Headset

[Hyper]

I'm a gamer looking to get a pretty nice headset for gaming. Mostly for Counter Strike source.

I've heard that the SteelSound 5H USB's are very nice, which would be great for me, since I have an onboard sound card.

But I've also considered the Razer Barracuda HP-1's, with the AC-1 sound card.
Yes, I have the money to spend, but I only worry about two things:

1. Are the Razer products [particularly the headset] that much better than the SteelSound 5H?

2. If I did get the AC-1, would my computer get lower FPS/and or lag because of it? I'm using a Dell, which is now 5 years old.. a 2.4 GHZ with 512 RAM.

If you can help me out, thanks!

[hat]

I would get the AC-1 if possible. The sound card should boost your performance if anything, since it processes sound and takes some load off the CPU. That is the main reason I have one.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by hat

I would get the AC-1 if possible. The sound card should boost your performance if anything, since it processes sound and takes some load off the CPU. That is the main reason I have one.

Most don't provide much of a boost, if any. Only those with dedicated DSPs provide any type of offloading. But those without don't hurt performance either. In this case, it will be about the same either way, but sound quality will take a huge jump.

That said, I think the money would be better spent on a more substantial upgrade, such as more ram. If you are a gamer, 1GB should really be considered the minimum.

[hat]

I didn't say the difference would be noticeable :P
Still, it's better to have some type of sound card than using onboard, quality and performance wise. Even my old Audigy SE put my Realtek "HD" (yeah right) onboard audio to shame.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by hat

I didn't say the difference would be noticeable :P
Still, it's better to have some type of sound card than using onboard, quality and performance wise. Even my old Audigy SE put my Realtek "HD" (yeah right) onboard audio to shame.

Right, I couldn't agree more. But the OP only has 512MB of ram. It's my opinion that he should address that first, then worry about a sound card.

[ex_reven]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Most don't provide much of a boost, if any. Only those with dedicated DSPs provide any type of offloading. But those without don't hurt performance either. In this case, it will be about the same either way, but sound quality will take a huge jump.

That said, I think the money would be better spent on a more substantial upgrade, such as more ram. If you are a gamer, 1GB should really be considered the minimum.

I agree. Sound isnt very high on my list of priorities.
As long as I can hear, and its clear thats cool for me.

But then again some people go crazy over sound and thats fair enough, I preferred to buy an expensive (good looking IMO ) case.
I agree with Wile E though, if your running games on a Dell you probably have something in there that could do with an upgrade.

Post specs?

[Hyper]

As far as RAM, I agree.. I should have more. But my problem with that is that my motherboard only supports RDRAM. I don't think that I can put a different kind of motherboard into my computer without changing everything. Although, I'm not too sure about it.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Hyper

As far as RAM, I agree.. I should have more. But my problem with that is that my motherboard only supports RDRAM. I don't think that I can put a different kind of motherboard into my computer without changing everything. Although, I'm not too sure about it.

Ewww, RDRAM. Ouch! Maybe hit eBay?

[hat]

If you get another mainboard, your mobo or power supply or both will go up in smoke due to dell's propriatary power supplies. If you can only use RDRAM, you've been shafted up the ass

[Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Hyper

As far as RAM, I agree.. I should have more. But my problem with that is that my motherboard only supports RDRAM. I don't think that I can put a different kind of motherboard into my computer without changing everything. Although, I'm not too sure about it.

What exact model Dell PC do you have? I'm guessing the CPU is a Pentium 4 as well, correct?

And Hat, Dell didn't use propriatary/BTX PSUs back in the day of which I think his Dell is from. I'm guessing it's probably a 300-350watt Dell ATX PSU.

[Wile E]

How about bidding on this? http://cgi.ebay.com/1GB-SAMSUNG-2x-5...QQcmdZViewItem

I'll keep searching to see what I come up with.

[sneekypeet]

Wasnt d44ve sellin some of that RAM?????

[Wile E]

Found a "Buy it now" in an eBay store for $170 on a 2x512MB kit.

http://item.express.ebay.com/NEW-Dim...mdZExpressItem

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Sovereign

What exact model Dell PC do you have? I'm guessing the CPU is a Pentium 4 as well, correct?

And Hat, Dell didn't use propriatary/BTX PSUs back in the day of which I think his Dell is from. I'm guessing it's probably a 300-350watt Dell ATX PSU.

It would be a Dimention 8100 or 8200, iirc. And yes, it's a P4. If his stuff is ATX compatible, a full upgrade might be a good option.

[Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Wile E

Found a "Buy it now" in an eBay store for $170 on a 2x512MB kit.

http://item.express.ebay.com/NEW-Dim...mdZExpressItem

WoW! For that price I'd just recommend getting a new SKT 478 board and a 1GB kit of DDR400.

EDIT * Just seen your reply above and I think you are correct.

[ex_reven]

Originally Posted by hat

If you get another mainboard, your mobo or power supply or both will go up in smoke due to dell's propriatary power supplies. If you can only use RDRAM, you've been shafted up the ass

That made me laugh so hard. Sorry to laugh at your pain lol.
A full upgrade sounds like a decent plan, especially considering the age of your components.
If its a P4 at least you could reuse that.

[Hyper]

Okay, I posted most of the specs that I know to my profile.. if it helps any.

Thanks for helping everyone.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Okay, I posted most of the specs that I know to my profile.. if it helps any.

Thanks for helping everyone.

Are you dead set on the gaming headphones, and how much can you spend on your computer?

[Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Okay, I posted most of the specs that I know to my profile.. if it helps any.

Thanks for helping everyone.

Yeah but what exact model Dell do you have? Thats what is in question atm!?

[Hyper]

Nah, I'm not dead set on the gaming headphones, I just thought they'd be a nice addition.

I'm pretty good with what little FPS I get, so I thought, hell, I might as well get some better sound.

Right now, I have around 400-500 to spend on it.

[Hyper]

Originally Posted by Sovereign

Yeah but what exact model Dell do you have? Thats what is in question atm!?

Like Dimension 8250? That's what I have.

[ex_reven]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Nah, I'm not dead set on the gaming headphones, I just thought they'd be a nice addition.

I'm pretty good with what little FPS I get, so I thought, hell, I might as well get some better sound.

Right now, I have around 400-500 to spend on it.

Wow. Isnt that like, overspending ?
(If its US $)

You could have a whole new computer (excluding Monitor) for about $500Australian. With American cash you could push it even further and get a decent video card. Not to say yours is crap, my mate has one and it plays CS:S fine. CSS is a lovely game .

[Hyper]

Yeah, it's USD. And I meant 400-500 to spend on the computer. Not just headphones.

I wouldn't pay that much for a headset. Haha.

[Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Like Dimension 8250? That's what I have.

OK, i found a decent list of parts that you would normaly find in your particular Dell ---> http://www.shopping.com/xGS-Dell_Dim...kin_id-8001673

It looks like it uses a standard ATX power supply and a smaller ATX or perhaps micro atx motherboard. I'm guessing you could fairly easily upgrade to a normal SKT478 motherboard that supports DDR SDRAM. You could get a decent new board, a 1 or 2 GB DDR400 memory kit, a respectable video card and a nice headset for less than $250-$300 USD!

I definitely wouldn't bother directly upgrading the existing hardware inside that Dell... RDRAM is just waaaay to expensive and far outweighs the performance gain.

[Wile E]

Originally Posted by Hyper

Like Dimension 8250? That's what I have.

Just looked it up. The mobo mounts and power connector are mATX and ATX-P4 respectively, but everything else, like power connectors, front panel connectors, and I believe some sort of spacers, are proprietary. A little modding may be neccesary, unless we can put together a new rig for you, reusing your salvageable parts. (monitor, keyboard/mouse, hard drive, etc.) Choice is yours, really.