Would it be worth the extra $50 for the Sennheiser HD595 for gaming/music? Or would theHD555do the job just as well? I'm no audiophile by any means, that's why I'm asking.

THGarrett

No. Actually, the only difference in audio between the HD595 and HD555 is the foam that Sennheiser added to the HD555 to intentionally gimp it. They both use the same drivers. You may want to look into the newer versions of the two models with improved drivers, the HD558 and HD598 but I haven't read too much about them yet.

I have used both the HD555 and AD700 and recommend theSennheiser 555headphone paired with anASUS Xonar DG soundcard (Dolby Headphone + built-in headphone "amp"). The AD700 is noticeably better for positioning, but removing the foam on the HD555 should make the gap a little smaller. The AD700 is bass-anemic so some music and sound effects don't sound natural.

[QUOTE="Darth_DuMas"]

Well they can't guarantee enough people will have Blu-Ray for publishers to release on it.

Also apart from better audio I don't think it will bring much advantages to games on the PC.

Considering PC games are compressed it's easy and cheap to just put them an a few DVD9s.

I personally hope optical media on the PC just dies. It's so slow and inflexible compared to the rest of the PCs components now. I just spent over a day having to mess around with CD-RWs and DVD-RWs doing various jobs and I know I could have done those same jobs in a few hours or less without them. They're just cumbersome now.

Plus when it comes to PCs 50GB isn't that impressive anymore. I just got a 1TB WD External HDD for around £50. Quality HDDs are just so cheap now. And USBs abundant.

When it comes to movies and music out side of the PC, I still like optical media.

Bebi_vegeta

I don't think it would bring better audio... most people on PC has a headset... they don't usually have 5.1, never mind 7.1...

You mean cheap 5.1 HTIB setups? Did you know that you can connect a PC to your receiver? :P

Real pc gamers that enjoy games at 1080p+ 60fps etc still need a separate gpu. It's good news though that all the new mainstream computers sold everywhere will be able to handle next gen games at console settings.SamiRDuran

16:9 is not a valid PC gaming aspect ratio. :P

Response time and input lag are usually lower on monitors. And you have the choice to use 16:10 resolution.

Audio Technica AD700 is probably the best you can get for under 100. I used one for a bit but had to return because it was uncomfortable. They are great for competitive gaming because they use an open design (less bass and a larger soundstage) and have unusually low bass (good clarity). If you want more bass, go with a Sennheiser HD555 but you will be making sacrifices in gaming performance. For both suggestions you would need to buy a seperate mic.

Refresh rate has nothing to do with it.Drakan11

It does. Example, say you have a source that outputs a frame every 1/120 of a second. But the TV "refreshes" every 1/60 of a second. If you need to perform an action when an object appears at a certain frame, then the 60 Hz TV will have to wait another 1/120 of a second after the frame is output.

Response time is what determines input lag.Drakan11

I suggest you do more reading on this. Response time is the time it takes an LCD panel to flip a pixel to a different shade of grey. This is not input lag. Input lag is mainly caused by processing. The techniques that manufacturers use to lower response time can increase input lag, ironically.

Plasmas have a response time of .001ms which blows LCD/LED out of the water.Drakan11

Plasmas don't have "response time." This is a measurement for LCD technology. But the motion of a Plasma is much more smoother than LCD.

[QUOTE="dixon7800"]oh and i tried turning game mode on and it helps just a tad but its still just brutal when im playing the game, if anyone has any solutions please do post! thanks!Drakan11

Actually plasmas do have input lag. 60 Hz refresh rate + processing = lag.

WRT54GL w/ Tomato

It's called input lag. There's nothing you can do about except disable all the "image enhancement" settings on your TV. If that doesn't work, the best you can do is look online for a TV with minimal input lag. Manufacturers don't post these specs so you'll have to visit avsforum.com, for example.