Deciding On A Headset & Keyboard

[Psychi]

I'm looking to upgrade my headset and keyboard. My current headset is the Logitech G35 and my keyboard is the Razer Lychosis.

I've been thinking about the Razer Blackwidow for a keyboard and the Razer Tiamat 7.1 that has yet to be released for a headset.

Any other ideas?

[skrump]

Logitech g150 as a keyboard, it blows anything razor makes straight out of the water.

As for a gaming headset I would look into a company called LDB as they make some killer 5.1 surround headsets for under $100 that rival the sound quality of
razor/creative/turtle beach

[Fuzzykins]

Stay away from the Tiamat. If you're set on a Mechanical Keyboard, I'd go for something like the K60 from Corsair. Great keyboard, decently cheap, red switches, etcetc. Well reviewed as well.
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/me...keyboard-guide
More reading there.
Regarding headsets, I'd get a Zalman Clip on mic, a cheap amplifier, and a nice pair of headphones. Nothing can beat good high quality audio from your headphones. I couldn't find how much the Tiamat costs, but if it costs enough, you could have a pretty nice audio setup if you wanted to match it in price with actual high quality audio.

[Psychi]

Would you please explain as to why each of those are worthy pieces of equipment?

[Keller]

Stay away from the Tiamat. If you're set on a Mechanical Keyboard, I'd go for something like the K60 from Corsair. Great keyboard, decently cheap, red switches, etcetc. Well reviewed as well.
http://www.overclock.net/t/491752/me...keyboard-guide
More reading there.
Regarding headsets, I'd get a Zalman Clip on mic, a cheap amplifier, and a nice pair of headphones. Nothing can beat good high quality audio from your headphones. I couldn't find how much the Tiamat costs, but if it costs enough, you could have a pretty nice audio setup if you wanted to match it in price with actual high quality audio.

This guy knows what he's talking about. I suggest a T50RP or AD700 if you're around the 100$ area and a Beyerdynamic DT880 (Or AKG701) if you wanna go nuts.
Also Consider a HifiMan HE-300, since they're 50 bucks off for christmas.

---------- Post added 2011-12-28 at 11:16 AM ----------

Would you please explain as to why each of those are worthy pieces of equipment?

Normally a headset consists of a cheap microphone and headphones, they're used by companies to answer calls. Their purpace is talking.
Now a branded headset is the same, only you get a slight improvement in sound quality, and you pay 60% of the price because of the brand name.
Why would you want to buy a sound product from razer anyways, they dont deal in acoustics, they deal in gimmicks.

[Psychi]

I can go as high as $200 each.

Also, Keller.. looking at that Hifiman HE-300, it looks like there isn't a mic with it.

---------- Post added 2011-12-28 at 11:18 AM ----------

OH! I see what you guys are saying now. Buy myself a mic and headset individually instead of together.

[Keller]

Okay, let's do this again, what music do you like? How much gaming/movies/music you do?

[Poppasan]

I would personally go for Sennheiser PC-360 and for the keyboard, Mionix Zibal 60. Sennheiser headsets have awesome sound quality and mic is certainly much better than any other headset on the market. Considering that you're probably going for gaming, cherry black switches probably would suit you.

[Static]

I believe that the Razer Tiamat (7.1) is going to cost something like 180$.

[Psychi]

I play games practically every day (planning on hardcore SWTOR) and I'm listening to Pandora/iTunes for electronica music that I blast as much as possible.

[Jakexe]

For a keyboard razor black widow or logitech G19.

Headset: Logitech G930, best head set i've ever used.

To expand, while i've barely used the black widow my best mate has one and he brags about it all the time, as for the G19 the macro keys and LCD screen are just amazing. As for the G930 it has the best sound ive ever heard, 7.1 internal sound, noise cancelling is amazing.

[ttudboz]

g110 and g930 ftw

[Psychi]

I would personally go for Sennheiser PC-360 and for the keyboard, Mionix Zibal 60. Sennheiser headsets have awesome sound quality and mic is certainly much better than any other headset on the market. Considering that you're probably going for gaming, cherry black switches probably would suit you.

What sort of mic would I get alone with the Sennheiser? And looking at the keyboard you mentioned.. it seems that it takes more force to press them than the Razer Blackwidow and there is a larger spacing between the key and when it is registered.

I believe that the Razer Tiamat (7.1) is going to cost something like 180$.

You're probably right. I was guessing around $200-$220

For a keyboard razor black widow or logitech G19.

Headset: Logitech G930, best head set i've ever used.

To expand, while i've barely used the black widow my best mate has one and he brags about it all the time, as for the G19 the macro keys and LCD screen are just amazing. As for the G930 it has the best sound ive ever heard, 7.1 internal sound, noise cancelling is amazing.

G930 is a wireless headset. Would I not be lacking on performance? I don't want to have to deal with connectivity issues whereas a wired headset, I'll be certain it's connected. Also, the LCD screen doesn't do anything for me because I don't need to be looking down at my keyboard for anything.

[Fuzzykins]

Headsets and keyboards are a strange beast. People are going to recommend what they use because they like it, that's why they're using it. There's no one that can tell you what a perfect piece of gaming equipment is. However, some of us are a bit more educated on the subject than others.
For audio, if you want the best audio experience, you're going to want to buy a nice pair of high end headphones, an amplifier, and a clip on mic.
My M50s are amazing, and cost about $150. Get a $50 headphone amp and a clip on mic and you'll love your audio. In keyboard's respect, if you're playing MMO's, Corsair just came out with the K90, which is a pretty well reviewed Keyboard on Overclock.net. Otherwise, try taking a gander at Das Keyboards or Thermaltake's Mech series. Additionally, there's always the Rosewill mechanical keyboards. As you said, you were expecting to spend $200 on keyboard and $200 on headset, instead, spend ~$100 on your keyboard and $300 on your headset to go super high end and you'll love it. (Mechanical keyboards should be in the $100 range.)


Lastly, if you don't have your heart set on a mechanical keyboard, consider going for a cheaper membrane keyboard and buying something similar to my audio setup :
Audio Technica M50S
Fiio E9 Amp
Zalman Clip on Mic

It came to about 250 USD. It's the best audio I've owned, and BF3 is AMAZING with them.

Enjoy.

[Keller]

I play games practically every day (planning on hardcore SWTOR) and I'm listening to Pandora/iTunes for electronica music that I blast as much as possible.

Alright, the DT880 is perfect for that. IF you can spend that much, you wont be disappointed.

[Optochip]

I would personally go for Sennheiser PC-360 and for the keyboard, Mionix Zibal 60. Sennheiser headsets have awesome sound quality and mic is certainly much better than any other headset on the market. Considering that you're probably going for gaming, cherry black switches probably would suit you.

Well, I suppose I don't need to post since Poppasan recommended the same exact Headset and Keyboard that I was going to!

[Psychi]

Seeing as I've now gone practically insane looking over everything that has been suggested to me, I've narrowed the options down to the following keyboards.

Keyboard:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/store/...C=1165&ID=1680 (Thermaltake Meka G Unit)
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-gam...-keyboard.html (Vengeance K90)
http://www.mionix.net/page.php?al=zibal60 (Mionix Zibal 60)
http://store.razerzone.com/store/raz...oryId.56943600 (Razer Blackwidow Ultimate)

[Keller]

Seeing as I've now gone practically insane looking over everything that has been suggested to me, I've narrowed the options down to the following keyboards.

Keyboard:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/store/...C=1165&ID=1680 (Thermaltake Meka G Unit)
http://www.corsair.com/vengeance-gam...-keyboard.html (Vengeance K90)
http://www.mionix.net/page.php?al=zibal60 (Mionix Zibal 60)
http://store.razerzone.com/store/raz...oryId.56943600 (Razer Blackwidow Ultimate)

The best one of those, function-wise would be the vengeance k90, but the switches might not be your taste( Non tactile, low actuation )

[BicycleMafioso]

What sort of mic would I get alone with the Sennheiser? And looking at the keyboard you mentioned.. it seems that it takes more force to press them than the Razer Blackwidow and there is a larger spacing between the key and when it is registered.

The Sennheiser microphone is a better quality one than most others I've tried; Stand-alone or pre-attached. In difference to my Siberia v2, for instance, it's noise cancelling and provides good and crisp voice representation.

G930 is a wireless headset. Would I not be lacking on performance? I don't want to have to deal with connectivity issues whereas a wired headset, I'll be certain it's connected. Also, the LCD screen doesn't do anything for me because I don't need to be looking down at my keyboard for anything.

What's worse, is the G930 is a wireless USB-headset. The wireless part of it is pretty good though, I've been given to understand.
Yea, I rarely see the point of the LCD-screens on G510/G19. They show you who is talking on vent et c. That's about it. I'm glad they are helpful for some, but like you, I'd rather watch my screens.

For keyboards, I'll just throw in the usual list;
Corsair K90, Corsair K60, Mionix Zibal 60, QPAD MK-50, QPAD MK-85, Steelseries 6Gv2, Steelseries 7G

[Psychi]

picked up the corsair vengeance k90 keyboard and really liking it so far.