Sennheiser PC360

www.razordogdeals.com $199.95 (Authorized Dealer)

www.amazon.com $218.95 (Purchase through Amazon direct and not through Z Electria as they are not an Authorized Online Dealer hence no warranty)

If you want to hook it up to Xbox, I'd suggest picking up an Astro Mixamp.

Audiophile grade headphones with a built in mic. Way better sound quality than Tritton, Turtle Beach, etc. If you're open to a non-headset, Audio Technica ATH-AD700 plus mic. Personally I hate clip-on mics. A lot of people recommend the Zalman, but it's a pretty bad mic for xbox live considering you can't adjust mic input settings. If you mainly PC game, it works just fine, but there's no mute.

Footsteps are a pretty big part of the game, especially if they have a perk that revolves around it.

It seems as though a lot of people use NinjaPro, so if everyone is using it, you really won't hear anything.

Once you hit 80, it's basically a whole new game. There are two routes you can take:

Casual

Join a casual guild. It doesn't require much time and you can get by without having to do much. The main downside is that they're generally not really competant and you won't be able to experience the end game content until it's outdated and you have gear that's at an item level way higher than the raid was intended.

Hardcore

Join a more hardcore guild. The hard part is getting in, as they generally have high requirements of game knowledge, mechanics, achievements, raid experience, etc. Once you get in, you've got to prove yourself and work your way up the ranks just to get a raid spot. Generally, if you don't pull your weight, you will either be subbed, won't get raid invites, or removed from the guild. You're also required to stay on top of game updates, research your class/spec, min/max which requires a lot of grinding, etc. Due to the time requirements it almost becomes a part time job and takes a lot of the fun out of the game. On the bright side, you get to experience all end game content, especially when it's still current, get all of the high end gear, and generally a lot of items/mounts that most players will never see. Nerd raging is very prominant in this choice.

There is an in-between, which is basically a mix of the Casual/Hardcore which I mentioned. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, but it can easily pass that fine line and become more of a chore than anything. I'll have to add that in recent patches, Blizzard has definitely curtailed more toward the casual gamer so end game gear is much easier to obtain than it used to be. 10 Man raids seem to be the focus now as opposed to 25 Man, so finding groups are much easier. Finding a guild with players with good attendance is another hard thing to find.

My 360 Elite red ringed a month ago. I ended up picking up a 4GB Slim as a replacement mainly because it was cheaper but that was a huge mistake. Once I re-downloaded the MW2 map packs, half my hard drive was filled, so I ended up buying the 250GB hard drive as well. I'm going off on a bit of a tangent but the 4GB Slim is not even worth it. I've also known numerous people who's 360 Arcades have red ringed, but their warranties took care of it rather quickly.

My PS3 Slim has yet to bug out on me at all, although it's mainly used for Bluray. Also, I don't know anyone who's PS3 has failed.

I agree with you completely, but for certain people having a headset is way more convenient, plus a lot cheaper in some cases.

You can definitely get a better quality headphone with a Zalman for less than $200, but you're forced to use a wonky Y-Cable. Although it seems as though most people's reactions to Astro's headphones are hit or miss, I have to disagree and say that the Mixamp is one of the best purchases I've made. It's a bit expensive and you end up with a mess of cables, but the new wireless for $99.95 is a pretty good deal. Turtle Beach has their version of the Mixamp that's much cheaper, but from many of the reviews I've read it's not nearly as good, plus you lose game/voice volume adjustments.

Personally, after using my Sennheisers with Zalman for Xbox Live, I want to go back to a headset. Having a boom mic is way more convenient, there's less cable mess, and voice communication is way more consistent. Sennheiser just released the PC360 which is basically a HD555 with a boom mic, but it's slow to make it's way to the US market and is only available online from one dealer for $249.95.

I've got an older XPS with similar specs. Starcraft burned out my old 8800GT, so I was forced to upgrade. I ended up picking up a GTS 250 because I didn't want to spend a lot upgrading an older machine, but it proved to be a huge improvement. Right now I'm running Starcraft 2 at the highest resolution and all graphics on Ultra. The only time I see a FPS dip is when there's an obscene amount of units on screen from 4+ players.

Assassin's Creed

Super Street Fighter

Starcraft

Xbox

Zalman mics are widely recommended for use with stereo headphones. It's a relatively cheap mic as well so even if you don't end up liking it, it's not a big loss.

Keep in mind you'll have to buy this as well if you with a separate mic:

http://www.amazon.com/Headset-Buddy-Adapter-PC35-PH25-Computer/dp/B002D41HKS/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1289010399&sr=1-2

I find that it works pretty well for PC on Skype, Vent, TS since you can adjust the sensitivity, but I hate it for xbox live. People tell me it cuts out every now and then.

[QUOTE="Brian"]

The Astro A30/Mixamp bundle is probably the best bang for your buck setup available.

http://www.astrogaming.com/products/24/A30-Audio-Systems/

The Mixamp simulates 5.1 surround sound and has independent game and voice volume adjustments. It includes everything you need to hook it up to 360/PS3/PC. The A30's have a removable mic, and some other nice features. They're also ok for music, and you can easily use them for portable use since they look relatively normal.

Outside of that there are a lot of other options with headphones but it will easily put you over the $200 mark.

NVIDIATI

I'm sorry if you've had bad experiences with Astro in the past, but keep in mind that audio is highly subjective. Just because you were unhappy with the product doesn't mean that everyone else will. If you can think of any other good suggestions I'd like to hear them.

@TC http://www.mlgpro.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=ac009dacd90743f53a9bc4a43c9c3c5d&f=239

There are numerous review threads for gaming headsets and stereo headphone solutions. Some have link to in depth video reviews.

I don't have any experience with this headset, but Sennheiser is a very reputable audio brand.

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-PC-131-Binaural-Microphone/dp/B000NH4EI4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1288937376&sr=8-4

Jumping up to the $100-150~ mark will dramatically increase sound quality though. Just don't get sucked in, you'll end up spending way more than you originally wanted to like myself. :P