on other models would be greatly appreciated!

Sennheiser PC160
http://reviews.cnet.com/headsets/sennheiser-pc160/4505-13831_7-31511105.html

Turtle Beach Ear Force HPA-2 5.1
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/743/2

Razer Carcharias PC Headset - These strike me as really expensive, I guess ur paying for the razer name!
http://reviews.cnet.com/headsets/razer-carcharias-pc-headset/4505-13831_7-33490400.html
 
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
2,894 (0.50/day)
Location
South Carolina
System Name KILLER
Processor Intel Core i7 4790K
Motherboard MSI Z87 G45 Gaming
Cooling Water Cooling
Memory 2x8GB Gskill 2400mhz
Video Card(s) EVGA GTX 980
Storage SSD Samsung 500GB
Display(s) 24" Asus 144hz
Case Cooler Master HAF
Audio Device(s) X-Fi Platinum
Power Supply Antec 1200 Watt Modular
Software Windows 10 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores 3DMark Vantage 51342
Joined
May 12, 2009
Messages
5,196 (0.96/day)
System Name Dust Collector
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Motherboard Asus B550I Aorus Pro WiFi AX
Cooling Alpenfohn Black Ridge V2 w/ Noctua NF-A9x14
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB DDR4 3200MHz/CL16
Video Card(s) Power Color Red Dragon RX 5700 XT
Storage Samsung EVO+ 500GB NVMe
Display(s) Dell S2721DGF
Case Dan Case A4
Power Supply Corsair SF600 Platinum
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Logitech G613
You can always grab the PC151 for the same audio quality and $20 less. The 161 is exactly the same with larger earcups that still rest on your ears.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
8,185 (1.36/day)
Processor Intel i9 9900K @5GHz w/ Corsair H150i Pro CPU AiO w/Corsair HD120 RBG fan
Motherboard Asus Z390 Maximus XI Code
Cooling 6x120mm Corsair HD120 RBG fans
Memory Corsair Vengeance RBG 2x8GB 3600MHz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080Ti STRIX OC
Storage Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB , 970 EVO 1TB, Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, 10TB Synology DS1621+ RAID5
Display(s) Corsair Xeneon 32" 32UHD144 4K
Case Corsair 570x RBG Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Corsair Virtuoso XT Wireless RGB
Power Supply Corsair HX850w Platinum Series
Mouse Logitech G604s
Keyboard Corsair K70 Rapidfire
Software Windows 11 x64 Professional
Benchmark Scores Firestrike - 23520 Heaven - 3670
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
5,052 (0.80/day)
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Processor AMD FX 8320 @ 4GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 rev1
Cooling Corsair H70
Memory 4 x 4GB DDR3 Ripjawz 1600Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire Vapor-X AMD R9 280X
Storage 1 x 500GB Samsung Evo 850, 1 x 500GB Vrap Data Drive, 3 x 2TB Seagate, 1 x 1TB Samsung F1
Display(s) 3 x DGM IPS-2402WDH
Case Coolermaster HAF X
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Coolermaster 1000W Silent Pro M
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Personally, I hate headsets, just much prefer my speakers.

Seen as you are really only doing this for a mic might I make another suggestion?

A bluetooth mic? That's what I use, I get 6 hours of use out of it before a charge, and it's fully charged in just under an hour.

That's what I would personally do, especially with a set of speakers as good as those you have.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
8,185 (1.36/day)
Processor Intel i9 9900K @5GHz w/ Corsair H150i Pro CPU AiO w/Corsair HD120 RBG fan
Motherboard Asus Z390 Maximus XI Code
Cooling 6x120mm Corsair HD120 RBG fans
Memory Corsair Vengeance RBG 2x8GB 3600MHz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080Ti STRIX OC
Storage Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB , 970 EVO 1TB, Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, 10TB Synology DS1621+ RAID5
Display(s) Corsair Xeneon 32" 32UHD144 4K
Case Corsair 570x RBG Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Corsair Virtuoso XT Wireless RGB
Power Supply Corsair HX850w Platinum Series
Mouse Logitech G604s
Keyboard Corsair K70 Rapidfire
Software Windows 11 x64 Professional
Benchmark Scores Firestrike - 23520 Heaven - 3670
IMO, speakers just make the household a pain in the ass cause all you can hear are explosions. Can get to people. :)
 
Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
5,052 (0.80/day)
Location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Processor AMD FX 8320 @ 4GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5 rev1
Cooling Corsair H70
Memory 4 x 4GB DDR3 Ripjawz 1600Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire Vapor-X AMD R9 280X
Storage 1 x 500GB Samsung Evo 850, 1 x 500GB Vrap Data Drive, 3 x 2TB Seagate, 1 x 1TB Samsung F1
Display(s) 3 x DGM IPS-2402WDH
Case Coolermaster HAF X
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Coolermaster 1000W Silent Pro M
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
IMO, speakers just make the household a pain in the ass cause all you can hear are explosions. Can get to people. :)

2 things, don't put your speakers on full blast, and kick your housemates out :p
 
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
1,177 (0.20/day)
System Name KOV
Processor AMD 5900x
Motherboard Asus Crosshair Hero VIII
Cooling H100i Cappellix White
Memory Corsair 3600kHz 32GB
Video Card(s) RX 7900XT
Storage Samsung 970 evo 500gb, Corsair 500gb ssd, 500GB 840 pro & 1TB samsung 980pro. M2.SSD 960 evo 250GB
Display(s) ASUS TUF Gaming VG32VQ1B 165mhz, Dell S2721DGFA 27 Inch QHD 165mhz
Case Corsair 680x
Audio Device(s) ON Board and Hyper X cloud flight wireless headset and Bose speakers
Power Supply AX1200i Corsair
Mouse Logitech G502x plus lightspeed
Keyboard Logitech G915 TKL lightspeed and G13 gamepad
Software windows 11
I have tried a whole heap of headphones but have finally settled with the logitech G35 which is a 7.1 surround and does not need to use a sound card. It has its own drivers and plus into a the USB port.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
8,185 (1.36/day)
Processor Intel i9 9900K @5GHz w/ Corsair H150i Pro CPU AiO w/Corsair HD120 RBG fan
Motherboard Asus Z390 Maximus XI Code
Cooling 6x120mm Corsair HD120 RBG fans
Memory Corsair Vengeance RBG 2x8GB 3600MHz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080Ti STRIX OC
Storage Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB , 970 EVO 1TB, Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, 10TB Synology DS1621+ RAID5
Display(s) Corsair Xeneon 32" 32UHD144 4K
Case Corsair 570x RBG Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Corsair Virtuoso XT Wireless RGB
Power Supply Corsair HX850w Platinum Series
Mouse Logitech G604s
Keyboard Corsair K70 Rapidfire
Software Windows 11 x64 Professional
Benchmark Scores Firestrike - 23520 Heaven - 3670
Joined
Dec 27, 2007
Messages
8,518 (1.43/day)
Location
Kansas City
System Name The Dove Box Rev 3.0
Processor i7 8700k @ 4.7GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus X APEX
Cooling Custom water loop
Memory 16GB 3600 MHz DDR4
Video Card(s) 2x MSI 780 Ti's in SLI
Storage 500GB Samsung 850 PCIe SSD, 4TB
Display(s) 27" Asus 144Hz
Case Enermax Fulmo GT
Audio Device(s) ON BOARD FTW
Power Supply Corsair 1200W
Keyboard Logitech G510
Software Win 10 64x
I love my Sennheiser eH 150. $40 and nice bass/noise cancellation but no mic.

Just my suggestion. :)
 

Kursah

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 15, 2006
Messages
14,666 (2.30/day)
Location
Missoula, MT, USA
System Name Kursah's Gaming Rig 2018 (2022 Upgrade) - Ryzen+ Edition | Gaming Laptop (Lenovo Legion 5i Pro 2022)
Processor R7 5800X @ Stock | i7 12700H @ Stock
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix X370-F Gaming BIOS 6203| Legion 5i Pro NM-E231
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S Push-Pull + NT-H1 | Stock Cooling
Memory TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32GB (2x16) DDR4 4000 @ 3600 18-20-20-42 1.35v | 32GB DDR5 4800 (2x16)
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 4070 JetStream 12GB | CPU-based Intel Iris XE + RTX 3070 8GB 150W
Storage 4TB SP UD90 NVME, 960GB SATA SSD, 2TB HDD | 1TB Samsung OEM NVME SSD + 4TB Crucial P3 Plus NVME SSD
Display(s) Acer 28" 4K VG280K x2 | 16" 2560x1600 built-in
Case Corsair 600C - Stock Fans on Low | Stock Metal/Plastic
Audio Device(s) Aune T1 mk1 > AKG K553 Pro + JVC HA-RX 700 (Equalizer APO + PeaceUI) | Bluetooth Earbuds (BX29)
Power Supply EVGA 750G2 Modular + APC Back-UPS Pro 1500 | 300W OEM (heavy use) or Lenovo Legion C135W GAN (light)
Mouse Logitech G502 | Logitech M330
Keyboard HyperX Alloy Core RGB | Built in Keyboard (Lenovo laptop KB FTW)
Software Windows 11 Pro x64 | Windows 11 Home x64
I've been using Turtle Beach HPA2's for a long time, sound damn great, have an in-line amp, good mic, good 5.1, good bass, good mids, good hi's, good for gaming, music and movies, they're also good for those that wear glasses too apperently because my fiance has decided they're hers now...leaving me with my older and much cheaper plantronics headset.

I'm actually considering getting a set of JVC HA RX900 headphones, and either snagging a Zalman zmc1 clip-on-cable mic or modding the JVC's to accept the mic boom from the HPA2's (it's got a 3.5mm jack and then about 6" of flex and then the foam covered mic). I love the TB's, but I wanted to try something different this time around, if it doesn't work out, the JVC's have tons of padding and she'll probably like em. Another user here by the name of bumblebee, also highly recommends the Cyber Snipa 5.1 headset, which looks great, has 5.1, runs through USB (where'as the HPA2's only use USB for amp power, and then they use standard 3.5 jacks for sound connections, which works great with onboard and x-fi's that I've tested). There's also the Razer Megalodon 7.1 coming out soon (June 30th), a lot of hype, good looks, and uses 4 speakers per cup like the HPA2's and Cyber Snipa's for 5.1 but can also use them to emulate 7.1 better. IIRC the logitechs have just one speaker per cup, so it's a lot more challenging to get 7.1 emulation...but none-the-less the G35's are nice, but to me not worth the money.

I almost snagged a set of Sennheiser PC-350's, but again, the price didn't justify what I felt I would get. Another reason I wanted to go with headphones and add/mod a mic is getting more sound for my buck...and something that will hopefully match or beat my amazing HPA2's without breaking the bank.

:toast:
 
Joined
Jun 8, 2007
Messages
48 (0.01/day)
Processor Intel Core i7-2600K
Motherboard ASUS P8P67 Pro Intel P67 (REV B3)
Cooling Corsair Memory Cooling Hydro Series H60
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz RipjawsX
Video Card(s) Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 Ti 950MHz 1GB X2
Storage Intel X25-M Gen2 Mainstream 80GB, 500GB Samsung SATAII 16MB, WD Raptor
Display(s) Samsung 22"
Case Corsair 600T
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar Xense Sound Card
Power Supply Corsair 850W Corsair Modular PSU
Software Windows 7 64bit
Personally, I hate headsets, just much prefer my speakers.

Seen as you are really only doing this for a mic might I make another suggestion?

A bluetooth mic?


Cheers, that's got to be worth a go. I didn't really want to use headphones and this will solve this issue, and its cheaper to boot. Now to find a bluetooth mic!!!

Thanks for all the other suggestions. If the bluetooth idea doesn't work out I'll check out your suggestions.
 
Top