I allready posted 2 builds. So this post will be focused on the peripherals as you did ask for suggestions as well. Peripherals are all very hard to suggest, if we don't have enough information. But if you got the time to answer the questions, I will have a better idea if my suggestion will work for you.

• Mouse: How do you grip the mouse? How many buttons do you want? I personally use 0 when I play any game.
  
• Keyboard: I recommend to go read about Mechanical Keyboards switch types first. Then after you know wich switch would be for you, you can give me that information. Then my other questions would be, do you want a TenKeyLess? Basicly numpadless keyboard. If you don't, do you want any "macro keys"? This can be helpful in some games, but in my personal experience I never used them when gaming. Only for some text macro's, push to talk, screenshot and other stuff. But not really to use while fighting a boss or anything.
  
• Headphones/Speakers: What music do you listen? Where will you sit when using the headphones, will it be in a loud room? Will you be on your own? Do you need a microphone?
  
  
  Monitor:
  
  
• #1 Acer.1920x1080p, 23", 60Hz, 6ms, IPS panel. This monitor is amazing for the price. It got a full adjustable stand. Including pivot! So that's pretty awesome. It as well is IPS wich will be amazing for photo/video editing. It is 23" wich is a good size. I honestly can't suggest much else because we need to pay $40-80 more to get same/more features compared to this monitor.
  
  Keyboards:
  
  
• #1 Logitech Cheap but amazing for the price again keyboard & mouse from Logitech. It's water resistance. Here you can have a look at all the features.
  
• #2 Arctic cooling This keyboard really feels like a Mac product. It's very clean and looks pretty nice in my opinion. Not much else to say, it's a slim keyboard so the typing on it will feel like a laptop keyboard.
  
• #3 Corsair This is more a gaming style keyboard. With red LEDs in it. It does however look very clean and stylish. I do like the way the keys are positioned here. You as well get a few extra features with this price. Such as extra macro and media keys.
  
• #4 CoolerMaster This is a mechanical keyboard. Wich is very hard to suggest when we don't know enough. There are a lot of different switch types and it's a personal preference. So I went for a cheap, but still very solidly build keyboard that is tenkeyless as well, this means that your position when using the mouse will be more natural compared to the standard keyboards.
  
  Mouse:
  
  
• #1 Azio Seems like a very solid budget mouse. 800/1200/1600/2400 on-the-fly DPI adjustment, braided cable, seems like pretty solid build quality.
  
• #2 Corsair I normally don't suggest Corsair their peripherals that often, but for this price it's hard to ignore it. It got a very solid grip and adjustable DPI again.
  
• #3 Logitech Had to include a Logitech mouse as I do love them a lot. I went for the G302 as it's an amazing mouse for the price again. It got a lot of cool features that is more orrientated towards a gamer, so it's a little bit hard to really suggest this over the other options, but it would work very well regardless. Logitech got a lot of other less expensive mice as well. But I would personally not go for them in that price range as other brands just got more features here.
  
  Headphones:
  
  
• #1 Sennheiser I am a big fan of Sennheiser. Their expertise in the audio world is amazing and you do hear this back when you use their products. This headphone in particular is amazing in terms of audio quality for the price, but it lacks in comfort. They really aren't that comfortable so be careful if you do intend to use these for long amounts of time.
  
• #2 Kingston They are really good for their price. Gaming headsets are most of the times bad. Unless a good audio company gets involved. Qpad is the one who basicly made this headset and Kingston rebranded it. Here is a nice review. They as well are in black and white, wich looks pretty awesome as well.
  
• #3 Sennheiser This is in my opinion one of the best if not the best value, high quality headphones you can get. Here you can read a lot of just normal people their experience with these headphones, in short: they all pretty much like it a lot.
  
  Microphones:
  
  
• #1 Neewer This is a cheap, set of 3 microphones from Neewer. This is really just a simple microphone that works pretty solid. It's not a super fancy microphone, so don't expect miracles. Here is a review.
  
• #2 Samson I actually looked at this microphone myself when I was considering to buy a microphone. It's a pretty small and compact microphone with great quality. Here is a pretty good review.
  
• #3 Blue The last microphone I need to suggest. If you want good quality, this one is very good. The only gripe I got with it, is that if you sit far back, it will sound worse compared to talking right infront of it. Here is a review that is very old, but that does not matter, still the best microphone to get.
  

Not a whole lot to change, but I have a few suggestions:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor | $179.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | $109.89 @ OutletPC
Memory | Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory | $75.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | ADATA - XPG SX6000 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $109.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | MSI - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB DUKE OCV1 Video Card | $449.99 @ Newegg
Case | Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case | $49.85 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $59.99 @ B&H
Case Fan | Cooler Master - MasterFan Pro 120 Air Flow 84.5 CFM 120 mm Fan | $9.89 @ OutletPC
Keyboard | Redragon - K582 SURARA Wired Gaming Keyboard | $46.99 @ Amazon
Mouse | Logitech - G203 Prodigy Wired Optical Mouse | $26.60 @ Amazon
Headphones | Superlux - HD668B Headphones | $38.98 @ Amazon
Custom | Zalman Zm-Mic1 High Sensitivity Headphone Microphone | $9.96 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1247.90
| Mail-in rebates | -$80.00
| Total | $1167.90
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-23 13:16 EDT-0400 |

RAM: Same specs, but $15 cheaper. And they'll still look great with the rest of the build.

SSD: It won't do a whole lot for everyday applications, but it's an nVME and actually slightly faster than the MX500, at a lower price. Also it's an M.2 drive, and in my opinion it's just nice having to run two less cables in your case.

Graphics card: Very much a sidegrade here, but I personally really like the great big hulking cooler on the Duke, and I prefer MSi's quality control over Gigabyte who's been more miss than hit lately. Especially on the midrange models. If you feel like trying something else, you can get the best Vega 64, the Sapphire Nitro+ for just $400 right now, and it's a a fantastic card. It's really close to the 2070 in performance, and while it does use more power, it's very easy to undervolt which will have it running cooler and more often than not faster than stock. For $50 less, this is the better deal in my opinion and what I would personally do.

Case: I chose to spend a bit more here, but for $20 more, you can get a really nice case, with great airflow and a nice tempered glass side. This is actually the MX330-G (at least if you buy it on Amazon), which is glass instead of acryllic.

PSU: The G3 is not a bad PSU at all, but it's smaller than the G1 and G2 and have had issues with fan noise and coil whine compared to the older models. A 550 W unit is easily enough for this build, but if you want a bit more oompf an EVGA G1+ 850W or a Cooler Master MWE Gold 750 W can be had for just $70 (if you go for the Vega 64, I'd recommend getting at least a 650 W PSU).

Case fan: The Arctic's aren't bad at all, but I'd recommend going for a PWM fan, to give you more control of fan curves and noise levels. The MasterFan Pro's are great, and you get a whole lot of fan for just $10.

Keyboard: Slightly more expensive, but true mechanical keys and plenty of RGB backlight. Redragon makes some amazing things for really cheap. If you prefer blue-style switches, the K551 is a nice option for around the same price.

Headset: The G230 aren't bad per se, but they are a budget gamer headset, and they sound like that as well. For around $15 more, you can get a great set of headphones and a clip on mic. I guarantee that the headphones will sound better and be more comfortable than the G230's and the mic is probably going to be just as good. The best part is that you can easily upgrade either down the road. Something like a Antlion ModMic will turn a good set of headphones into a great headset. If you want to stick with a more traditional headset, I'd recommend the Kingston HyperX Stinger for around $50.

In total this is ever so slightly cheaper, but with small upgrades to SSD, case, fans, keyboard and headphones. I hope this helps or at least serves as inspiration :)

Warning: long post, but you asked, so... ;-) Note: Recycling some of my older comments with specifics for your post.

What CPU and GPU do/will you have? Do you have enough room to walk around, or just enough to swing your arms? What kind of games do you prefer? These answers have an impact on the "best" headset (HMD) for you. Think of it this way: what's the best car? The answer is different if your priorities are fuel economy, cargo space, towing capacity, or top speed/acceleration.

"Best" Games:

"Best games" is really subjective. Do you like puzzle games? Action? RTS? "Experiences" Racing/flying/space simulators? FPS? (Note: FPS in VR is very different from FPS on a screen.) Each platform has enough good games that this shouldn't impact your buying decision much. I have favorites on each, but Oculus has the most exclusives. (Often considered a bad thing for the VR industry.)

I own the Vive (non-Pro), Rift, and Samsung Odyssey, and I've used the PSVR (briefly) so my comments are based on use of all three.

Easiest to use for a newbie:

The Rift is slightly easier to use than the Vive (though not by much) due to its streamlined and consumer-oriented user experience, at the cost of capability and options. The Vive has more options flexibility but can sometimes be a little more hassle to troubleshoot if things go wrong. Then again, fixing it when things go wrong is less likely to require a complete reinstall like Oculus does. Windows Mixed Reality setup is easy but it's clearly a Microsoft experience. It's like the Rift was designed by marketers, the Vive by engineers, and WMR by a project manager. Winner: Rift, by a hair, with WMR limping along in the rear.

Oculus Rift:

Lighter and easier to deal with. Has built-in audio. Some really nice platform exclusives, though there is a way to play those on the Vive. (More on that shortly.) Cheaper than the Vive, and cheapest option in general other than some Windows Mixed Reality HMDs that you should probably avoid. Tracking is slightly inferior to the Vive, but not much. Seated/standing experiences work slightly better than roomscale. However, roomscale is feasible on the Rift with only two sensors by mounting them in opposite corners of your play area. Requires at least 3 USB 3 ports, 4 if you add a 3rd sensor. Games/apps purchased through the Oculus Store won't work on another HMD (barring 3rd party hacks/apps like LibreVR/ReVive, limiting your future hardware upgrade options so buy any non-Oculus exclusives through the Steam store. Touch controllers are the current king for controllers, but Knuckle controllers for Vive/SteamVR are pending. (More on that shortly.) More pronounced "god rays" than the Vive. The business practices and politics of Facebook/Oculus are questionable, if you care about that sort of thing. HTC just opened its VR store to Oculus users so you have more buying options than you used to, though I prefer buying through Steam.

HTC Vive:

The Vive Pro is more than double the Vive's cost and isn't that much better, so I won't go into it much here. The Vive has somewhat better tracking than the Rift and Roomscale works slightly better, in my experience. No built-in audio on the regular Vive but this is resolved with the Deluxe Audio Strap, albeit for $100 more. Games are (usually) purchased through Steam, which means you can take advantage of Steam sales, buy games at a discount (sometimes 80-90% off!) from third-party sites like Humble Bundle, Green Man Gaming, etc. Note, however, that the Rift is compatible with most VR games on Steam, too. You can also play Rift exclusives using free, third-party software called ReVive, but that this is not officially supported and not every game works. (Tricks Rift titles into thinking a Rift is connected.) Controllers are meh but work fine; just not as intuitive or comfortable as the Rift's. When (might be a while) the Knuckles controllers finally come out, they'll probably be the best. The Vive is more glasses-friendly but those who are just nearsighted won't necessarily need to wear glasses at all. There's a new wireless adapter that's nice but only applies if you're driving it with a desktop PC because it uses a PCIe card rather than USB. For non-wireless, one nice thing about the Vive is that the HMD only uses one USB 3.0 and one HDMI port. The Lighthouses (base stations) only need power and don't require USB.

Samsung Odyssey (WMR):

Higher resolution display, on par with the Vive Pro, which equates to a much less pronounced "screen door effect" (gridlines between pixels) than others. This is very nice for detailed games like racing games or flight/space sims with small dials or text. Significantly lesser support for games and experiences. That said, just because an app doesn't explicitly state it works with WMR doesn't mean it won't... but it might not. Controllers are pretty bad compared to the others and it's easy to accidentally end up in a menu. Tracking is also worse (uses inside-out tracking, so no sensors), but still significantly better than I thought it would be. This won't matter much if at all for seated or standing experiences; just for roomscale. The benefit is that you can do VR on the go with a gaming laptop. (At least a 1070 Max Q, though a full 1070 or 1080 is recommended.) The cable is significantly shorter than the others so roomscale is somewhat limited. There are specific cases (for example: archery games) where the controllers will end up out of view of the HMD's cameras, breaking tracking. While tracking isn't perfect, it's "good enough" and I bring it with me regularly.

Other Windows Mixed Reality HMDs:

The Lenovo Explorer gets some good reviews and sometimes goes on sale for as little as $170 with controllers. (Note: it can be found cheaper without controllers but you need controllers for most VR experiences.) It's important to note that the Lenovo Explorer (and all other WMR HMDs other than the the Samsung Odyssey) lacks IPD adjustment to save cost. IPD means interpupilary distance and is the distance between your eyes. However, using an HMD without the right IPD can cause nausea, blurriness, and headaches and can ruin your VR experience so I'd recommend one that has it. The Samsung Odyssey and Lenovo Explorer are the only WMR that I've heard consistently good things about. The others are cheap but lack features, perform poorly, or both. Note: WMR requires Windows to be completely up to date and will hang upon installlation (when you plug in your HMD) with no apparent reason why. Update Windows before using.

PSVR:

Poor quality lenses and tracking that isn't on par with the others, even WMR. This is what you buy if you own a Playstation and can't afford/aren't interested in buying or building a gaming PC. Some nice exclusives, though. IPD adjustment isn't great.

A note about VR graphics:

To avoid nausea, VR generally has to run at about 90 Hz, which can reduce model/texture complexity. However, people have done amazing things with VR so you simply don't notice. Lone Echo (Oculus exclusive), for example, has stunning visuals. (Story, mechanics, and pure immersive feeling are also excellent.) Lone Echo is VR done right, and feels like an AAA title. The Climb is another example of incredible visuals and reasonable immersion. The Climb is currently making the rounds (again) of Reddit via this GIF. Skyrim VR is another example of impressive visuals in VR. Skyrim is somewhat dated, but yes; those incredible photorealistic immersion mods from desktop Skyrim work in VR and you can totally play Skyrim VR seated. Follow this guide and remove Immersive Armor (buggy), replace WICO with TCM, and you're set... after 6 hours of setup. ;-) All of that said... you're looking at a 1080p monitor magnified by relatively cheap optics no matter which rout you go. You are going to notice the pixels, but you'll forget about it pretty quickly as you get distracted by the experiences and visuals. The only exception will be games with small details like flight/space sims. These really need higher res than VR can realistically provide though this may change with 20-series GPUs. For everything else, you'll mostly forget about the issue.

Cable lengths:

All VR HMD cables are too short. You can buy extension cables, but some work and some don't... sometimes with no apparent reason. I've found this HDMI cable and this USB extension cable works to extend the HDM for both the Vive and the Rift, and this USB extension cable works to extend Rift cameras. If you buy both a Vive and a Rift at some point, the extension cables I linked for the HMDs can go to the Vive's breakout box and then either the Vive or Rift can plug into that with success. The Samsung Odyssey does NOT work when plugged into the Vive's breakout box but I haven't yet tested the extension cables so it might work if the breakout box isn't present.

TL;DR:

My recommendation for first-time VR on a budget is the Oculus Rift unless you can afford the Vive (so long as you can also afford the Delux Audio Strap), in which case I'd recommend the Vive. The Samsung Odyssee is also a decent solution but at its price point I'd generally recommend the others unless the majority of your usage will be seated, in highly-detailed simulators or similar games, or unless you bring it with you a lot.

Okay this is going to be a long post, so here goes.

​

If you really want to get into sound design, youre going to need a few essentials. A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), an audio interface, a handheld recorder, and a microphone.




DAWs

As far as a DAW goes, there's a few alternatives you can go with. I personally use Avid Pro Tools for near everything I do, but also mess around with Reaper. I've found that most studios will use one of these two. Most DAWs will have a pretty steep learning curve, so be ready for that.

Pro Tools First is the free version of Pro Tools. It has a lot of limitations, but for starting out it should be fine. If you want less limitations it costs big money, but I'm sure you can find a crack or two as long as you don't use it commercially.

Reaper is starting to grow on me lately. You can customize it to your needs, and the full version is only $60. You can also just deal with a popup everytime you open the program for ten seconds and use it for free. I mainly prefer Pro Tools over this because the video engine in Pro Tools is much better. But for batch editing multiple sound files, Reaper is muuuuuch better.

​

Audio Interface

This basically takes over as an intermediary between high quality audio and your computer. You can plug a microphone right into it to record sound straight to your computer. You can do this with a USB microphone as well, but the quality is a million times better with one of these.
I would recommend either the Behringer UMC22 or the more advanced Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Both will do the trick, I just prefer the mic pres on the Focusrite a bit more.


Handheld Recorder
Handheld recorders allow you to record anything you want to without having to deal with any cables. They should be compact but durable.

The Tascam DR-40 is a great intro recorder. It was the first recorder I got 5 years ago, and it still holds up. I've dropped this thing so many times and it still powers through.
Another favorite is the Zoom H4N. This was a favorite among most of my classmates as it was the one my school supplied, but I didn't feel like going through the checkout process all the time so I saved up and got the Tascam. It has a newer version, the Zoom H6, which is pretty slick, but comes at a higher price point. It also comes with some interchangeable microphone capsules so you can get different types of recordings. I'll cover more of this later.
I'll leave off with the recorder I have now, the Sony PCM-M10. This thing is a godsend. It's discontinued due to a newer version coming out, but you can find this guy on eBay for around $300-400. It's smaller than a phone, and the sound quality is amazing. If you have the money to shell out for this guy, definitely go for it. Every sound designer inn the industry I know swears by it.


Microphone

So the first thing you need to know is that there's a load of different microphone types. Its a lot to cover, so I'm just going to link you to this article that will cover the basics of what you need to know. Basically I would recommend different microphones for different things, all depending on what you're trying to capture.
A good all-around microphone is the Shure SM57/Shure SM58. They're essentially both the same microphone. But these things will LAST. Like,people have run over them with trucks and they sound fine. Definitely a good starting point

For vocal recordings, I would recommend the Rode NT1A. This mic is a great starting point for capturing voice, and is durable to boot.

For capturing foley/field recording, I would go with the Rode NTG2. Its a shotgun mic with great quality for the price, and never let me down in all the years Ive been using it. I won its successor, the NTG3, in the Riot Creative Contest a few years back, but still use the NTG2 from time to time when I need to.


Some Extra Stuff


Theres a lot of cool, free plugins out there. I've used both Blue Cat's and Melda's plugins, and they all get the job done with a bit of tweaking.

As far as building up a sound library goes, I would recommend recording literally everything you can around you and playing with those sounds with plugins as a good starting point for building up a library. There's a few resources out there that give out free SFX every once in a while, GDC has had a bundle go up for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. You can also check out the BBC Sound Effects Library. Be careful about getting libraries and bundles though, as they add up quick. I have to go through my sound library soon, and I probably have around 500,00+ files but only really need a few thousand.

For all your sounds, you're going to want a file manager. A great and free one is Mutant. You just add the directory where you downloaded your sounds to, let it load them in, and voila. You can search easily for what you need.


Hopefully, all this was somewhat helpful to you, or to anyone else reading this who's interested in sound design!

i5-4690k - If you aren't doing any programming or editing, and mainly gaming, you'll see here that the 4690k trumps every AMD CPU. There is no competition in tier 1 gaming CPU's in the AMD department. AMD uses more, but slower cores, which isn't ideal for gaming. The 4690k definitely has higher base processing speed because of increased IPS performance and faster single cores in general. Also, AMD CPU's are notoriously power hungry and heat up quite a bit more. With some overclocking, you'll be able to hit around 4.5hz on an 8320, which will compensate for a bit, but an OC'd 4690k will still perform considerably better.

CM 212 evo - One of the best CPU coolers in terms of price/performance. You'll be able to hit some nice OC's on your 4690k, even though it probably won't be necessary until later.

Asrock Z97 Extreme 4 - I'm mainly suggesting this mobo because of the great 4690k/z97 bundle going on at microcenter, you can cop them both for around $300. Besides that, you'll be able to hit nice CPU overclocks and SLI. Awarded by tomshardware as one of the best z97 mobos $100-$150

Ripjaws Memory - One of the most popular memory's. Won't be needing more than 8gb, 1600 for gaming, looks pretty nice along with the red msi gtx 970 and $80 is a good price.

840 Evo SSD - one of the best SSD's along with the mx100. Quick quick quick.

1TB WD Blue - It's either this or the seagate 1tb. I personally can vouch for the reliability of WD drives, so I tend to go with them.

MSI GTX 970 - Probably will go down as one of the most iconic cards in pc gaming history along with the 8800gt as a crazy level of price to performance. You'll gobble up any game @ 1080p/60fps, and do more than well in the 1440p resolution. You'd have no problem with 4k resolution with SLI'd 970's. The gtx 970 would eat up 10 GTS 450's for breakfast. Seriously, the performance upgrade you'd be getting with this card will make you get on your knees and praise Gaben.

H236HLbid 23" IPS monitor - If you've never used IPS or 1080p, you'll be amazed by the picture quality and color accuracy of this screen. The best 23" 1080p monitor in the $100-$200 range. The alternative is to get a 1440p QNIX 2710 (MUST BE SINGLE INPUT to overclock to ~96hz) This is a great 1440p PLS monitor for around $350 that can overclock to 96hz, which means you'll be seeing 96 frames/sec instead of the usual 60hz, as long as your system can handle it. Makes a HUGE difference.

Fractal R4 Case - One of the most iconic ATX Mid cases. Can cop for around $80 on sale, lots of HD trays (top rack removable), nice fit, fan speed control, and a slew of over cool features. Other options in the price range - Phanteks Enthroo Pro and the NZXT 440.

EVGA G2 750w PSU - Very high quality Gold standard PSU. I overshot it with this to allow headroom to add another GTX 970 for the build. You can safely SLI the gtx 970's with a high quality 650W PSU, because they take so little power, around 145W TDP. A 650W Gold+ Seasonic or Antec would do just fine.

Find yourself a nice mechanical keyboard with cherry mx switches. I would suggest a cm quickfire or k70. One of the most important upgrades you can make. Once you go cherry mx, you'll have a hard time typing on membrane keyboards. It's an absolute must for me.

Last, but not least try to find a decent headphone and stick on a zalman attachable mic to use as a gaming headset. I personally use an ath-m50, although it's not great for gaming with it's bad soundstage since I listen to music more often anyway. Nice alternatives are the beyerdynamic dt-770 and sennheiser hd 25-1 II.

Speakers - You'll need a pair of speakers for your setup since your monitor won't come with one. I recommend M-Auidio AV40's. They're delicious. If you're looking for a cheaper option, these aren't so bad.

Wow, that was a lot of writing! I know it can be overwhelming picking out parts for a pc, especially if you haven't it in a while. Hopefully you'll find some of this info useful, and good luck!

> I'm gonna need extensions.

I had good luck with 10 foot for each via Amazon.

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D5H91KE/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7SA21U/
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > Overall, setup was 9/10, but I'm giving it 5/10 because of the issues I had.
  
  Similar here. I can see how it's supposed to be very smooth and quick, and I think re-establishing setup (if I were portable) would be very quick, but I had a number of issues that prolonged things.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > This does require you to have a lit room
  
  This was disconcerting for me as well as preventing me from using VR sometimes since my VR area borders the den/living room and the breakfast nook and my wife often vetoed the turning up of all the lights (in the evenings).
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > Controller tracking 8/10
  
  I'd only give them 6/10. It's highly dependent on tolerance, body type, play style, and which game / experience you're using. My thoughts: https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsMR/comments/7qlhde/samsung_odyssey_owners_are_you_happy/dsq5nh5/
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > You will notice some black smear
  
  I started noticing more of it as I dug back through my backlog of games and apps. The Quake II SteamVR environment, Allummette (the night scenes), and the large theater room in BigScreen are three places that had pretty awful black smear that I remember. In other places it was not noticeable though.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > Colors are also very vibrant
  
  I agree, I thought the color pop was excellent and fun in the Odyssey, and simply made me want to try a lot of different things to see what they looked like.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > I think it's a tad bigger at least for me
  
  Interesting, my buddy and I both thought his Vive with DAS and 6mm pad had the slight edge in terms of FOV, as well as amount of pupil swim, and there was something subtley not quite as impressive about either the binocular overlap or just the "closeness" of images in the Odyssey, but it was still very good and the great contrast and higher resolution made up for it.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > The forehead pad and back pad are nice and comfortable with most of the weight resting on the forehead and off of the nose/cheek area.
  
  Eventually that forehead pad really started to dig into my forehead. I had a couple sessions that gave me real pain. Here was my solution: https://imgur.com/a/a9lqJ
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > The damn nose flaps.
  
  I totally agree! These would block about 70% of my nasal airflow! But there is an easy fix -- fold them back in behind the lenses. Works great, stays in place, and is easily reversible.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > They are comfortable and easy to position.
  
  I found them a bit hard to get a good seal with. The DAS seems more articulatable which helps get a better on-ear seal which gives it the potential for a bit more perceived bass and therefore a bit more balanced frequency response. But neither holds up against my Audio-Technica ATH-M50s. I'm hopeful the Vive Pro audio addresses that a little more.
  
  --------------------------------------
  
  > If you are looking for a portable VR experience with a laptop or like to travel and show others VR without having to set up lighthouses or cameras
  
  Yep, that is definitely the big benefit of the Odyssey. It can't be beat for that type of use case. It was kind of lost on me (no laptop, single permanent VR space at home), and I eventually decided due to the substandard controllers and controller tracking that it was worth more turned back into $486 so I returned it after 8 weeks due to Microsoft's very generous holiday return policy. I knew I'd miss it (certain aspects of it) and I do. If I were more into sims and had a driving setup it would have been a tougher call by far.
  
  I do hope they pull together a version with more cameras that can handle the controllers getting close to the cameras and operate in lower light. Best would be some way to give the controllers actual inside-out tracking of their own using their own cameras but that might require a prohibitively large amount of information sent over Bluetooth (BT 5.0?) to the CPU for the Machine Vision algorithm.

Yes, there are recorders that can record multiple tracks. Like the Tascam DR-40 has XLR inputs. I'm not necessarily endorsing the Tascam. I have the DR-05 and find it acceptable quality. Something like the Zoom H4N has XLR connectors built in, so you could record a mic into those and use the built in condenser mics to record your guitar.

You left out some relevant information: Budget, can your guitar be plugged in or will you mic it? Do you have a pretty sound free workspace?

I think budget is the most important part here. I interpret 'nothing flashy' as being a cheap as it can get without being poor quality.

I'm gonna link to listings on Amazon because it's easiest, but B&H or if you live near a Guitar Center might be a better place to buy.

A possible setup:

• ART Dual USB Preamp - $80 - This will allow you to plug in one mic and your guitar and output the track to your computer via USB. Depending on the software, I believe you can have the tracks separate for editing, but they would separate into left and right channels that you'd then combine into a stereo track after editing.
  
  
  
• Shure SM58 - $100 - A dynamic vocal mic that will play well in a not so perfect recording space. Check out Regina Spektor using one during a concert. This mic is so popular I would make sure to only get it from a reputable dealer i.e. not used on ebay, because there are fakes floating around.
  
  If you need/want to mic your guitar then consider the SM-57. It is nearly identical to the SM58. Here is a guy demonstrating using one to record his guitar.
  
  
• If $100 is insanely out of your budget, then consider the Behringer XM8500 - $20 - Not as high quality as the SM58, but still a decent sound. Here is a guy comparing the SM57 to the XM8500 and is using just one mic for voice and guitar, without using a preamp, so keep that in mind when comparing the audio (I hear some noise in the audio, probably noise from the line to the camera, which I presume has some sort of automatic gain happening).
  
  This guy's video makes me wonder if just an SM57 with a decent preamp (i.e. one with clean gain) might be all you'd need... but that isn't ideal. You could go with two XM8500s, one for guitar and one for vocals ($40). Or one SM58 for vocals and one XM8500 for guitar($120). That all comes down to budget and preferences.
  
  
• You'll need a mic stand, or two. The On-Stage MS7701B is a best seller on Amazon. I own one of these and it isn't going to impress anyone. I've never had it tip over or seem unsteady. If you extend the boom arm too far it can sometimes slowly droop over time (I may be guilty of not tightening it enough due to not wanting to strip the threads) It does the job of holding a mic in place. If you go with two mics, you could get two of them. You could also get a desk stand for the mic that is recording your guitar and find a suitable place to set it, but I think the boom arm of the MS7701B will be useful for keeping the stand out of your way.
  
  
• And you will need cables. I recommend the cables from Monoprice, their Pro Audio series. It is not as user friendly to find the exact cables you'll need as a site like B&H, but I have had several of their cables and only had one die on me. All their cables have a lifetime warranty and the prices are shockingly low.
  
  
• And a windscreen or pop filter for the mics is nice. There is a decent windscreen on Amazon for 3 bucks, sometimes 2 bucks.
  
  Potential Changes & other thoughts -
  
  A more expensive preamp - ART Tube Dual Mic Preamp With USB - $190- this has some compression and a limiter. It's debatable whether in this range it would be better to get a decent mixer, a preamp for your vocals, and let the preamp on the mixer handle the guitar, or if something like this would be better. Like a Behringer mixer - Q802USB ($80) + ART single channel Preamp for vocals ($40/$50) would be less money than the Dual USB preamp.
  
  Or maybe just the Q802USB would suffice for your needs. It has preamps already built in. They are not the best preamps in the world. I mean... after all I wrote above, the more I think about it the more I think you should try a Q802USB and see if the sound is what you're wanting.
  
  Headphones - Add in some headphones to monitor your audio. ATH-M40x ($100) would be my recommendation, but this is where a lot of personal preference comes into the mix, no pun intended.
  
  Different mics - Rode has some mics that compare the the Shure SM57/58 that might be better. And the options for mic are virtually limitless, when you consider not just the mics can vary, but the audio interfaces and processing options. I really think a dynamic mic will be most user friendly for a one off home recording.
  
  I hope I haven't confused more than I helped. I think the essentials are this: good mics, clean gain, easy to use. Whether you get the dual channel ART preamp or the Q802USB, either will be easy to use. I would bet the gain on the ART preamp is cleaner, meaning less background hiss at higher levels, than the Q802USB, but perhaps that is just an unreasonable bias. In either case, the mic is going to be important and where your budget plays a big role. The SM58 and SM57 are superb for vocals and recording guitar. A condenser might be better if the acoustics of your recording space allow for it, but I hope you saw from the video I linked of the guy recording his guitar with the SM57 that a great sound can be achieved with a $100 mic. If that is out of your budget, keep in mind the XM8500, but the sound is not as clear as the Shure mics it tries to emulate.

Literally copy-pasting from your pastebin because it'll look better here and I don't have to worry about looking like I'm hijacking because I didn't write it, aha! Having more resources in one thread can only be a good thing. Aim your upvotes at /u/senichi

~~

What game should I speedrun?

You should speedrun a game that you love to play. If you're serious about speedrunning a game, that could mean practicing for possibly upwards of hundreds of hours to beat your time. You might be playing the same segment of a game over and over again before you're finally happy with your performance in that section, and you could be playing for many hours before that happens. For this reason, you want to pick a game that you won't get bored of quickly. A game that you're happy playing for possibly hundreds of hours so you can get a time that you're happy with before you get bored of it.

How do I start speedrunning?

Once you pick a game, there are different ways you can start speedrunning. Here's the method I like to use after picking a game.

1. Figure out if other people have run the game. If they have, figure out what categories exist. Some games have multiple categories that you might like or not like. For example, if you would prefer a short run, you probably don't want to do a 100% category.
   
   
2. Pick a category. In the rare case that nobody has run the game you want to run before, you get to pick your own ategory. This can be something like "any% - beat the game as fast as possible" or maybe you want your run to focus on collectibles or completion. If other people have run the game you want to run, then you might want to pick a pre-defined category so you're not completely in the dark.
   
   
3. Look into runs that people have submitted in various places. You can check Speedrun.com or YouTube, or just Google your game and the category to see runs of it. Watch the world record run, then look for a runs with worse times that might use a different route. The world record run often uses strategies that are risky and hard to do, so you might not want to jump into a game using that route.
   
   
4. Find guides. When you think you've seen enough routes, you want to either start looking for tutorials (this is usually only an option for the popular games to run), or if you picked a game that isn't a popular speedrun game, you might need to just use any submission videos as your "tutorial".
   
   
5. Play the game. Run the the game slowly using the strategies outlined in any tutorial you found, or by copying what you saw in a video. If possible, try doing any tricks or strategies that are new to you multiple times before moving on. Stay on this step until you feel fairly comfortable with your game. If needed replay the game slowly a few times and use the speedrun tricks.
   
   
6. Do a run. Make it official. Find a timer, for this run any timer should do fine, and time your run from start to finish. Don't worry about your final time. A lot of people have terrible times in their first run, but that's totally okay, it just means it'll be easier for you to beat it later on.
   
   
7. Practice. When you finish your timed run, you should have a pretty good idea on what you need practice with. Some things you thought you were confident on might be more difficult in an actual run. Practice anything you had trouble with in your first run.
   
   
8. Repeat. From here on, you pretty much just repeat steps 6 and 7.
   
   

   I'm getting bored of my game! What do I do?
   

   
   Don't worry, that's not abnormal. Since speedrunning requires so much dedication towards a single game to get a good time, it's common for people to get burnt out or bored before they're happy with their personal best. If you're getting burnt out, I recommend simply taking a break. There's no harm in leaving your game alone for a month or longer and playing other games. Maybe even learn a new game for fun if you still have the speedrunning itch you want to scratch. If you continue to play a game that you're starting to get bored of, you risk getting bored of it on a much longer term, and possibly resenting the game or even outright start to hate it. Who knows, maybe when you come back to the game feeling refreshed, it might be even easier to get a new personal best.
   
   

   What capture device should I use, and how do I set it up?
   

   
   First ask yourself this question: Do you want a cheaper capture device, or would you rather have a good quality device?
   
   If you want a cheaper device, many people recommend the GV-USB2. It's considered the best SD capture device on the market, so if you're recording the older consoles that don't need HD video, then this should work perfectly.
   
   If you want a higher definition device, I recommend the Elgato GameCapture HD. It's very easy to use and the output is excellent. Keep in mind that, at the moment, if you use the GameCapture HD, you might have to use XSplit instead of OBS to stream. OBS currently has an issue with the GameCapture HD that causes it to desync, and in my experience XSplit doesn't have this issue
   
   In addition to the capture device, you will need TWO Composite Video Cables, and you will need THREE splitters.
   
   Here's a picture of how to set up your capture device using the GameCapture HD and a Nintendo 64 as an example. The setup would be the exact same using the GV-USB2 and any other console that uses composite cables. If using the GameCapture HD and HDMI cables, the GameCapture HD has an HDMI in and HDMI out port, so you would just use two HDMI cables, one going from your console to HDMI in, and another going from HDMI out to the TV.
   
   

   Who currently holds the world record for <game>? How can I find more information about <game>?
   

   
   There are multiple ways to figure this out.
   
   

9. Google it. Just Google "<game> speedrun world record" and see if anything pops up. Look for the fastest time and there's a decent change that's the world record.
   
   
10. Check Speedrun.com. A lot of smaller communities and even some larger ones use Speedrun.com because it's easier than making a whole new page. Check this site for the game you're curious about and see if you find anything.
    
    
11. Look for Wikis. This subreddit has a wiki that lists a lot of different sites that might host leaderboards. Check to see if the game you're looking for has a wiki on that list, and if not, try Google again to see if there are any wikis not listed in there.
    
    
12. Ask around. Go to Twitch and look to see if anyone is streaming the game you're curious about. You might find someone speedrunning the game right now, and then you could ask them or see if their Twitch bio has any information about it. If that doesn't work, you could check out the weekly noob question thread and ask about the game. Someone else might know where you can find the information you're looking for. You could also send a message to someone that runs the game on Twitch if you know anyone that does, even if they're offline. Speedrunners are generally happy to spread information about their game and would be happy to answer any of your questions.
    
    

    Can I use an emulator?
    

    
    This varies a lot from game to game. Different communities deal with emulators in their own ways. The usual answer to this question is yes, but it's considered a different category. The reason for this is because emulators are often not perfect in their emulation, so there might be differences in framerate, which affects your time, or sometimes even entire tricks are possible only on emulator.
    
    Some games don't accept emulation at all, but that only means that any runs that you do on emulator won't be able to go on the leaderboard. You still might want to use an emulator for exclusively practice because emulators let you use save states that make it easier to repeat the same part over and over again. Just keep in mind that while using an emulator you might be practicing at a different framerate than on console, or you might be dealing with slight input lag.
    
    The FAQ on SpeedRunsLive has a list of emulators that are commonly used and banned.
    
    In the end, the answer to whether or not you can use an emulator is specific to whatever game you're playing. These are only general guidelines and may vary on your game.
    
    

    What's that timer program I see on peoples' streams, and how can I get it?
    

    
    There are multiple timer programs that are listed on the Tools sections of SpeedRunsLive. The most popular timer program at the moment is LiveSplit, but in the end it's personal preference.

Hey you need overall 3 things:

1. Gear
   
2. A room
   
3. Software
   
   /
   
   
4. Gear:
   
   -Audio Interface:
   
   You want a number of channels depending on the type of groups you wanna record and the size of the group. Example: 18 Channels (8 mics) v.s. 2 channels (2 mics)
   
   -Microphones:
   
   You want basic versatile microphones and specialized ones for the type of instruments you wanna record.
   
   Example of basic mics: Shure sm-57 Dynamic Mic and AKG 414 Condenser Mic
   
   Those two have a fairly transparent frequency response and work for most scenarios but you also want mics that work better for certain instruments because of their coloration or diaphragm or polar pattern.
   
   -Monitoring:
   
   You need some headphones like the Audio Technical M50x which are transparent enough and good for the price although you could go a little further and look for Sennheiser HD or some of the expensive AKG stuff.
   
   -Accessories and cables
   
   You want good quality XLR cables, two direct boxes like this one and probably a direct box with pre amp like the Avalon U5 (great for sending bass via line, skipping the bass amp part, which can be great for live sessions). Both depend on the type of music you are gonna record of course (first example works for connecting stuff like a keyboard and the Avalon well for bass is great).
   
   You may want a monitor amplifier like Behringer Powerplay for distributing audio to the players or producers or audience via headphones monitors.
   
   Also check out EquipBoard to see what gear are other producers or studios using. They have a good database and is good reference.
   
   
   
5. If you wanna do it like TinyDesk then you wanna have a nice room with good isolation and space for your musicians. Well, mostly for the sound. There are 2 ways of recording live sessions: Either you isolate most of the musicians or you use proper recording techniques and use your mics intelligently to get a good mix before your Mixing stage. You may wanna look for highly directional mics.
   
   You also wanna look on isolation techniques and architecture if you wanna have good natural reverberation or just have control over what the sound is doing, including annoying neighbors if that’s the case. Look for how to soundproof a room in the internet and try read a little about acoustics if you haven’t.
   
   You may wanna to set up 2 rooms: a live room and a control room. The live room would be where you record the musicians and have way more soundproofing and the control would just need to isolate enough and allow visual contact with the ppl in the live room. If you go for 2 rooms you may need to set up the ins and outs and pass cables through the wall in a snake cable like this Hosa or this bigger one . The purpose of having 2 rooms is partly because you wanna monitor with speakers not only headphones (as well as having more recording gear there but it only applies to bigger studios). Example Yamaha HS8 x2 or the KRK . Those are fairly priced options and you will get more value out of them if you are the one mixing the music as they can be better references than just headphones.
   
   
6. For software you should consider Pro Tools as is the industry standard. I personally enjoy Logic Pro and there are a lot more options out there some of which are free. If you are not gonna go a lot into mixing and do the post production maybe Pro Tools Ultimate is a bit of an overkill but if you are looking to do the mix you may also wanna get some audio plugins. Look for Waves or Arturia plugins online (most of which is simulations of real hardware) which will give a “better” sound to your mixes if used well. It also depends a little on the genre or type of music you are producing.
   
   
   
   That’s it. I was very broad but I did mentioned some basic equipment you can start budgeting. If you need more details about the basics PM me and can help you a bit more, I’m no specialist on some stuff like exquisite mics but know about a bunch that are generally used. Are you in Vancouver by chance? I can help you in the actual physical setup if you are.
   
   Cheers.
   
   Edit: You probably want a powerful laptop or a desktop computer btw but I figure out you already have one.

So assuming that all normal PC components are included (PC, display, keyboard, mouse), as well as monitors or headphones, this is what I'd do:

DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab [FREE]

• Having a DAW should really be the first thing you look at. I don't use Cakewalk personally but I've tried it and for the price, it's unbeatable.
  
  Interface: BEHRINGER UMC22[$59]
  
  
• A very affordable interface with the very good MIDAS preamp. Great value for all of your initial interface needs.
  
  Mic: Audio-Technica AT2020 [$99]
  
  
• Again, a very affordable, but decent, mic. As it's a large diaphragm condenser, it's extremely versatile and will sound great on everything from guitar to vocals.
  
  MIDI Controller: Alesis VMini [$49]
  
  
• For the budget, you'd only need a basic midi controller and Alesis is a tried and true brand in this price segment.
  
  VSTs/Plugins:
  I'd try to get by using as many free VSTs, as well as what's included in Cakewalk. Here's a list of decent free stuff that'd get you started:
  
  Guitar amp sims: LePuo free collection [FREE]
  
  
• LePou is really the gold standard of free guitar plugins. With a bit of tweaking, they sound great. I'd definitely pair them with the TSE Audio TS-808 tubescreamer (also free).
  
  Drum sim: MT Power Drum Kit [FREE]
  
  
• A Steven Slate-style drum VST with good samples and a decent groove editor. For the price, you can't go wrong.
  
  Other plugins:
  
  
• For synths, effects and other plugins, VST4FREE is your friend. They have a great selection of free stuff.
  
  Assuming your PC is relatively recent and has enough horsepower to run a production suite, and you have monitors/headphones that are fine for mixing, this would be a great place to start out. Also, even after buying extras like cables, mic stands, pop filters etc, I'd say you have about $200-250 left for whatever genre specific stuff you'd want - whether it be a used guitar, a second mic (such as the Shure SM57 [$95]) or a second hand hardware synthesizer, for instance.

The standard elgato may not be a great choice for twitch, since there is a ~2 second delay that can be a bit of an annoyance.

You basically need:
A capture card
GV-USB2 is pretty great quality for SD, but installing the drivers is entirely in japanese. They're pretty easy to figure out by just hitting random buttons and guessing, but people have made guides for "hit these buttons in this order". Once you set it up, it'll work perfectly from then on. The Dazzle DVC 100 used to be a pretty common choice, but I think the GV-USB2 is honestly better (I have a Dazzle, and even I'll admit the GV-USB2 is better).

As far as a splitter/switch, unpowered splitter cables would be fine, such as these plugged into the side of your NES, just make sure you get RCA cables that match up to go to your TV and to your capture card. If you want to get the best picture quality, a powered splitter/switch like this one will give a slightly better picture and will give you room to hook up more consoles as well (since it is a switch as well).

As for software, the standard entry-level streaming software is OBS, and for free software, it honestly is pretty great. If you want to spend money, there's some other good stuff out there, but OBS does everything you'd probably want to do. If you want something a bit better for a timer than your iPhone, try LiveSplit. You can setup splits to keep track of your pace (though considering how short the WR is, just a basic timer is probably fine, this will just allow you to let people watching on youtube or twitch see your timer too).

If you need any help otherwise, let me know.

Cases are super subjective, that one will do fine if you like the look of it. It's an ATX case though, so I think you should get an full ATX motherboard. ATX motherboards have more slots, usually cheaper, and may be higher quality but that's a crapshoot. For the motherboard get this MSI one. It's a little more expensive than the one you have but that's because the one you had a cheaper business chipset. The different in features between the B85 you had and the H87
I'm recommending out is better SATA and USB3 support. Also better power distribution for your CPU the benefits of which isn't super important.

If you were to get a SSD, you would install windows on it and a few games. All of the other stuff will go to your harddrive. There's a SSD optimization guide on the sidebar, it was written for Windows 7 but it should be pretty much the same for 8. If you do end up getting one this Sandisk Extreme is pretty good. You can also look at Samsung's 840 series they're good as well.


Wireless depends on several things, whether you could snake a cable through the house, what kind of router you have (802.11n or above?), and what kind of games you'll be playing (get wired for twitch shooters or MOBA's). The GTX770 is actually a pretty significant improvement over the GTX760, look at benchmarks and determine if you think it's worth it for the games you play. The main thing to look for is that whether it pushes the FPS to over 60.

As for the keyboard. There's mechanical and nonmechanical keyboards. Mechanical keyboards are the clicky type that old IBM keyboards (I dont' know how old you are) were. They feel more solid and are loved by games for their responsiveness. I have a Corsair Vengeance k70 that I love. It's expensive though, there's also the cooler master one. This is a whole another can of worms, there's also different switch types. /r/MechanicalKeyboards can help you there. For the mouse I can safely recommend the Logitech G400 but for MMO's you might want more keys so there's always the G600 by logitech or the Razer Naga. I'm personally not a big fan of Razer's stuff I think they're way too flashy and apparently their build quality has gone down over the years as well. You'll have to do some research on your own there.

Alright, game time lol. Sorry if i overwhelm you here, its a LOT to take in without knowing much in the first place.

First of all, a budget of under 1000 bucks is not going to mic all of these things at the same time, and pay for interfaces, and software (like ProTools, Logic, etc.) So i'm going to recommend mics that you can use for multiple things.

The most expensive of these things is actually the software... so if you were to somehow find a copy of it, maybe say from your friends who like to swap poop decks and walk the plank, then we're working with a much more reasonable goal here.

Basically the first thing you learn in the audio industry when it comes to recording instruments - if you dont know what to use, slap a Shure SM57 on it. It's essentially the go-to god microphone for everything. That "everything" includes your sons snare drum, and even micing up an acoustic guitar, or electric guitar's amp.

Now for that bass drum, and bass amp, you want a large diaphragm mic. This Shure Beta52 will do the trick quite nicely for both of those.

Ok there. We've got the software, snare, guitars, bass drum, and bass guitar out of the way. That leaves us with toms, overheads, and keyboard.

For toms, this is where i'm gonna save some money. The beautiful thing about drums is that even with a lower-end mic, you can get a great sound with some tuning beforehand, and EQing afterwards. For this reason, i'm gonna recommend some Shure PG56's. And be sure to get 3 of them for all 3 of your sons toms. The overheads will pick up his roto-toms up above the rack toms, dont worry about those. I've got'cha covered.

For the overheads, i'm gonna go ahead and recommend using a pair of MXL 603's(2 come in this package, so only order 1 on here if you go for it lol). Now i'm really fighting myself not to recommend a pair of Shure PG81's here, because Shure really does a great job at having a nice flat response, but the MXL 603's will do their job as being drum overheads, as well as micing some other things like being a room mic while recording vocals if you want that kind of sound. (PS: for recording these vocals, you can use whatever that mic in the picture is, or even use the SM57 from the snare drum. The only difference between that and an SM58 (which is the standard go-to for live vocals) is the wind screen. So stick a pair of pantyhose between the singer and the SM57 and it'll sound great. Like i said, its a magical microphone.)

Now all these mics dont do squat without an interface. And dont worry, i haven't forgotten about the keys. Seeing as how your son is using windows, which in turn means PC, then we want a USB interface with at least 8 channels for your drums. Also, when it comes to keys, they're almost always just recorded with a direct in, no micing involved. This Tascam US-1800 interface will take care of that. You can also record directly into this with all the guitars too, if you want to get a whole band recording at once, while you're using the mics for drums. As an added bonus with this interface, it comes with a copy of Cubase, which is some software for it all. Now, i strongly prefer Pro Tools over pretty much everything else (though i do use Ableton for running tracks live), if you're uncomfortable with talking to those pirate-like friends, or just an honest guy, Cubase will do the job you want it to for those home recordings.

Total cost comes out to about 950 bucks if i add it up all correctly. You're seriously awesome for doing all of this for your son. I would freak out so much if my dad got all this stuff for me. I've used all of the EXTENSIVELY (i'm talkin every weekend since was 14, and pretty much daily in the past 3 years) but i've never owned them. What a cool present :]

If you're not opposed to getting things separately, then I have some recommendations and suggestions. I know it's a lot of info, but I've explained in the least technical way I can. Ask me if you have questions.

I've used many headphones/headsets for gaming (AKG K52, AKG Q701, Audeze LCD-2 Classic, Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x, Beyerdynamic DT990 (600 Ω), HiFiMan HE-400i (revision), HiFiMan HE-500, HyperX Cloud, Koss Porta Pro, Monoprice Monolith M1060, Philips Fidelio X2, Philips SHP9500, Sennheiser HD598, Sennheiser HD700, Sennheiser HD800, Superlux HD662 EVO, Superlux HD668B, Superlux HD669, Superlux HD681 EVO, Tritton Pro+, Turtle Beach Ear Force XP Seven) and my recommendation is HD668B if you want a cheap headphone.

If you need sound isolation, then I recommend HD669 first and K52 second, but only if you need the isolation.

My ultimate recommendations are DT990 and AD700x.

HD668B:

SOUND

It has subdued sub-bass, emphasized mid-bass, and emphasized treble. Sub-bass is how deep the bass goes and is where rumble comes from. For competitive shooters, you don't want this as it masks or overshadows sound cues. Mid-bass is where impact comes from. Generally, you also want as little mid-bass as possible, but with HD668B, this isn't an issue, which brings me to its advantages. Treble is the highest frequencies and brings out details more. For gaming, HD668B has great clarity, which isn't far away from much higher priced headphones. It has clean bass and a little sharp treble. How you perceive the treble, largely depends on how sensitive you are and what your point of reference is. In games, the treble isn't nearly as bright as it is in music.

HD668B has a large soundstage and very good imaging and separation. Soundstage is produced by the headphone, not the game. It's perceived space and environment of sound. It's the size of the sound field around you. A small soundstage makes the environment around you sound confined or boxed in. With a large soundstage, the environment sounds much more spatial, open and natural. You can't comprehend it without experiencing it. Imaging is inherent to the audio content. It's how accurately the locations of sounds/objects are reproduced. Soundstage and imaging constitute positional audio. Separation is how you discern individual sounds from a range of overlapping sounds.

BUILD AND ERGONOMICS

HD668B has a semi-open design (as you can see with the vents on the earcups), so sound passes freely through, unlike closed headphones which isolate sound from passing through to some extent. The sonic benefits of an open / semi-open design are generally a larger soundstage and better imaging. HD668B has a lightweight and durable build without flimsy or squeaky parts. The earcups tilt and swivel. The earpads are shallow and have bad quality, so I recommend swapping them out with HiFiMan ear pads. A popular alternative is Cosmo ear pads. The self-adjusting head pad design works well on my head; it doesn't slide down, press upwards, or cause any hotspots. The clamping force is on the stronger side. I have an average sized head.

Mics & setup:

You can turn any headphone into a headset by adding an Antlion ModMic 4. It attaches magnetically to a base that you stick to either earcup. It's easy to attach and detach and uses a very strong magnet and adhesive. The mic has a flexible neck and can be tilted up and out of sight. It has a very good build quality and great sound quality for voice chat and casual streaming. It doesn't have volume and mic mute control, but you can use either of these: adjustR, BENGOO, [Fosmon](https://www.amazon.com/DualShock-Controller-Fosmon-Headphone-Playstation/dp/B01N2T5MQ7/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1505627462&sr=1-2&keywords=Fosmon+audio+controller],
Insignia,
Lucid Sound AdjustR.

If you're like me and don't like to have a mic in your peripheral vision, then you have options like Blue Yeti, Neewer Clip on Mini Lapel Microphone, Samson Go and Zalman ZM-Mic1.

You connect the headphone and ModMic, Neewer mic, or Zalman mic to the controller by using a TRRS Y-splitter. You can connect them to the USB port on PS4 instead by using an audio USB adapter. This doesn't require a Y-splitter as the adapter has separate jacks for the headphone and mic.

The Snowball and Samson Go connect directly to the USB port on PS4.

EDIT: To people who downvote, grow a spine and challenge what people say. Or are you just incapable of articulating an opinion or a counter-argument?

>Im worried that being that the AT2020 is a cardioid mic

I think you mean that the AT2020 being a condenser mic not a cardioid mic. The AT2020 is both a cardioid and a condenser mic, but the "cardioid" refers to the polar pattern and "condenser" refers to the type of transducer. You definitely want to get a cardioid or hypercardioid microphone.

Condenser microphones are much more sensitive than dynamic microphones. That means that they pick up your voice from further away but also pick up more background noise. Condenser microphones also general will record a more accurate respresentation of the sound input (they sound better). Generally you want a condenser mic about 6-8" from your mouth pointed directly at you (or slightly off-axis) and directly away from any background noise.

Dynamic microphones are less sensitive so they don't pick up as much background noise but they also generally need to be closer to the sound source. They also don't have as good audio quality for lower end microphones. Generally you would want a dynamic mic 3-4" from your mouth pointed directly at you (or slightly off-axis) and directly away from any background noise.

If you have $300 to spend on an interface and microphone then I suggest spending more of it on the interface and less on the mic and then upgrading the mic in the future if needed. That is because some of the lower priced interfaces will introduce noise into your system. There are two main styles of interface. There's the tube amp style (think Scarlett 2i2 or Presonus audiobox 2x2) and there are mixing boards (think Behringer Xenyx or Yamaha MG10XU). For your price range the tube amps will give you better sound but you won't be able to adjust it as much hardware-side. The mixing boards will give you much more control over your audio but with slightly reduced quality. since you are streaming I highly recommend going the mixing board route, but that is up to you. Personally I love my Mackie ProFX8V2 ($200) but the Yamaha MG10XU ($200) is basically made for streamers. I like my Mackie because it has audio inputs which allows you to easily add hardware effects (EQ, compressors, gates, etc). The Yamaha has a very simple built-in compressor that you might find useful.

If you want to go the audio interface route then I highly suggest the Steinberg UR242 ($170) or the Presonus Audiobox 44VSL ($200). These will give you the best sound for your money. I have tried every one of these interfaces and mixing boards and these 4 are my favorite. The Scarlett gave me huge problems and has also given all of my content creator friends issues.

Now for microphones. You mentioned that you wanted the SM7b but did not want to price tag. The SM7b is basically an upgraded version of the SM58 ($100) and SM57 ($100). The SM58 is geared slightly more towards vocals while the SM57 is geared slightly more towards insturments, however they are very similar. These microphones are nearly indestructible, are the go-to microphones for live stage performances, and the SM57 is what President Obama used for every one of his speeches. It has This cover on it. I highly recommend either microphone and they will pair well with your $200 interface and sits right in your $300 budget.

If you have any questions please let me know, I would be happy to help.

Ableton is a great DAW and is my preferred software choice for recording/editing.

You can use the TASCAM to capture your performances and transferring those .wav files into Ableton for editing but you'll have a much better experience recording directly into your computer.

You can go a few different routes here. You can pick up an audio interface that accepts an XLR connection for a proper microphone like a Presonus Audiobox and an SM57 which will allow you to capture as good a single channel signal as you can really get outside of a big recording studio.

OR you can go with something cheaper like a Blue Snowball USB microphone. These things actually sound surprisingly good and have multiple settings for directional and omni modes for different situations.

Once you have a way of capturing audio directly into Ableton you can start building up your songs layer by layer. Experiment with things like EQ and compression/delay/etc to make your guitar tracks sound nicer. There are built in patched in Ableton for EQ like "Acoustic Guitar" or "Electric Guitar" and just dragging one of those onto your channel will be a great place to start.

That's a skill in and of itself but you have to start somewhere so start experimenting.

When starting out applying EQ to tracks I'd start this way :

• Solo the track so you're only listening to the single layer
  
  
• Create a single EQ filter with a high Q value so it creates a really sharp and thin "peak" and drag it upwards so it's amplifying a very narrow band of frequencies quite a bit.
  
  
• Drag that "peak" left and right while the audio is playing and listen for something that jumps out at you as unpleasant. Now drag the peak DOWN to bring those frequencies down in the mix to remove whatever harshness you discovered. Bring down the Q value to make that trough a bit wider and smoother.
  
  Do that 3 or 4 times on a channel and you'll have something that sounds a bit nicer. If you do too much it'll sound hollow and empty so make subtle adjustments as much as possible. Don't dump that "bad frequency" all the way to the bottom, just bring it down a little bit so it doesn't jump out at you.
  
  You won't be creating drastically new tones this way, just polishing them so they sound nicer.
  
  Having a good pair of headphones or even some inexpensive studio monitors will also be extremely helpful so you can accurately hear what you're producing.
  
  Use the built-in metronome and record with headphones (so the click doesn't get picked up by the microphone) to keep things tight.
  
  Once you've finished your audio and it's how you like it THEN film your video and just play along with the click. Don't use any audio from the video recording and just pair the two back up in editing.

It's a great machine. Only problem I've had is the forced updates from Microsoft that have kind of broken my automatic controller functionality in a lot of games. I've seen other issues, though they all seem to be repairable/reversible issues. This specific issue has made it difficult for some of my games to easily see there's a controller available.

I have a 128 GB Samsung Ultra Fit USB flash drive that sits in the back. It's very low key and not noticeable. It does make it difficult to move the screen back completely but the position it is in is just fine with me. There is also a common issue with the USB 3.0 port that makes it sometimes not readable but it just takes a little move and the system recognizes its in there. Just seems to be a cheaply made port, is all. It works most times and has never randomly disconnected on me. This just usually becomes a problem when I remove it and put it back in. Currently there doesn't seem to be anything this small to allow for portability and ease of putting in your pocket, etc. that's above 128 GB. I paid like $30 for it at a local store. That has all of my games on it with Skyrim being the only game I have installed on the internal memory.

In addition to that, I have a 64 GB Micro SD card that is in there and I've just started using it for anything extra I have. 256 GB Micro SD cards are pretty pricey at $150+ for a decent one that will work with your gaming needs.

If you truly stick to emulators, I think that 128 GB USB flash drive will be suffice for you for everything while helping you save money and allowing you time to save up for a 256 GB Micro SD card like I'm doing.

The GPD Win is pretty pricey on its own but you can get lucky if you don't mind getting one used. I got one in superb condition for $300 off eBay (the number 1 key doesn't work, but that's okay) as they are about $439 brand new starting and they take longer to ship because they come from China. I've also read some people having issues where customs opened their box thinking it was drugs. There are also people on this sub selling theirs, one guy today posted one asking $250 and saying it's brand new in the packaging. Doing that may help you save money to put towards an expensive, good SD card too.

Good monitors are huge. Headphone sound is fine, but you want to mix using unbiased reference monitors so you know what things are going to sound like. Then you make sure it sounds good through headphones, in the car, etc. Even something like these will make a huge difference. If you've got some extra coin, go for something better. I found a pair of Mackie HR842 monitors on eBay for $250 (the old ones, not the new mk2 model). They're amazing.

You don't need more inputs than what you're actually using. If you're trying for a cheap home studio, your Apogee will work just fine. Just switch cables/inputs when you're recording something new.

But anyway. Here we go. What I would buy (of note, these are all Amazon affiliate links):

Mics:

• Shure SM58 - $100 (for vocals)
  
  
• Shure SM57 - $100 (for guitars/vocals)
  
  
• Sennheiser e609 - $100 (for guitars, so you can double-mic)
  
  
• 20' mic cable - $7.50 (2 for $15)
  
  Monitors:
  
  
• M-Audio Studiophile AV 30 - $85
  
  
• Auralex MoPAD monitor pads - $44
  
  
• OnStage SMS6000 monitor stands - $100 (if your desk isn't large enough)
  
  Bass:
  
  
• Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI - $200
  
  I've been out of the "assorted percussion" game for a while, so you'll have to use your best judgement for that.
  
  All that I've listed is $744 off of Amazon. You can DEFINITELY find cheap used mics and the Bass DI. Look for Gear Talk: Classifieds on Facebook, for example. This is all stuff that you can use today to get your home studio off the ground and functional. You also have $256 to spend on other stuff that you might need (percussion, surdo, etc.)
  
  Logic and Pro Tools are built from the ground up to be recording suites. Ableton, while certainly being a live-sound-first option, works just fine. Nothing wrong with getting your feet wet using Ableton, and switching over to a bigger/better suite later. I recorded my first EP using GarageBand before making the transition myself.
  
  Start with the basics. Start with what you NEED to record, not what you want. While what you already have is basic and not feature packed, it works and will get you in the game. (Related: stay away from plugins until you know how to really mix well with the basic compressor and EQ your recording suite comes with.)
  
  Hope that helps!

I, personally, would go with the G400. it's the upgraded and current version of the MX 518 which is still regarded as a great mouse even despite its age. I personally use a G5 which is getting a little old but still works great after all these years. If you want a great gaming mouse that will last you many years of constant use then go with the G400. Also, I know it's out of your price range, but the G500 would be the next step up.

EDIT: I must also point out that I am partial to these mice that I have listed because I really like the way they feel in my hand because of their shape and size. You need to think about the way that you grip your mouse and what you think will feel best in your hand. If you can, try to go to a store that has at least some of them in stock to feel them yourself. With that in mind, a very large number of people regard these mice as great and comfortable mice to use as you can see from the positive reviews.

Easycap clones ($5-10~)

If you're extremely short on funds you can play the easycap clone roulette and hope you get one that kinda works maybe.

You might end up getting one that just happens to suite your needs fine.... or you might not.

Not Reccomended, but cheap

Used Dazzle DVC100 ($20~)

Dazzles can be somewhat cheap used, they're still not the best capture cards money can buy and have some driver issues, but it's a popular choice and works for a lot of people well enough. Can be found on ebay for pretty cheap.

Probably the cheapest option aside from the "Easycrap" clones

KWorld ($30~)

/u/TLoZSR mentioned a while back that he was a fan of This KWorld Capture card.

I've seen a few of his videos with it and they look perfectly fine.

EZCaps ($30-$35~)

I've heard ok things about the legit EZCaps (not the cheap clones)
If you go this route make sure you're not ending up with a fake!

I don't have any personal experience with them.

GV-USB2 ($50~)

This defiantly deserves an honorable mention, although isn't anywhere as cheap as a used dazzle. Default settings out of the box are great, picture quality is very good, good drivers, and pretty much no complaints. Oh and here's an amazon link I guess (can be hard to find elsewhere). Box / driver installation is in Japanese, but not too difficult to figure out.

I use it personally and I really like it

These are all SD capture cards with composite/S-video, composite will look not so great regardless of a powered splitting setup, however it's defiantly recommended if you use S-Video (powered splitters can cost $30-50~), alternatively you may be able to get by without splitters if you have a video cable with both S-Video and composite (s-video would go into your capture card), but you may also lose a bit of quality that way if the cables aren't too good.

https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Splitters explains a fair bit

Good Luck!

I'm going to assume you're talking about electric guitar, and you want to record on to your computer.

We'll go with the simplest/cheapest way (Note, you won't want to run an electric guitar directly into a computer, it'll generally sound like crap)

First off, you'll need a microphone. The Shure SM57 is an industry standard for recording many things, from guitar cabs to snare drums, and more. It's only $100, too! There's a knockoff of that mic, for half the price, that's supposed to be just as good (some people even prefer the sound), the GLS-57. Both of these mics are "dynamic" mics, and either of these mics will work.

You'll need to get a mic stand to place the mic in the proper position on the amp, which is a separate lesson in and of itself.

Next, you need a way to get the mic signal into your computer. The quickest, cheapest, but least featured way to do so would be something like the Blue Icicle. You would plug it into your computer, plug an XLR cable into it, and plug the mic into that cable.

For software, the most basic, and free software is Audacity. It really is pretty basic, but you can plug your stuff in, hit record, and it'll record. If you want something more powerful, check out Reaper. It's really good, and pretty cheap (and has a more or less unlimited trial period if you're that kind of person). It is somewhat complex though, and it'll take a decent amount of time to get comfortable with. If you have a Mac, Garage Band is just peachy.

inally, the last important part is hearing what you're recording. At the low-end, you're probably better off with headphones. I recommend either the Sennheiser HD280s or the less expensive Sony MDR-V6s (mostly identical to their professional MDR-7506s). If you want to get some actual monitors, check out the Behringer MS16s.

Unsurprisingly, you can spend a hell of a lot more money on any of these things. Feel free to ask any questions!

Bonus advice! If you want to record an acoustic guitar, instead of the SM57, you'd want to get a small diaphragm condenser (SDC) mic, like the MXL 603S.

I went with the Libre Renegade since it was on Amazon and had prime shipping but it looks like Amazon only has the
4GB for $80 so it would be pointless to pay that much when the NanoPi M4 is $65

Looks like you can still get the 1GB version ($35) and the heatsink($4) from Love our PI but anything above that would be a waste of $ the main benefit is a solid OMV 4 build and the fact you can use any Rasp Pi case.


Here's the case I bought for $10.

I had to mod it to fit but I was able to easily mount a 40mm Noctua fan to it
So you're looking at around $50 not counting micro SD.

Then I have a 4bay Mediasonic Probox with 4x8TB shucked WD My Books(WD80EZAZ) and Easy Stores(WD80EMAZ). The 4 i purchased were all basically the same white drives which are the same thing as the 8TB reds.

Currently getting 100-110mbs and SMART actually works perfectly.

So total cost is gonna set you back $150 for everything except hard drives.

With that said, I personally would still go the same route since I know its reliable and all the kinks are ironed out.
The RK3399 boards are coming out every day so I would probably get the NanoPi M4 since it has OMV ready to go.

You can use an iPad Pro or a Surface tablet, but both are expensive. On the other hand, they are both excellent for reading textbooks (pdfs of most math textbooks are easy to get), too. If you don't already have a laptop for school, then both are good choices.

Anyway, if you already have a non-touch laptop, then you can buy a cheap (<$100) Wacom tablet. They're suitable for drawing and painting, which makes them more than sufficient for writing math and sketching diagrams. I have used my tablet for online tutoring, sketches for lecture notes, etc. (I have this one: https://www.amazon.com/Wacom-CTL490DW-Digital-Drawing-Graphics/dp/B010LHRFM2)

I will say it probably is easier to draw diagrams and so forth on a tablet, especially if you have decent software (e.g., I use FireAlpaca for drawing), because you can easy undo strokes, copy and paste, and move things, plus you can use a correction tool to make near-perfect circles and the like (or just use the circle tool). I also like being able to keep all my stuff without having to deal with boxes full of files filling up my office space.

Alternatively, you could live TeX your notes (drawing diagrams with the tablet or on paper). You have to be somewhat proficient in \LaTeX as well as a decent typist, but the result is nice. The disadvantage there is you might not remember what you wrote as well as if you had written it by hand. Some people combine the two approaches. For instance, they might take detailed tablet notes followed by more big-picture LaTeX notes.

I'm not sure what is best—paper, tablet, or TeX—especially given people are sure to have different preferences, but these are your best options as far as I know.

At first I was surprised as well, but the more I think about it, it makes sense.

The NES Classic is selling like hotcakes because of hype. When the hype dies, the sales fall off a cliff. I really don't know anything at all about their supply chain, but it seems that Nintendo has been increasingly reliant on "off-the-shelf" hardware ever since the Wii. For example, there was a little "ATI" logo stamped on the Wii because Nintendo used a regular graphics card for that console, and so ATI "owned" part of that device.

So I'm guessing they don't have a ton of vertical integration for hardware manufacturing. Compare that to Apple, which has been aggressively working to own as much of their hardware manufacturing process as possible, even going as far as to manufacture their own CPUs (iPhones have an "A9" chip or whatever, while other smartphones just buy hardware from companies like Samsung, AMD, nVidia, Qualcomm, etc).

The downside of 100% vertical integration is that if Nintendo wanted to make a new Zelda, they would have to control, manage, and pay for everything that Zelda runs on-- the silicon, the enclosure, the LCD screens, the joysticks, even the plastic game cases and printing of brochures. It's insane when you think about it. The upshot is that when you have complete control over everything, you can "stop the presses" at a moment's notice.

So Nintendo doesn't do vertical integration. Again, I have no insider info, but it's become increasingly clear simply by Googling around. For example here's a Polygon article that shows the NES classic is just a bunch of off-the-shelf hardware crammed into an offically trademarked plastic box. And this makes perfect sense. It's also notable that the Nintendo Switch is also completely outsourced, from the nVidia graphics to the USB-C port, microSD slot, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc.

It makes sense for them too-- they're a software company that happens to be in the advantageous position of being able to make such incredibly high quality software that people are willing to buy custom hardware just to play it. Imagine if EA Games tried to sell a console, and it was the only way to play games featuring their intellectual property. Holy shit, that would be their single biggest blunder.

But I digress: The NES Classic is "Nintendo" only in terms of IP. They're just buying electronics from various hardware manufacturers, gluing them together, installing an emulator, and slapping their logo on it. It's a fun product, but we all know it isn't going to last. And here's the thing: Nintendo surely gets a better deal on all this third-party hardware than you or I would, but only because they're placing massive bulk orders.

And that's the kicker, in my opinion. They might have sold a ton of NES Classic consoles, but the holiday season is over and the hype is sure to die soon. Say they placed an initial order for 500 million "Mali400MP2" GPUs to build all these cute little consoles, and they got a quote from the manufacturer saying it would cost 50 cents per unit. Good news: They recovered that 250 million cost by completely selling out! But they know the hype is going to die, and buying another 500 million seems like it might be overkill. Maybe they order 250 million. Except now that the order is smaller, the cost per unit has jumped up to 75 cents per unit (I am completely making these numbers up).

So it's a gamble that gets increasingly risky the longer you play. They already made a ton of money from the NES Classic, but as the hype dies, they'll have to make smaller orders and the cost per unit is going to increase. My guess is that they're still licking their wounds from what happened with the Wii. Those things sold shockingly well, until they woke up one morning and suddenly nobody wanted a Wii anymore. I bet that there was a very specific "oh shit" day at Nintendo HQ when they saw that Wii sales had plummeted while they had millions of optimistically-built units sitting in their warehouses.

To me, cancelling the NES Classic is a good example of "quit while you're ahead". I can't imagine how much the Wii is still burned into the memory of every executive at Nintendo. They built something so popular that it became a global social phenomenon, and then suddenly it just died, and they had their worst fiscal year in ages. Because they'd bought and assembled a bunch of Wiis that would never be sold.

I'll admit that this is way too long of a response to "WHY!?!?" but I do find it interesting. I'm only just starting to understand terms like "vertical integration" myself, but it does help to clarify why certain things are the way they are. Comparing Nintendo to Apple is very illuminating. Both companies have insane brand recognition, but they do business very differently. Ever since Steve Jobs died and Tim Cook became the CEO, people have been predicting the death of Apple. Instead, their stock price has more than doubled since the day he died. Jobs was the charismatic leader, but Cook is the king of the supply chain. He's pushed for vertical integration, and it's been working beautifully. Apple makes a crap product like the Watch? They just scale back production.

Because of vertical integration, Apple can fine-tune their manufacturing to such a precise degree that they'll keep selling Apple Watches right up until the last profitable watch is sold, even though it's clearly a failing product. On the other hand, Nintendo sells products that they don't build, so they have nowhere near the degree of granularity when it comes to predicting how their things will sell tomorrow. Neither company can predict the future, but Apple can change everything in a relative instant, while Nintendo has to make an educated guess about how the world is going to look 6 months down the line.

Also, I'm guessing the cancellation of the NES classic is going to conveniently correspond to a sudden influx of Classic NES games being sold for the Switch on the Nintendo eShop, along with various limited-edition consoles and themed peripherals. That being said, I fucking love Nintendo and hope I can die without seeing them go out of business. People who claim that the Switch is currently a $350 Zelda game are basically right, and I don't give a flying fuck. 100% worth it.

On a final note, if you wanted an NES Classic and couldn't get one or don't want to get price-gouged from a hoarder-reseller, I'd do this:

1. Buy a Raspberry Pi 3
   
2. Put it in an NES Case
   
3. You could buy 2 USB NES Controllers for the price of a fancy sandwich, but why not class it up a bit and get some Bluetooth SNES Controllers? Also, if you have unused PS3 controllers laying around and don't mind the lack of authenticity, skip this step.
   
4. Buy a microSD card (32 gb is massive overkill for NES ROMs, but if you bought nicer controllers then you'll probably find yourself wanting to try out some SNES/N64/Playstation games)
   
5. Download lakka.tv and follow the very simple installation instructions.
   
6. Get NES ROMs from the internet, they're almost easier to find than porn.
   
   Total cost (including the NES controllers and the microSD card) rounds up to $85. And a cheaper Pi will play NES games just fine, nor do you HAVE to buy the $20 NES-themed plastic case I just randomly found on Amazon. Plus you're not limited to the games that were included on the NES Classic, and once you get bored with playing 30 year-old games there are plenty of other things to do with a Pi... Like write unnecessarily long Reddit posts, which I've just finished doing!

Cheap 2.1 sound? Cyber Acoustics CA-3602 for $40 on Amazon. Brother had this exact set and he liked it, except the control knob was weird to use and it was impossible to plug in headphones without messing with the volume wheel. The exposed speakers and plastic casing make it look cheap, but they sound really good considering the cost.

Slightly better sound? Creative Sound BlasterX Kratos S3 for $80 on Amazon. All wood casing gives you great sound and they have a good amount of punch. The sub will be a bit lacking if you place it on the floor. You can get these for about $60 from Fry's Electronics if you sign up for their e-mail promo codes. They knock off $20 retail with the code.

Best bang for your buck? Logitech Z623 for $120 on Amazon or the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 for around $120 on Amazon. Both of these are THX certified and they have a lot of bass. Powerful sub coupled with some great speakers make these awesome for the price.

Cheap tripods are great for traveling, and I've given over a hundred demos with them, but they kinda get in the way, and the larger you make the footprint (to improve stability) -the more they encroach in your play space.

I use these tripods with these swivel adapter things for my on-the-road show. As long as they don't get bumped, you're good to go.

For home, I use This tension rod and this rod mount - you may need a longer rod- I run it from the top of my dresser to the ceiling and the top of my computer desk to the ceiling. The 87 inch one isn't long enough to go from floor to ceiling for me.

As far as other essentials, two of these help with plugging the lighthouses in. An HDMI Extender, Power extender, and a USB 3.0 Extender (those three work perfectly for me) will make your life 100x more easy, especially if your computer isn't directly next to your play space. The extra 10 feet makes a world of difference for reducing tangles, reducing the number of times you have to stop and untwist your cord, and making you not worry about yanking on your computer when you get to the far corner.

Lastly, this wireless keyboard thing will save you from running back and forth from your desktop.

---

As far as sweatyness, I got over the ickyness pretty quickly. My friends have mastered basic hygiene, and face sweat doesn't smell all gross or anything. After each demo, I run the foam under the sink to rinse it off, then dab it with a paper towel and set it on a box fan to dry. It's good to go as soon as the next person is done and I repeat the process. I ended up buying a set of new face foams from the HTC website after I lost my narrow face foam though :(

I, like you, used to build computers about 10 years ago, right when I was getting out of high school and into college. I just recently built one again after being a mac/xbox user before, and it was like riding a bike again when it came to assembling it.

Some thoughts based on the computer I just built:

• My budget was a bit higher, which I sunk almost entirely into a GTX 670 FTW and 128 GB SSD. I considered getting rid of the SSD altogether to save some cash, because I thought it wouldn't make much of a difference. I was so wrong. It makes a huge difference. In fact, my next purchase is going to be a 256 GB SSD because I am running out of space on the first one.
  
  
• I bought a really nice Samsung 1080p monitor from my brother-in-law, but before that deal worked itself out I was looking at something like this from Acer, right in that $150 price range.
  
  
• I went with an Nvidia card because it was the latest and greatest, and 10 years ago I had trouble with a Radeon card (which has no bearing on the present, I know). I love my 670, but you're right about price:performance with Radeon.
  
  
• I have an i5 3570K which I am not currently overclocking. I threw a Hyper 212+ on it anyways to give myself the option. It's only $20 and will save a lot of time and hassle in the future if you do decide it's something you want to try.
  
  
• I put my computer in a NZXT Phantom 400 midtower. In retrospect, I wish I'd gone with something smaller. If your gut says small, go small. To go MicroATX look at this Mobo and this case.
  
  
• I have a super cheap $20 keyboard that works just fine, and a Logitech G500 mouse (which was a gift). The mouse is awesome, but is a bit overkill for my needs. Really think about what you need out of a mouse before you drop $50 on one. If I was spending my own money, I'd go with the ~$30 G300 or G400, or something even cheaper like this GigaByte. Just get one that fits your grip style.
  
  
• I have mine hooked up wirelessly right now until I can run cable... I borrowed a friend's Belkin USB stick wireless adapter... the thing's a champion. I was shocked. I will never recommend Belkin and am inclined to believe I am the exception and not the rule in this case, but a wireless USB stick may be something to look into.

This isn't what you want to hear, but I suggest trying to grow your budget a bit. If that means holding off a bit, do it. You can get a pair of budget speakers for $20 (no idea about conversion) and then try to set aside a bit more for something that will actually wow you in a few months. I used to work as a musician, so I'm generally a fan of powered monitors. I personally use the Audio Engine A5+ system (with an added subwoofer) and am a huge fan of them in general. Have a great sound signature, push enough air to handle decent bass without a subwoofer for most things, and have fantastic clarity in the sound.

You could save a bit more by downgrading from there to the A2+, and they may even do better on the wall (A5+ usually suggests about 6 inches of clearance from the wall to get proper air movement.)


If you really don't want to wait or don't want to spend the extra to get into the world of audiophile quality, the CA-3602a (couldn't find a UK link) is a pretty solid budget option.

Given both like art, would a low-end drawing tablet be in the cards?

For Rylee, maybe an art kit composed of the following: Tachikawa nibs and holders and ink, or a finetipped pen set Deleter manga paper, and a grown up sketchbook a la trendy Moleskine or Pentalic or classic art student hardcovers like so. As she develops as an artist she'll learn more whether she likes different sizes, thicker or thinner paper, or toned paper. Maybe throw in a few making of books from her favorite series (like IDK this one for Avatar the Last Airbender or this one for Spirited Away.) Getting a good making of book for a movie or animated film can be life changing. For me, even though I read it years after Brother Bear came out, this was an enlightening read about the movie making process and has some seriously gorgeous art. I haven't read the one for Moana yet so I have no idea whether it leans more toward text (like the making of Hunchback of Notre Dame did...so very little art in that book) or pictures, but it's more recent than Brother Bear. And yes, most of us artists have these books on our shelves, albeit with different movies/series depending on taste. Some of the Marvel movies have excellent making of books too. ;)

I'd recommend some drawing books, but the ones I know all have nudity in them and I don't know how you'd feel about that. I'd caution against 'how to draw manga' books as a general rule, but I owned a few and some art very, very good at teaching how to direct the eye for storytelling.

For your younger, I'd suggest many of the same things, except maybe not the nibs and ink because sharp and messy. If you get either of them colored art supplies, I'd either make sure they get the exact same set of markers or colored pencils, or get one markers, the other colored pencils. It can be rough sharing an interest with a sibling. And maybe some Sideways Math from Wayside School (I'd also suggest all three Wayside School books, they're brain bendy in a good way). Another brain tickling book (for me it was, anyway) was the Phantom Tollbooth. Maybe a how to draw horses book. A making of book or two about movies she liked - Frozen, maybe? IDK. Maybe a Goldiblox set to get her engineer brain in gear. Oh! I forgot about Spirit, the animated horse movie no one remembers.

The new Haswell Intel i7-4770 is going to out perform the FX-8350 by a long shot. You'll need 16GB of RAM for video editing. Decent, non-flashy case. Solid PSU. Windows 7 Pro. Dual IPS panel 23" monitors. I went with an unconventional mouse, but you can check it out and see if you would like it. Nice mechanical keyboard with Cherry MX brown switches (great for typing and general purpose). The speakers are amazing, but if you don't need anything that powerful, these are pretty good too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-4770 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | $314.99 @ NCIX US
Motherboard | MSI B85-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $79.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $107.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Corsair Force Series GT 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $226.48 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $87.99 @ NCIX US
Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card | $129.99 @ Amazon
Case | NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case | $49.03 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic S12II 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $72.98 @ SuperBiiz
Optical Drive | Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer | $17.98 @ Outlet PC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $129.98 @ Outlet PC
Monitor | Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor | $154.99 @ Newegg
Monitor | Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor | $154.99 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard | $74.99 @ TigerDirect
Mouse | Logitech M570 Wireless Trackball | $44.69 @ Amazon
Speakers | Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 120W 2.1ch Speakers | $161.98 @ Best Buy
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $1809.04
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-06 13:45 EDT-0400 |

Hi r/audiophiles!

Context/Background:

I'm an FPS gamer (and plan to start streaming) and am building a new silent gaming rig! I currently have some terrific headphones and am looking to find some minimal bass 2.0 Speakers for my sit/stand desk. Parts being considered are below. Questions at end. Thank you! Also, regarding "minimal bass", that is an absolute requirement - unless it's easily adjustable. Speakers are intended for casual gameplay/music, whereas headphones are used competitively (e.g. pinpointing reloads/footsteps)

​

Currently Using (don't plan to replace):

1. Headphones: Sennheiser HD 598 and Sennheiser HD 599 (they're open-back, btw)
   
   ​
   
   Purchasing Plans:
   
   
2. Sound Card or AMP/DAC: NONE
   
   1. Motherboard Built-In Sound Card: Z390 Taichi Ultimate
      
      1. 7.1 CH HD Audio (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec)
         
      2. Supports Purity Sound 4 & DTS Connect
         
3. Speakers: Maybe Klipsch R-41PM or DIY?
   
4. Microphone: Audio-Technica's 2020 USB+
   
5. Microphone Boom Arm: Rode PSA1
   
6. Microphone Shock Mount: Rode PSM1
   
7. Microphone Pop Filter: VocalBeat WindScreen
   
8. UPS/SP: Cyber Power CP1500PFCLCD (1500VA/900W, 10 outlets, AVR) - mentioned, due to interference potential
   
9. Wall Acoustic Panels: DIY + Satin Fabric
   
10. Window Sound Proofing: DIY Window Inserts, else possibly Acoustic Curtain (12 lbs, adhesive/velcro wall backed)
    
    ​
    
    Questions: <in order of greatest importance to me, if you're time crunched>
    
    
11. What 2.0 speakers would you recommend, given my serious bass concerns?
    
12. Does any of the equipment I mention really "need" an AMP/DAC (or independent sound card) to enjoy the quality of it? Also, again, I'm personally not an audiophile, so please bear that in mind!
    
13. Am I a fool to go for a windscreen instead of a traditional pop filter? I'd prefer to not have something obtrusive in my face while gaming and I do have some resonance concerns I'm still trying to resolve in-room (which leads to next two questions).
    
14. Sound Proofing: I linked above the best DIY video I could find, but if anyone has a superior window insert solution, I'm DYING to find out. Or, if people think the super heavy velcro-adhesive backing curtains will suffice hold a candle to the window inserts, that would be great to know, too!
    
15. Sound Deadening: I'm planning on the DIY linked above, as opposed to traditional acoustic foam cut-outs, given the reasoning explained in the video (if you didn't watch, it purports ~10x superior deadening, aids proofing further, and is far cheaper). Are there any flaws with my approach, before I go and churn out a dozen of these in a maker space? Granted, I understand one can "over-deaden" a room, if not careful.

With NVIDIA GeForce Experience, a free piece of software that works for any GTX 500-700 series graphics card will configure almost all games for you with the push of a button. You can build a PC for around $560 that is 26.1 liters, or if you're really concerned about size $600, which will be 14 liters which is still about twice the size of the XBox One, but it's still very mobile. You can access Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, sports livestreams, a PC access pretty much all of the media either console can, unless I'm missing something. Using a PC isn't as difficult as people say it is. As long as you don't accidentally download crappy toolbars that bog down your web browser it's pretty easy, and you can, like I said before use GeForce Experience to do all the work for you. There are just as many, if not more casual games on PC compared to console. you can play something that's somewhat casual like Titanfall, or you can play side-scrollers like Fez, and Starbound. You do need a keyboard and a pointing device, however you can get a standard keyboard, you could get something along the lines of this which is not smaller than most keyboards, but it's wireless, and has a built in trackpad. If you have tiny thumbs you could use this. You can even use a wireless 360 controller as a pointing device, and use a chat pad as the keyboard. With the advent of steam joining another player's game is just as easy as on a console. If I see one of my friends is playing Borderlands 2 I can launch it up, click on his name, click join game, and I'm in. No pre-configuration required, just a steam account.

Sure. There's plenty of disk bays that connect to the PC via USB 3 or esata. I have a Drobo, which has served me well, but my next purchase will likely be something cheaper than that. I've been running it nearly 24/7 since I bought it 4 years ago (there was a month or two when my PC was off, so the drobo was in sleep mode).

There's a wide range of things like that available. Just search 5 Bay enclosure or 5 hdd Bay on Amazon (I'm on my phone or else I'd link you).

Edit: Mediasonic ProBox HF2-SU3S2 4 Bay 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure - USB 3.0 & eSATA Support SATA 3 6.0Gbps HDD transfer speed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_E62LybZ817YQM

That's a 4 bay drive for 99 dollars. But just FYI, I don't know much about what hardware is good or reliable for USB drives (or Nas for that matter). It's something I plan to figure out or ask about when I get the money to buy a new enclosure or Nas.

And it should be noted that while I've had a good experience with Drobo (it's super easy to use, you can swap out drives for larger ones when you need to, and it can protect against one or two simultaneous drive failures), they use a proprietary RAID. That means if your drobo enclosure dies, you'll need to get it fixed, or replace it with another Drobo before you can recover the data on your hdds. I've read thaf migrating from one drobo to another is easy, and you don't need to know which order your drives are in or anything like that.

I'm going through some old family tapes myself and though I would share what I'm doing.
I'm totally not sure this is the best way to do it, because there seems to always be a better way to squeeze more quality out of it the more I look, but what I did is use a capture card like this:

https://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539027006&sr=8-1&keywords=i-o+data+usb+connection+video+capture+gv-usb2

Some people buy really good old VCRs with time based correction, but that is just out of my league at the moment, in both money and effort, and I'm happy with the quality I have so far.

I personally capture it using virtualdub with the lagorith lossless codec, though I think there are better ones out there that require more processing power. The files still tend to be quite huge though as raw files tend to be I think. I then use Staxrip to finish it up by trimming it up and applying QTGMC, which is supposedly a very high quality deinterlacer that bumps it up to 59.98 fps, and it denoises the video fairly well too. At the end of this process I have a decent MP4 that I can watch and relive some memories.

At the end of the day though, there is only so much you can do with VHS, and this is just the culmination of me spending way too much time scouring the internet for ways to preserve VHS footage. Its probably not the best way to do it, as I'm continuously finding posts that say one way is better, some its evidence based, some of its subjective. Its a huge headache, depending on how far you want to jump down the rabbit hole, but I hope this helps you if you just want to see how some else has done it. If anybody has any questions, or has found a better and simpler way of doing it let me know though! Still learning. This video got me started

Fellow broke college TO here. My weeklies average around 15 too so i feel like we're in a similar situation. My venue doesn't have good enough internet in the basement to stream to Twitch, so we only record and upload to youtube.

For my laptop, I use a pretty ok, free laptop my college gave me. You don't need anything fancy if you're not streaming.

I use this as a capture card, I got it on sale for like $15. It's far from the best but it really gets the job done and serves its purpose.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/315700/USB_20_Video_and_Audio_Capture_Device

I've also had one of my players recommend me this capture card. I've never used it but I hear it's cheap and it's good.

https://www.amazon.com/I-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y

For the player cam, I use a used camera on got on sale for $11. Once again, it's not great. But it gets the job done on a budget.

For the actual stream layout I found free overlays online, and my homie who's good with photoshop hooked us up with a logo for free.

If you wanna see what we're working with, how it looks, and what the quality looks like here's our Youtube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1bW6_nKMnvljeFXHpogkhw/playlists

If you have any questions just hit me up. I'd love to help another little local scene like mine grow!

Pro Tools definitely isn't necessary if you're getting Logic Pro, but if it fits your budget at the end, go for it.

For Headphones, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, or Sennheiser HD280 Pro if you want to allocate more of the budget to other gear.

Assuming you're not going to doing large sessions, the Steinberg UR44 interface should meet your needs and is very budget-friendly.

The Shure SM57 is a must-have for any studio, great for electric guitar but can be used for just about anything. The SM58 should also definitely be considered.

You'll also probably want something like the Audio-Technica 2035 for recording vocals (or other instruments), and a couple of other mics that I'm sure other people will recommend.

The Yamaha HS8 is a great monitor that you'll find widely used in studios all over the world, and won't break the bank. This package also includes stands and cables.

edit I know it wasn't asked for, but price out what it costs to have someone come and tune a piano in your area. If it's reasonable, take a look on Craigslist, you can often find used upright pianos in great shape for free, being given away by people who are moving and don't play enough to justify the effort of moving it.

EDIT BACKUP DRIVES! Unless the people there have their own way of backing up the things they record, or even if they do, get a couple of hard drives and back things up often, just in case any tragedies should happen.

---

That's all I got off the top of my head, I'll come back and edit this post later if anything else comes to mind, hopefully this is a good starting out point for you.

So when recording vocals and guitar at the same time, like you'd like to do, the debate on what to do is really about how much control you want over editing in the end process.

- If you don't care about control on the individual levels of guitar and vocals AND want to record in one take with both instruments, all you need is one mic, XLR, Mic stand, headphones, and an interface to get the signal into your computer.

In this situation, you need A. and Interface that is cheap but not a POS because it really affects the sound of your recording. Behringer makes a cheap interface for 1 Input (microphone) and actually has a decent Preamp in it. B, you need a microphone and cable (XLR, Balanced) to capture the sound and send it to the interface. This area people could talk forever about, but for just getting the job done and a decent sound, AT2020 Condenser (Currently On Sale) is a great option for capturing both your voice and guitar. any XLR will do $10 or something like that.

- If you wanted to track the guitar and vocals separately, one at a time, the only change I would make is the microphone. Shure SM57 would do great for vocals and guitar individually. There have been many singles and albums in the rock, acoustic, and folk category recorded on these mics alone with fantastic results.

​

- If recording the guitar and the vocals at the SAME TIME is the route you want, it's definitely possible. 2 Input interface, Two mics, Two XLR's, Two Mic stands, headphones.

- a change in interface is needed from the first behringer to this one because they have the same sound only difference is the amount of inputs for ~$50 more. Next would be buying two microphones, both options listed above are probably going to be the cheapest you'll find with a decent sound. You can find packages like this on guitar center and other audio retailers, but the mics come with a lot of bad frequencies in my opinion, but hard to argue $99 for two microphones. get the cables, plug everything up and record enable two live tracks in you preferred DAW.

​

As far as the computer goes, Ableton hands out free versions of its "lite" program, and I believe you can record in that version. That would be the best route in my opinion for DAW, Reaper is a good option, I'd stay away from fruity loops if you are mainly just going to be recording audio.

Most of these solutions will put you under or around $250 so I hope this helps, if you have more questions let me know.

My current go-to in this price range is a mix of a Yamaha MG10XU mixer or Scarlett Solo interface with a Shure SM57.

SM57 is a really nice sounding dynamic mic for $100, and sounds pretty much equal to the SM7b and 58 in some videos I watched. This fuzzy thing will also act as a nice pop filter for it and is pretty cheap. I've got one of those big round mesh ones and it still lets some heavy Ps and Ts through, so look at some videos if you go that route.

I personally like to tweak with things in hardware, so i'd go with the Yamaha board since it has a ton of features, but if you just want to plug in the mic to something nice then the Scarlett is also fantastic. I've also been using this Neewer arm for about 6 years, and it does the job.

Headphones wise, I've used the AudioTechnica M50x a few times before and honestly they're the best headphones I've ever heard myself. I also see a lot of people praising the Beyerdynamic DT 990s too.

> Is it something that is worth the extra price? Or is it more of a gimmick?

Alongside my M50x I have a set of Plantronics 780s (which actually I highly recommend if you want a headset but don't wanna drop that much money on them, got mine for $60). I think the virtual surround is a gimmick, but some people really like it. I think for games it's not too bad but for movies, music, or talking to people it makes voices sound really weird.

It's also got Dolby modes for 'Gaming/Movie' and 'Music', but can't really tell the difference between them. Listening to Netflix right now 'Dolby off' makes flat sound like reference. Turning it onthe bass gets a bit heavier and you get some echoy surround effects. 'Gaming/Movie' seems a bit bass heavier. 'Music' seems to put some more highs and upper mids in there.

I've seen some sets with voice augmentation which is purely an entertainment thing. Other features like noise cancelling (on the mic and in the cans) are also around and might be useful depending on your environment.

The other thing that's nice about regular cans is that since they run off 3.5mm jack you can use them pretty much anywhere. So my M50xs fold up pretty nicely for on the plane and I can use them on my laptop or iPod seamlessly. So that might be worth something to you.

Here’s my personal recommendations:

For an interface, this is the best bang for the buck on the market right now (again, in my opinion), especially if you’re just starting out :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QHURLHM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520813639&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=umc404hd&dpPl=1&dpID=41q-puettzL&ref=plSrch

For a mic(s), it really depends on how extensive (and what) you’re going to be recording, and specifically if you plan on recording real drums or not. I’d recommend just getting one or two mics to start with, and getting more slowly over time, because if you use sampled drums in the beginning (which is a reality for many small home studio owners), you can do quite a lot of work with 2 mics. I’d recommend the following:

Any large diaphragm condenser in this price range will get the job done, but here’s what I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D6RMFG6/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1520814113&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=condenser+microphone

An SM57 is a standard in many studios, and is also versatile and good to have around:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000AQRST/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520814292&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sm57&dpPl=1&dpID=31KR2%2BJ86GL&ref=plSrch

Now, for a monitoring situation (a.k.a. How you’re gonna actually listen to what you’re recording and mixing), it’s not the smartest idea to invest in monitors (which will eat up a substantial amount of your budget) without investing in treatment for the acoustics of your room. You could easily spend $500 on these two things alone, so I’d recommend just getting a pair of decent headphones for starting out. I know mixing on headphones is a whole can of worms on its own, but while you’re learning, it’s really not gonna make a difference, as long as you have something better than apple Earbuds (not that they aren’t useful). Just get something where you can really understand the sound of it, and reference on a lot of different systems, especially your car. (Disclaimer, I wouldn’t recommend spending more than $100 on headphones, and try to look for something with a relatively flat response, instead of something with cranked bass and hi end, so you can hear as accurately as possible)

As far as DAWs go, I know how appealing it is to buy the same program that people at the top of the industry might be using, but the truth is that most DAWs nowadays can essentially do the same thing. If you only take one of my recommendations, let it be REAPER. You can use a fully functionally demo for as long as you want, and chances, it’ll do everything you need, especially while you’re starting out. Hell, I know professionals that swear by it, and for good reason; it’s insanely flexible and useful, and for the price point (basically free, but if you end up sticking with it, you really should buy a license, it’s only like $60), you just can’t go wrong.
http://reaper.fm

Edit: Unless you’re gonna be mixing 50 track songs right out of the gate, your MacBook will probably be just fine for the time being

Hope all of this helps, good luck!

I built this for about $20 (not including the erlenmeyer and the stir bar).

I got the cigar box a while back at a second hand store.

Here's the USB powered PC fan I used:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-Fan-External-Cooling/dp/B00080G0BK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381376532&sr=8-2&keywords=usb+pc+fan

I chose a usb fan so that I could power it with an android usb phone charger and not screw around with splicing wires.

Here's the magnets I used (just needed one though):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B1M37MY/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Aside from that it just took a few odd nuts, washers, and a bit of superglue. I had to bore the hole in top of the cigar box because the box turned out to be a bit too thick (sorry Pepin Garcia!) to get enough attraction between the magnet and the stir bar. I think I might have had better luck with stronger magnets or a different stir bar but oh well.

As someone suggested I first glued a washer to the fan so that I could move the magnet around a but to find the sweet spot where it didn't shake too bad then I glued the washer in place.

I used the long bolts/nuts that came with the fan to attach it to the lid (you can see the bolts in the first picture). Between the top of the fan and the lid I had to add washers to keep the fan from rubbing on the cigar box.

That's pretty much it. The fan has a variable speed control but I get a small vortex on the lowest setting, and higher settings throws the bar off the magnet.

Now I just need to wait for my soda preforms to show up so I can start saving a bit more yeast after I use the stir plate!
http://www.amazon.com/Soda-Bottle-Preforms-Caps-30/dp/B008MB1QNY/ref=sr_1_1?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1381377304&sr=1-1&keywords=bottle+preforms

I got the idea for using the soda preforms from here:
http://www.mikebeer.net/reuseyeast.htm

Cheers

Here is another picture of the sensor itself:

http://imgur.com/VJgtyLj

Here is the gear that I used:

Light Stands (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HNZJLG4/) - These things are great. Very easy to setup, very small base (can be expanded if you want, but the sensors are light and they seem very stable).

Mini Ball Heads (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M07M9D4) - Make for easier adjustment and greater tilting.

USB Cables (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7SA21U/ - 10 ft, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7S2FRE/ - 6 ft) - Passive were fine for the two sensors at that length.

Very happy to get these off my desk and higher up. I need to get my third sensor setup as well because the angle that they are pointing makes it tough to detect at the back of my play space (it's about 6 x 9).

Overall very happy with the setup and all the advice I received from this board. This is a really great community.

CALs are solid choices, but from personal experience, the Zalman clip-on is only useable if you're in a silent room 24/7, and even then (I used them in my dorm as well), friends on the other side never liked my mic quality. Once-upon-a-time, I would have recommended (good pair of headphones)+an Antlion ModMic, but since the ModMic 4.0 is a bit pricier than it's predecessors, I don't blame people for going the clip-on mic route. If you check out the link for those interested in gaming gear in the OP, you'll find a link to MadLustEnvy's guide, and there he links another clip-on that he (and I) have had much better success with. Again, this is personal experience, so YMMV. Also, definitely look into desktop mics as another alternative.

And if you are interested in going the ModMic route, and want to remain under $100, check out the Superlux HD681 EVOs or JVC's HARX700, both a budget headphones for under $40.

Few final notes, if you're looking for surround sound, Razer has a nice, free software called Razer Surround, and even has a pro-version if you need more features. Pair that with the EVOs/JVCs/CALs, and you'll have superior sound to either of the Logitech stuff, and the "surround sound" feature without having to pay extra.

Ok, I'll give it a go since no one seems to have given you a decent answer.

TL;DR - Your Macbook keyboard is probably one of the quieter keyboards types out there already. There are other options, but you should probably see if you can find them in person before shelling out over a hundred dollars on something that may not work for you.


Your Macbook uses what's called a scissor switch. Basically two pieces of plastic with a small metal wire acting as a spring, laying over a rubber dome. When depressed, the contact under the dome completes the circuit and your keyboard registers the keystroke.

Quite frankly, scissor switches (also known as "chiclet keyboards") are some of the more quieter options out there.

What you're probably experiencing is called 'bottoming out' - basically it's not really the switches making the noise, it's you smashing the keys so hard that it's the thud sound of the key going as far down as it can, and hitting what's underneath (more or less).

You've got a couple of options here...

There are a few cheap, rubber dome keyboards (ie: the generic full-sized keyboards you usually see packaged with new computers) which market themselves as 'quiet keyboards'. The Logitech K120 is a good example of this. Most of these "quiet" boards go with the theory that the shorter space between pressing and activating the switch means less downforce, making less of a thud if you bottom out.

If you want to spend money and are looking towards mechanical keyboards, the Toper Realforce is generally considered one of the quietest (Topre's not really a mechanical switch, but that's nitpicking). There are also mods you can do to the keyboard to make them even quieter.

The other option being that you can go the Cherry MX switch route and pick a switch which requires a lot of downforce to activate. I'd suggest something like a Light or Dark Grey (depending on if you want or don't want a 'bump' feeling - neither click). You can also mod Cherry switches by adding rubber o-rings to help soften the sound of bottoming out (as well as the mod listed above in the Topre area). For more information about Cherry switches, see here. I will say that the heavy keys can get pretty intense. I have a MX Green board that I love for gaming (because I don't accidentally click keys I don't mean to), but it's not comfortable for long periods of typing - but I'm not a super heavy-handed typer either.

I'd suggest hitting up a computer store - a Best Buy or Microcenter or Fry's. All of these stores should have some good in store options to play around with as far as rubber dome, chiclet, and mechanical keyboards go. If you want to play around with a Topre, you're probably going to have a much harder time tracking one down unless you live in a big metropolitan area with a few specialty stores.

You can also find various switch testers on sites like Massdrop. They bundle a bunch of (generally Cherry) switches on a single mounted board so you can see how they feel. They don't make the best typing analog though.

So you have four corners on the recessed ceiling (higher up), and four corners on the lower ceiling. I would almost prefer to put the cameras in the corners of the lower ceiling, because it would give a more straight-on view of the player/controllers. Each camera has a narrower viewing cone at extreme close proximity. The further from the main playspace they are, the more that cone has a chance to "spread out" and cover the actual playspace. In this case, you would draw your playspace with at least (2 ft) or (0.6 m) distance from each of the four walls, so people don't bash their knuckles at the borders.

However, you might not want your cameras to be further than (12 ft) or (3.6 m) apart from each other (for best tracking quality). I don't have a big enough room to run into this limit, so you may be fine with further spaced out cameras. If the lower ceiling corners are further apart than (12 ft) or (3.6 m), then you may want to put them in the recessed ceiling anyways. You can always ignore the Oculus Rift setup's warnings about camera spacing, by the way. In fact, with larger playspaces, the Oculus setup wizard will always complain. Don't worry about it.

Also, you might want to consider using this USB card. It can handle the throughput of all four cameras in USB 3.0 mode, if desired. You can downgrade any camera to USB 2.0 by simply running a USB 2.0 cable to that camera instead of 3.0. A passive USB 2.0 cable is fine for short runs, but consider an active USB 2.0 cable (like the one that comes in the box of an extra Rift camera) for longer runs. You should put your Rift headset in one of the motherboard's USB 3.0 ports (USB 2.0 might actually be fine), and then put all four cameras (you might only need three cameras) in the USB extension card.

You can search this subreddit for discussions on whether you want/need to have the cameras/headset on 3.0 or 2.0. I prefer to run everything at USB 3.0, but it may not be necessary.

For USB 3.0 cable runs that are less than 10 feet (say, those corners nearest to your computer tower), use these passive USB 3.0 cables. You're also going to want a passive USB 3.0 extension for your Rift headset.

For USB 3.0 cable runs that are more than 10 feet away, you should use an active USB 3.0 cable. This is necessary for cameras that are further away from your tower. Note that the cable I linked has an optional barrel port for a 12V power supply. You only need to power these cables if you're daisy-chaining two or more of them in a row (for runs longer than (33 ft) or (10 m)).

These CAT6 round cable clips should work well for cable routing, especially for the slightly thicker active USB 3.0 cables. These general-purpose adhesive cable clips work fine for runs of the thinner, passive USB cables, but you may have issues with the adhesive depending on your wall.

You'll want this HDMI extension cable for your Rift headset, to make use of the extra space. I've had a good experience with bunching the HDMI and USB Rift headset extensions together by using these lightweight Velcro ties. I have about a (10 ft) or (3 m) square playspace, so you may encounter different problems than me if your playspace is larger. I only have three cameras, and it works fine. Good luck in your setup, I'm sure whatever you do will work great!

• Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a good start. $150.
  
• Audio Technica AT2020 $100ish
  
• Ultimate Telescoping Boom Stand $35ish. Stay away from cheap stands, like "On Stage Sound."
  
• Shure SM57 $100
  
• Mogami 25' Cable $30 x 2 = $60
  
  Grand TOTAL - $445
  
  I know you don't NEED two microphones, but, judging by the variety of instruments your man plays, he'll want the options of a condenser AND a dynamic. The AT2020 and SM57, I feel, is a better bang for your buck than the single Blue Spark. That said, Nine Cats has been generous with good advice.
  
  Best of luck to you and your BF!

I don't know what price range you'd like to spend. But for me, I got the cheapest option, and it came with 3, making it even cheaper (well, sunk cost, so might as well consider them cheaper). And they turned out to have some nice sound quality.

Personally, the decision was based fully on price, the ModMic and Sony might have a better sound quality than the Neewer and Zalman, but that doesn't mean the Neewer and Zalman has poor sound quality, they're actually really nice sound as compared to most gaming headsets. Since the sound quality of the cheap ones are in my liking I went with the cheapest I found (you can search the models up on YouTube or something and find audio recordings from them).

Here's a long summary breakdown:

1. If you want the cheapest mic on the block, get the Neewer Mini Lapel Mic, I would recommend these as they sound nice and is really cheap, came with 3 as well, although I'm not sure why you'd need 3.
   
2. If you want to try the popular pick, that'd be the Zalman Zm-Mic1. I believe this is what most people uses, but I haven't personally tried them out, so I don't know about the build and sound quality of it. But it's what most people would recommend, so there has to be a certain credibility to them.
   
3. If you want a better build quality one, really small and slick, go with Sony. Sony products will be a bit pricier but they are good products for sure.
   
4. If you want to go full on premium mode, you can check out the Antlion ModMic. They're hella expensive though....

The biggest question you want to answer for any mechanical keyboard is which type of switch you want.

Most exclusive gamers like linear switches, which let you double tap very effectively. These are usually sold as 'red' switches.

There's also clicky switches, which have a sharp bump and audible click when the key actuates. Sold as 'blue' switches.

Then there's tactile switches, which have a lighter bump when the key actuates (they're as quiet as reds). They're sold as browns, and are somewhat of an intermediate between red and blue.

Generally speaking, blues are for exclusively typing, reds for exclusively gaming, and browns are good for a mixture. I'd recommend going to a Fry's/Microcenter/Best Buy (in that order) and finding which of the three you prefer on a in store model. Brands vary between their implementation of clickly/tactile/linear, but not too much.

Then, figure out whether you need programmable macros and such. I usually play games that really don't require them, so it's a non issue for me.

If so, that tends to be the one feature that gaming marketed keyboards have over the others at this price point. Coolermaster is generally the only gaming themed company I respect much. Their stuff is well priced, and makes some cool innovations. And their keys have a standard layout.

If no, then you have a ton of good options and budget plays a big role. You could get the wireless Anne pro. The rgb Ducky Shine. Or the excellently budgeted Magicforce 68. You could get a WASD keyboard and completely customize individual keycap color.

Any of those would be good options, as well as more but it's probably already overwhelming.

To add to the other two suggestions, I'll add what I believe are two far better solutions: The GV-USB2 and USB3HDCAP

The GV-USB2 is a USB dongle-style capture card that only captures composite/RCA video and S-video, which is the best you'll get from the Gamecube without expensive cables. It's about $35 USD.

The Startech USB3HDCAP is more expensive, but it will capture HDMI for newer consoles and PCs, as well as composite, S-Video, Component (the best video signal out of a Wii and easy to get cables for), and even RGB. It's probably the best quality card there is at its price and it's offered me a far better user experience than Elgato's devices have for me. I also know PJ DiCesare uses it for his runs and he has excellent capture quality. It's currently on sale for $182.

Importantly, both will capture video at 60fps which I'm not convinced the standard def EZcap will do, and without the added noise and delay I find Elgato devices tend to add.

Hopefully this helps.

I use Shure SM57 running through a Forcusrite Scarlet 2i4 2nd Gen. My oldest technique was using Voice Record Pro 7 on my iPhone, and strategically recording in certain rooms, or setups. Afterwards, I edited in Audacity, but I've since moved over to Reaper.

Some mistakes I made along the way (and extra):

• Smartphones are perfectly acceptable and money conscious way too record. The catch is you'll need to be good at editing to get the sound quality your probably looking for.
  
  
• I researched a ton, before I bought, and when I finally had the money to purchase it, I still didn't feel comfortable (there's a reason why). Even if you think you're done, research it more. Be absolutely 100% with no maybes, while also being realistic.
  
  
• What I was paranoid about what the Scarlett 2i4 having some sort of issue of being quiet/compatibility issues, or the mic would break easy. Well it turns out neither of those are true. That is unless you pair them together and then everything seems true. The SM57/58 don't work well with the Scarlett 2i4 without a preamp to run between the DAI and microphone, such as a Cloudlifter CL-1 or CL-2.
  
  
• Know what your mics do, and what they excel at. Seriously, know your microphones well.
  
  
• Don't cheap out on a stand; buy something of quality. You don't want to drop a $500 condenser mic, because you wanted to save $20 on a stand.
  
  My wishlist is annoyingly long, so I'll refrain from posting it.
  
  E: I'm not sure if many will see this, but it's still worth posting. I did a walk through of my house using my iPhone 6+ and Voice Record Pro 7, showing off how different rooms sound, as well an unedited recording can be (you should always edit). Blanket monster is your friend.

I don't run that game, but looking at the leaderboards, you need the actual console to run (no emuator) and it seems practically everyone prefers gamecube (instead of Wii) so this should be your list:

• Gamecube + game + whatever else you need to play (you probably have all this covered)
  
  
• Some kind of timer program. You can find a list on this page under "Timers". I would personally recommend LiveSplit.
  
  Those are the bare minimum you'll want to run the game. Just the game and the timer. However you will most likely eventually want something to record the run if you get serious about it, or want to share your runs with other people, or if you want a record of your runs, or if you want some way for your runs to be verified (there are lots of reasons to want to record your runs) so you'll also need:
  
  
• Some sort of capture device. The go-to for SD consoles like the Gamecube is the GV-USB2. There are others, but this one will give you the best performance for its price and you don't need any HD equipment to record a GameCube. If you do want an HD capture device, I have an Elgato GameCapture HD and I'd recommend it.
  
  
• 2 double sided composite cables. They look like this.
  
  
• 3 splitters. Specifically ones that look like this.
  
  And that's it. When you have all those things, you set up the capture device like this. That's a picture with the GameCapture HD because that's all I have, but it would be the exact same setup with the GV-USB2.

Hi,

We always encourage customers to try getting the most out of their machines before buying new stuff. However there comes a point when attempting to restore old equipment can lead to major frustration. The following steps can help and certainly worth a shot:

• To free SSD space try this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Surface/comments/5h0zpe/save_up_to_9gb_on_ssd_clean_up_cwindowsinstaller/
  
• To improve performance, you can try downloading the latest Intel GPU driver from intel.com rather than using the Microsoft provided one. IIRC, the intel.com HD 4400 driver had about 9 months of extra development on it. You may need to manually uninstall your current driver via device manager in order to install the Intel one since it will complain that it is not designed for your computer. There is a risk of unintended side-effects, but it is 100% reversible.
  
• Does the CPU fan spin often? If so, it could be clogged with dust reducing its effectiveness. You can try getting a can of compressed air and blowing it into the slats - don't worry, you're not going to ruin the fan by over-spinning it or moving dust around the machine with this technique. It is unlikely to have a major effect but worth a shot.
  
• If the system is getting rather hot and throttling the CPU, you can add an auxiliary USB-powered fan and point it towards the hot area. Its surprising how effective this is: https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Breeze-Mobile-Flexible-Portable/dp/B003XN24GY
  
  Cheers,
  
  Dan
  
  -----
  P.S. The newer Surface Pro 2017 or Pro 6 with Core i5/8GB ram would be an excellent upgrade for you if you choose to go in that direction.
  
  

If you want to play games, or do more intensive stuff, I highly recommend getting a usb fan and angling it towards the back of it.

I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-USB-Powered-Portable-Cooling-Solution/dp/B003XN24GY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418141700&sr=8-2&keywords=silent+usb+fan

I use my surface every day as my main work device and with this little fan pointed at the back of it, I never ever hear the internal fan spin up to an audible level. This little fan is near silent as well. So that should help with throttling issues while gaming.

I also recommend using IE. The touch version is seriously the best thing since sliced bread when I am just casually browsing. I use regular IE for work. I just decided to never install chrome since getting the surface and haven't looked back yet.

I would also recommend getting familiar with onenote. It is a great program and if you make the initial commitment to use it for a bunch of stuff and create an organization scheme that works from the start, you will thank yourself later when you are trying to remember your thoughts on Harvard's 19th century curriculum choices two years down the line.

I'm sure others have more advice.

I bought a tablet really early on (2-3~ months in), and I found it to be an excellent purchase. Then again, I play osu! everyday for at least 2 hours, so I get plenty of time with it. If you don't believe you will be playing for at least one or two more years, I wouldn't recommend it. Again, as other people say, you don't need a tablet to play well. Many top players use a mouse, and some even use a touchscreen to play high level maps. But if you are set on buying a tablet, I would recommend the CTL480. This is the tablet that most players use at high level. If you need a cheaper option, there always is the osu!tablet or the Huion 420. These three are the most used tablets in osu!, but there are many other options available to you. The only thing you should look out for if you are trying to choose another tablet is latency, as tablets like the CTL490 are known to have latency unplayable with to people used to the above tablets.

As for PP, PP, or Performance Points is gained through passing or "fcing" (full comboing) a map. The higher level/star rating of map you play, the more PP you will get for a play. The easiest ways to get PP are through farm maps such as no title - Reol, MIIRO - AKINO from bless4, MIIRO vs. Ai no Scenario - AKINO from bless4 & CHiCO with HoneyWorks, and many others. The higher accuracy and combo you get, the more PP you will earn. However, as a new player, it isn't recommended to start farming PP. People usually don't start caring about pp until rank 50k to rank 100k (the five digit realm). What you should do as a new player is player harder and harder maps to help you learn how to play the game and then start trying for a higher ranking.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: I forgot about this tablet, the XP-Pen G430. It is similar to the osu!tablet and Huion 420 in size, and is a very recently introduced tablet. You can see high level play with it here.

Don't worry about being "clueless", pretty much all of us were where you are. Years ago, I bought a Crosley at best buy because I just didn't know any better. These all-in-one sets just seem like such a great idea to uninitiated fools like you and me were. However, the truth is they are terrible. IDK about yours, but mine didn't even sound very good. Yes, it is ruining your records because the stylus is basically putting too much pressure on the grooves everytime you use it which damages them. IDK how quickly this damages them, you probably are fine so far.

Before someone comes in and gives you vague advice to buy vintage on Craigslist or eBay or a thrift store because you can get a much better table for the same price as what you have now, let me give you some advice, from one broke college student to another, that will actually be helpful. This advice is true, but it does not take into account the fact that you will need a preamp for this table which is something that boosts the naturally quiet signal. You will also need a receiver and speakers. You can find a receiver that includes the phono preamp, but still this is going to end up costing you over $100 at least. Not to denigrade this option, but there is an easier route for the broke beginner.

You can buy a new (or slightly used) turntable that includes a preamp. The most favored model is the Audio Technica LP60. I have this myself (found it for $50 on eBay) and can vouch for it. It does not have a counter weight for the tonearm, so technically you still will be wearing your records down faster than necessary, but it is MUCH better than how the table you have now is treating them, and to get a model with a counter weight you will be looking to spend enough to make the first option I outlined be the better route. So, with this model there is a switch to activate the internal preamp, which allows you to plug into any powered speakers that accept either RCA inputs or a simple line-in, which basically looks like a normal headphone jack. Which means all you need is the turntable and some speakers. With this model, a simple pair of computer speakers suffice. You can get decent ones from amazon (I have seen these dip down to $20 periodically and they aren't bad).

Hope this helps!

Edit: what albums do you have so far? What lead you to begin with vinyl?

First: Avoid the J-series Synology units. All J-series are meant to be cost-reduced, low power units, typically based on ARM processors. They will perform rather poorly, and be completely useless for any kind of video editing applications.

>So when I get a NAS, what can I expect?

Lower performance than USB 3, but greater convenience because all your devices can access it simultaneously. You're going to want your computer and the NAS to be on the same Ethernet switch. Don't even think about doing anything serious over Wifi.

>Would it be a good idea?

Yes and no. Yes, in that it could make a great backup target, and a handy way of storing non-video content for live use, like music libraries.

>How is performance when connected to a network?

Depends on the NAS and the network. As I just finished writing up over here the rest of the traffic on the network can play a role in limiting performance, and the functional capacity of the NAS itself also plays a very key role in whether or not it can keep up with what you demand out of it.

>Is it totally doable for live editing or is it best connected directly to my PC via USB 3?

Maybe. Depends on the footage you're working with. Unless you're getting a higher end model, know how to tinker with these things, and you're not working with like gonzo 4K footage it might work out, but USB 3 will deliver far superior performance, and it would be recommended you continue to work off something like this.

>I'm less concerned about RAID... I'm really only doing this so I can have multiple drives using one power cable.

No, you're getting involved with RAID, so you need to be concerned about RAID. I have a write-up in the Wiki about RAID that gives you a sort of 10-foot perspective on the thing. The RAID tech you invest in will determine how you move forward in the coming years in terms of data protection and storage growth.

And if all you care about is the power cord then you're getting into this for the wrong reasons. IF that's all you care about you could get a DAS solution. You could go with just a simple dual disk dock, or a dumb 'ole JBOD enclosure, or get some kind of real RAID solution, either by buying a card and building an array inside your computer or in some kind of external enclosure, or by buying a device that handles RAID internally and exposes itself to the computer as a single dumb disk.

>Currently looking into these two models:

Keep in mind that those are dual-disk models, which limits you to RAID0 and RAID1. This is quite limiting in terms of options, and in terms of volume. However upgrading capacity is cheap, since you only have two disks to replace (however this is only possible in RAID1, and impossible in RAID0 unless you've got enough external storage lying around).

Be mindful of what accessories you personally need. People needs are different. The only global accessories that seem to be useful to everyone:

1. A screen protector. This applies to pretty much any tablet accessory where the screen is not covered by design (like the 3DS clam shell). This is the one I got and it works well ($9.00):
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N3ASPNV/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
   
2. A carrying case. Being portable, odds are you will want to take it out at some point. Seeing it's an expensive piece of hardware, it makes sense to have a case to put everything in it for protection. You can buy the neat ones with colors and crazy designs and space, but for me, this basic one works perfectly fine ($13.00):
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06X97FLWF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
   
3. An extra charger. Unless you already have a Type C charger, you will likely want to get one. Usually goes for $15.00.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Charger-CHOETECH-Included-Nintendo-Supported/dp/B017I7EX46/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1506098286&sr=1-8&keywords=switch+charger
   
   
   
4. If, and ONLY if you plan to get your games digitally, you WILL want an additional memory card. The one I paste below has enough space for at least 20 games given the average game space that we've seen so far (BoTW takes 14 GB, but Mario Odyssey takes 5.5 Gb, so in average, it evens out.). Note this is only the games you can have installed at a time, you can always remove one or more if you want to download another one, and games you purchase digitally will always be available for re download as long as the eshop exists.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00V62XBQQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
   
   Any other accessory should REALLY be considered on a need-to basis. Not everyone needs a pro controller (depending on the games you play, I've been fine without it with only BoTW, Mario Kart, Fate/Extella and Mario+Rabbids.), and not everyone needs an extra, improved stand/dock.
   
   Finally, do some research on what games you will actually want to play. What I've seen is that games on the switch are NOT cheap, and unless you have extra disposable income, buying a game you don't really play can lower your overall appreciation of the system. Not only that, but because releases are sparse at the moment, it's easier to jump into the hype in order to keep using your shiny new hardware. Though that really applies to any console.

plug something like this into this and then run it via USB to your computer. any mic and interface will do, but those 2 happen to be pretty basic and easy to handle. as for software, i recommend Reaper as you can use it for free for awhile and pay once you've decided it's worth it (which it will be, so make sure at some point you throw 'em the cost).

point mic at amp speaker, select track on Reaper and press record. rock out like the glorious rock god you are, and then press stop. File menu>render (i think, can't remember right now)>pick format and save.

very, very rough walkthrough!

The GV-USB2 is probably one of the best cheap cards out there. If you want an example of the quality, here's a recording from back when I was using it. I'm pretty sure it can look even better, as I was only using the RCA cables, and not the S-Video input. Just make sure you get a powered splitter like this or this (for S-video) so you can send the signal to both the TV and the recording device without lag.

Just make sure you set the device up properly and use some kind of deinterlacing. For ease of use I'd just recommend using the built in de-interlacing options in OBS.

Edit: If you're short on money and don't want to spend extra on a splitter for live capture, then you can just save your match replays using Legacy TE, and then record them through the recording device using your computer screen to navigate the menus. This requires extra work though, and it can be easy to forget to save your replays. I'd just recommend getting the capture device and the splitter so you can record it all in one go.

If you're looking to game (which seems to be the case), my only real recommendation is that for $40 you're better off getting a good mouse and a standard keyboard. $40 in the keyboard department won't net you any big benefits, but a $40 for a mouse definitely will. I personally thought that mice didn't matter a whole lot, but eventually got a Razer Deathadder and MAN it made a world of difference in comfort and overall enjoyment. If you can spring for it, I'd definitely recommend something like a DeathAdder (~$50) (though it seems like the Logitech G400 for $35 might be a better option for you). Most Logitech fans rave about the MX500, though it's not sold anymore, you may be able to find one with comparable features.

I'm surprised that you haven't gotten much response in the last day. I suppose the FAQ is there, but you've looked through it and it doesn't provide you with the answers you're looking for so you're asking the community. So... what to do next? I'm gonna assume you're asking about what to do next hardware wise. Something that is low cost and won't lock you into something you can't change later.
40-50TB is nothing to scoff at, I'm surprised you've managed to get by with hooking them up direct this long, but hey if it works, it works (it's not dumb if it works).
A baby step could be increasing your density.
Grabbing a MediaSonic Pro Box https://www.amazon.com/Mediasonic-ProBox-HF2-SU3S2-SATA-Enclosure/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1540336320&sr=8-3 and shucking your externals into a 4up bay would free up some ports.
Then a cheap next step would be to upgrade from USB3 to some ESATA ports. I use this ESATA card https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-Port-Express-eSATA-Controller/dp/B003GSGMPU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1540336457&sr=8-2 to hook up to the MediaSonic box and it works great. I still run this setup on one of the computers in my garage for "offline" backups. I just WOL the machine and backup some critical data then power it down.
If you want to start offloading the workload to another computer all this stuff would transfer well into another computer.

Other than that the FAQ does have a ton of good recommendations for what software to run under each different platform WINDOWS/MAC/Linux. In this day in age I don't think there is a "wrong" choice. Work in what you're most comfortable in. I'm partial to Windows and then Linux (mainly Ubuntu). If you have any other questions feel free to reach out.

For the mouse you don't need to spend a bunch of money to get something good, here's the mouse my friend uses. http://www.amazon.com/E-3lue-EMS109BK-Precision-Control-1600dpi/dp/B005CPGHAA/ His only complaint is he can't turn off the LED on it, which could be a problem if you don't like it. You could spend a bit more for a better mouse such as the Deathadder or Steelseries Rival (I personally own the rival, great mouse)

For keyboards, it's up to you if you want mechanical or membrane. Mechanical will be more expensive but it's nicer to type on and feels better. This is a very basic membrane keyboard, it works. Here is a good mechanical. (FYI it doesn't use the standard Cherry MX keyswitches most mechs use, although they still feel better then membrane). You can also look at Corsair's keyboards, Corsair's, and other manufactures mechanical keyboards.

For the monitor I'm assuming you want something decent, 1080p, 60hz? Here is a 24 inch 1080p 60hz monitor, you could look at cheaper ones too. It really depends on what you want. I use 2 23 inchers that I got for $100 and they work fine for my uses.

Good luck!

This is probably a question for /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers - They're usually pretty great for answering music production questions :)

That said, Logic, Reason or Pro Tools are your 'staple' DAWs - They are all equally powerful (for your intents and purposes), and Logic is the cheapest, so Logic is a good idea. You're also going to need a USB Audio Interface (I recommend the Scarlett 2i2 for small projects, or the Saffire Pro 40 if you plan on micing a drum kit) to get signal from mics/guitars into the computer. Look into getting some cheap-ish mics (AT2020 for acoustic guitar/vocals/overheads, and the SM57 and SM58 for whatever else, at least for starters).

There are oodles of great Youtube tutorials that will teach you how to use Logic, and eventually you'll want to invest in studio headphones and studio monitors (unless you already have them), which are built specifically to give you an objective sound to accurately mix.


I'm not an expert producer, but I do freelance stuff locally out of my home studio - My work for reference

Feel free to PM with questions, and you should definitely post in /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers! They'll probably have better answers than me, but I hope this helps.

I have the pro 4 8gb i7 and I play a lot of games on mine. Lego games play the best, especially both of the Harry Potter Lego games. On those, I get very high frame rates at max settings, max resolution. I also have played Tomb Raider 2013 at 1080p on ultra settings (ultra for detail and textures but the rest on high) and got low to mid 20s fps. However I also use a USB fan that I got off Amazon and that gives me double frame rates so I can play that game even in the mid 40s fps with those settings. The fan also allows me to get in the low 20s at 720p for Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Assassins Creed games I also play. I don't play #2 or #3 at max resolution because there is black boxing, but I do play those at 1080p and they are playable. Black Flag I play as well but at 720p. Mind you on these games I am not getting super high frame rates, but at least in the 20s-30s which is fine for me and basically similar to what you would get on a gaming console.

When you get your device, make sure to get this fan from Amazon to help with your gaming. You will get about twice the performance. It's also helpful just in general to keep the device extra cool and have sustained performance for longer periods of time.

https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-ABACO-BZG00-010000-ARCTIC-Breeze-Mobile/dp/B003XN24GY

I rocked a deathadder 2013 for a while and ran into a same issue with the doubleclciking. For something similar, I would consider going with Zowie, which is owned by BenQ, the monitor company that makes some of the best 144hz panels on the market. With Zowie mice, I use an EC-1A which has a nearly identical shape to that of the deathadder, if you want the transition to be smooth for your muscle memory.

For something less expensive, consult the wiki, or roll with a magicforce 108 (since it seems like you need a 10key at an affordable pricepoint) that just came out. They make great starter mechs and have a ton of entry level switch options. I've been rocking a Magicforce 68 key for the better part of the year and have had zero problems with it yet. (Still working on getting my first "real" mech board put together, heh.)

As for headphones, you'll always be better off rolling with a dedicated set of headphones and a separate mic attachment for the price. For a good use in FPS, I'd recommend the Audio Technica ATH-AD700X paired with an Antlion ModMic for a great entry level headset and mic that will give you better positional awareness because of the soundstage.

Sorry I missed you earlier, here's what I used to get the tower discretely away in the corner and set up the triple monitor setup:

• 10' 3.5mm to RCA cable (your extension cord may need to vary depending on what you use for speakers)
  
  
• 4x usb M/F extension cord 10' (These are for plugging in my keyboard, mouse, phone connection, and a spare for usb sticks without having to plug into the tower)
  
  
• 3x hdmi cable 10' (for plugging in the monitors, be sure to check your connection options as your graphics card / cards may need a different connection)
  
  
• Vivo Triple Monitor Mount ( This is the trickiest part. For me to mount 3 heavy 27" BenQ monitors, this was a relatively inexpensive option. The stand is well built, and looks and moves well, but the weight of the monitors is difficult to mount without any sagging. Also, 27" is the absolute max size this mount will work for, and even then my viewing angles are a bit lacking. I would recommend Locktek's EXCELLENT mounts for neutralizing this issue, but they are vastly more expensive. Weight wont be an issue though. For me, the issue was not a big deal so I didn't splurge on a pricier mount.
  
  
• Cable management sleeve (so that you can tuck away all those cords neatly)
  
  After that, you can have all peripherals at your fingertips and tuck the tower away into a corner. If your space is carpeted (and even if its not), be sure to keep the tower slightly elevated off the ground to allow for good air circulation.
  
  Definitely not dogma but that's what I've been using, and it works well thus far. Be sure not to skimp on the length of your cords, when your hiding it it will need to snake around a bit under the desk.
  
  Hope that helps!
  
  

If you truly aspired to make art a hobby or something along those lines, just keep practicing (oh, and stay away from microsoft paint)! You can practice in traditional media with a sketchbook + pencils/pens, or look into practicing with other traditional media like coal (coal is very inexpensive, and the larger nature of coal works make it easier to edit). If youre looking to go into the digital art side of things, id suggest investing in a nice tablet. Wacom sells tablets that i can vouch for. Ive had my tablet that i bought at a best buy for 40$ since 6 years ago and it's still going strong :)

All in all, just keep at it. If making that piece made you happy and u wanna pursue art, i can guarantee that you'll improve as long as u just practice :)

Sorry for the late response, but I appreciate all the help you've offered so far. If it's cool I still have some questions.

I currently have that Zalman mic you linked and getting the white noise with it. Do you think the onboard soundcard I have on my z97 board is the issue? (MSI SLI Krait z97 if it makes a difference)

Would getting a microphone with a little plastic buffer like this help the issue, or would spending the money on a cheap sound card be more beneficial?

I was also looking a condenser mic with stand or maybe a gaming headset like these G430s on sale.

Any and all help would be appreciated!

The card you are looking at is the same as mine, the DX 7.1. The odd listing name seems the fault of Amazon (they listed it not Asus).

>do you still think soundcards are a valuable component of a PC?

We've come a long way since the 90s. Most games and applications do not require an outboard audio card, and 99.8% of games do not support hardware audio acceleration. That does not mean that a soundcard is not a good component - if you want to upmix the channels, upmix the bit/sample rate, or mix and match any other plethora of audio options that are not found natively within your favorite games/apps they can be very beneficial as they will lessen the strain on the CPU while allowing you more customization. I don't blame anyone for buying and audio card, nor do I blame anyone for not buying one. I only recommend that if you do want one, get one with an dedicated onboard processor - there is no point in spending money on something like this, which is nothing more than a cheap pair of headphones that comes with a set of driver and no dedicated processor.

>"So when playing stuff that is native 5.1, you'd change the Channel to 6...

The control panel has two audio options, one is labeled Audio Channels, the other is labeled Analog Out. Audio channels corresponds to the number of channels that your media natively uses (e.g. a cd has 2, a dvd may offer 5.1). The Analog Out corresponds to the number of speakers you have (headphones/2.1/5.1/7.1). 5.1 channels = 6, 7.1 = 8 (5 speakers plus a sub = 6, 7 speakers plus a sub = 8). So you put a CD in and select "2" under Audio Channels since a CD only has two channels (left and right) and since you have a 5.1 system you will have "5.1" selected under Analog Out. Having those selected will allow the soundcard to upmix and enable other options to allow you to use all your speakers. If you selected "2.1" under Analog Out it will only play through your two speakers and the sub and not all.

I hope that makes sense.

>So does this mean I have to open my audio settings and change it manually...

The control panel has a few preset buttons that correspond to various setups (games/movies/music). Depending on how you like to listen to your audio, you may have to switch the "Audio Channels" option when changing between a CD/mp3 and a game, the soundcard cannot detect and automatically configure your channels for you. I just leave my Audio Channels set at 8 by default and the Analog Out to 7.1. This means that 2 channel tracks (mp3s) will only play through the left and right front speakers and the sub. If I change the Audio Channels to 2 then it will upmix.

I am not sure what you have to do with your current card, my last Creative card required the same thing and I don't believe there are any outboard cards that have the ability to detect and configure both your internal sound channels and external speaker config without some human intervention. It's not a big deal, I am betting the same features are found in your Creative CP and you didn't even realize it.

Either way, good luck with whatever you get. Be sure to shop around.

It's all about DC vs AC and how DC is converted to AC.

DC is the type of power that comes from a battery and AC is the type of power that comes from your household outlets.

DC is always positive or always negative (always flowing in one direction) but AC changes between positive and negative very rapidly. In the US we use what's called a split phase system that gives us 120v for our homes but regardless of what voltage it is it will fluctuate between +120v and -120v and in our case it will do so 60 times a second.

Pure Sine

The way the electricity changes from positive to negative can be represented mathematically and on a graph where it would appear as a wave going up and down. The shape of that wave and mathematical properties of the wave determines the name. The power provided to your home is a pure or true sine wave and is a smooth flowing transition between positive and negative, to be precise it is given this name because of the trigonometric function 'sine'.

Modified Sine

A modified or simulated sine wave makes sudden transitions to predetermined voltages until it reaches the desired voltage. This would appear on a graph like steps going up and down. Because our devices are designed for the pure sine wave in our homes, a modified sine wave is obviously less desirable. Different devices respond differently to modified sine waves, anything with an AC powered motor tends to have the toughest time and in some cases not work at all (like a ceiling fan) depending on the quality of the modified sine wave (how many steps).

DC > AC

Converting the DC from our UPS's battery to AC requires what we call an "inverter", a device that switches the power back and forth between positive and negative and also increases the voltage. A basic inverter that produces a modified sine wave will power most things but might have fewer steps between voltages to make the transition. A nicer one might have many more steps but the nicest inverters will actually fully simulate the smooth sine wave we have in out homes.

An inverter that produces a pure sine wave will be much more expensive but has a few benefits:

• Powers any device as long as it doesn't exceed the inverters load capacity.
  
• Devices might run cooler
  
• Devices might run quieter (modified sine may cause devices to hum)
  
• Will place less stress on devices
  
• Devices might consume less power than they would running on modified sine.
  
  UPS
  As far as a UPS goes, like I said, modified sine is usually fine and getting a pure sine is not usually worth the extra cost. If you loose power frequently and have a ton of money in equipment invested already, then maybe it's worth it to you.
  
  If your new to choosing a UPS you should also know that all these UPS in this form factor will basically have the same amount of run time. They all have a ~9Ah battery in them and the only difference besides features is how much of load the inverter can take. This inverter has a very high load capacity considering its size and battery capacity and would work for almost any PC, even with multiple monitors, router and modem hooked up. The catch is that if you run this at capacity you might only get a couple minutes out of it. If you are more interested in run time you would want to get something more like this that has two batteries: https://amzn.com/B000FBK3QK
  
  

For a year or so after college, between work at an MSP and coming home to an empty apartment and a very enthusiastic WoW habit, I was spending 17 hours a day in front of a computer. I started experiencing wrist pain that was so bad I couldn't drive my car anymore. I switched to a more ergonomic keyboard/mouse setup and my wrist pain disappeared within a few of weeks.

I've long since left the MSP and WoW, but I've kept the keyboard and mouse, and recommended the same pair to many coworkers.

Microsoft Natural 4000 Ergonomic Keyboard

Logitech G400 Mouse

I also make liberal use of Allsop Metal Art Monitor Risers and clamp-on monitor arms - in my opinion, monitor position is just as important as proper keyboard and mouse ergonomics because it affects back, shoulders, neck, and eye strain too.

EDIT:

In the past, I've had clients and management balk at the price tags on ergonomic hardware. They'll argue something like "I can go to Wal-Mart and buy a new mouse for fifteen dollars. Why should I spend four times that much on a video gaming mouse?" because they don't understand the value that ergonomic hardware actually provides in a workplace.

1. Users who are comfortable in their workspaces can be more productive. It's tough to measure this one, because it's lots of little pieces that add up. From personal experience, though, I don't need to take as many breaks now as I did before I moved my monitors to a comfortable elevation, because my eyes and neck don't get fatigued as easily.
   
   
2. Users who have a workspace that fits them are more likely to be happy in their jobs and are more likely to stay in their jobs longer. Even in my current sysadmin role, I still do a lot of deskside support, and I get to observe people in their workspaces doing all kinds of uncomfortable things, because they don't know that it can be any different. For example, I have a user whose workload is primarily oriented towards data entry and scheduling. She should have been issued a desktop or thin client, but since she occasionally needs to record meeting minutes in a conference room, the previous tech staff had issued her a 14" laptop. So every day she'd hunch over her desk and squint to see the screen. I installed a 24" monitor, a slightly more ergonomic keyboard and an ergonomic mouse while she was out at lunch. When I came in the next day, I had a handwritten thankyou card under my office door and a plate of homemade cookies in my mailbox, and so did the CFO and CEO. She was awestruck that we'd go out of our way to spend a little money on making her more comfortable. Total pricetag for the company? $200.
   
   
3. New hardware is cheap. New staff are expensive. If I were to completely refit an existing staff's work area with a new monitor on an adjustable arm, ergonomic keyboard and mouse, and adjustable lumbar chair, it would cost the company less than $800, including my time. If we have to replace a staff, they have to go through a two-week paid training before they start doing any work, and it's some weeks after that before they are productive at the same level of the staff they replaced. The cost to the company during that time is thousands of dollars.
   
   
4. Worker's compensation claims are expensive, even if the company doesn't have to pay. Because lawyers.

Ohh, jeez, you can buy the Bitmain Antminer here.

The smaller ones in between the Antminers are these, but for $10 more, you can get like 5 times the Mh/s with the Antminers. The Antminers are a lot more worth it; I just wanted something to fill in my empty spaces.

The cooling fan is this, but I've got a bigger clamp fan blowing on it so the whole rig doesn't burn my house down. Though, I haven't had much problem with heat. The cooling fan does enough to keep them cool, but when I had no cooling fan, it was hot enough to burn my skin and I found that out the hard way. The clamp fan is just there for insurance.

The Pi is gonna need a 4GB SD card, so make sure you've got a reader for that.

And you're correct. This is the least profitable thing you can do, my setup cost me roughly $150 a month and a half ago, and they've made me $2 worth of Bitcoins (.004 Bitcoin) that haven't even been transferred to me because Slush's pool send threshold is .01 Bitcoin. Though, the whole setup barely puts any strain on my electric bill.

It was fun putting it together and making it work, and it's a great conversation starter, but it has yet to prove me any monetary worth at all. Maybe I can buy something cheap on Overstock in a couple months, or I'll get really really lucky and mine a block.

I'd recommend installing the OS on a usb 3.0 flash drive and just booting from the sd card.

Also it seems you're set on raspbmc but I'd honestly recommend openelec as it does have a slight performance advantage. See here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYfU7v_FO6U

Here is the flash drive I'm running xbmc off of:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121155982425?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2648

I also recommend overclocking (I'm at 1GHz) and doing a 256/256 memory split to get a balance of smooth menu navigation and video playback performance.

My setup has the hub and a wireless card plugged directly into the pi. Then the USB Flash drive running the os, my 1.5tb external hd (for media), and a wireless dongle for my keyboard remote plugged into the powered hub.

Also, once you get everything installed I recommend you take a look at XBMCHub and install the unofficial repos using fusion. I'd recommend installing Transmission (turn xbmc into a torrent server that can download straight to your external hd), Project Free TV, Navi-X, Icefilms, 1Channel, I Watch Online, Sports Devil, Youtube, and VEVO. There are lots of other plugins but you can browse through the repos and choose the ones you like best.

I'm planning on getting my first mechanical keyboard and could really use some advice. At the moment, I'm torn between:

1. KBParadise V80 TKL
   
2. KUL ES-87
   
3. Qisan MagicForce
   
   The first two use Cherry MX Clears and I'm not really sure how to judge the relative quality of the boards. Does anybody have any opinions on that? The third option is an inexpensive board using OUTEMU blues. That's me wondering whether I should dip my foot in the water a little bit before committing to something more expensive.
   
   I used a Cherry Mx Blue keyboard for a couple of minutes recently and my first reaction was that the keys were surprisingly light and easy to bottom out. I then bought a switch tester and found the Clears to seem nicest; quiet with a strong tactile bump and a high force after actuation to prevent bottoming out. I'm just wondering if I only prefer this due to familiarity because I'm used to using the old-style Thinkpad keyboards which are most similar to the Clears. Maybe if I forced myself to use a lighter keyboard then I would adjust and end up loving it. Or maybe I should get Greens or Browns as a bit of a compromise.
   
   So, if anybody has any advice on the V80 TKL vs the KUL ES-87 then that would be awesome. I would also love to hear any broader advice on whether I should trust my first impressions or just start with a more popular and less expensive switch to see how I adjust. I'm sure that plenty of people here have made a similar transition from rubber domes.

I'm using these....

HMDI

USB

Then for the sake of asthetics, I wrapped them both in this to keep the wires together when routing.

10 foot for each, which has worked for me, but 15 might give a bit more flexibility depending on the location of your PC. But part of the benefit of the hanging cables is that as long as your cable can reach diagonally to the opposite corner of your space, (front to back, left to right, and top to bottom. Diagonally in 3 dimensions), then it should be able to reach anywhere in your space. The stock Rift cable can reach diagonally across my space, and my extension cables are just getting my cable to its "start" position in the corner.

Keep in mind these cables don't have a ton of strength, so I recommend getting a hefty command strip hook to statically fix your wire near the ceiling to take a lot of the weight, then the hook cables can split the weight from there as it droops towards your head naturally.

This turned into a bit of a novel but I hope my "lessons learned" are helpful haha

Neither does the purchase of the xbox. You don't put your entertainment center's cost into it.

You're also failing to remember that TVs have HDMI ports, and so do GPUs. You can use a controller with your PC in pretty much every game that isn't an MMO or a DOTA clone.

As far as the keyboard and mouse, you could easily start with two $10 shitters. I have a Corsair K70 RGB (blue) that I'm typing this on right now, but before I had this, I was typing on a Logitech K120, and for a membrane keyboard, it was actually really good.

EDIT: Just read the bit about the OS. It's true that Windows is sort of expensive, but Linux is slowly (and actually measurably, not just "ITS YEAR OF LENOX GUIZE") becoming a very viable gaming platform. Loads of games are coming out for Linux because of SteamOS, and lots of AAA titles now too. Borderlands and the witcher series come to mind. There are also ways to get legitimate Windows licenses for free (if you're a student) or nearly free. In the future, there may even be completely free versions of windows, and windows 10 is a completely free upgrade to anyone running 7 or up.

GameCube and Game Boy Player is the standard setup. The startup disc for the Game Boy Player can be a bit pricey these days, but you can softmod the GameCube and use the free Game Boy Interface software as an alternative.

From there, you can get an HDMI adapter and HDMI capture card (lots of those to choose from). Or if you need to save some money, a good S-Video capture device like the IO Data GV-USB2, an S-Video splitter, and a GameCube S-Video cable will still get you a pretty decent-looking capture. Either way, set it up in OBS and you're good to go.

I'd suggest also getting an SNES controller adapter. I find it way nicer than using the GBA as a controller. There's also one for Wii Classic Controllers if you prefer.

Audio engineer-in-training checking in here: it boils down to your mic. If you use a cheap mic, it's not going to sound very good. Also helps if you have a good wind filter over it (the black foam piece). I personally use these and they sound fantastic. Condenser mics are the way to go for vocal recordings, and cardioid pickup patterns help with a more directed pickup. You can effectively point the mic away from the wind, leaving the least sensitive part pointing down towards the wind (also, the "bottom" of these mics are less sensitive to low frequency sounds like wind noise, a bonus characteristic of cardioid mics).

For an idea of how this specific mic sounds in action, refer to my video here. Hopefully, this helps a bit.

Maybe a little info about the wired mic you used would help determine the root issue. But as far as recording with the SENA mic, you're not gonna get much good quality. I tried recording with mine, and using a phone to record sucks because it doesn't have the built-in noise-cancelling effect that the SENA uses when doing the comm function. Also, the GoPro has a compressor built-in that reduces the volume to adjust for the loudest sound it "hears" so if the mic is right by your mouth it'll squash the wind noise down to make your voice heard more easily.

What are you going to be using this mouse/keyboard for?

• In all seriousness, a mouse is about left/right click, back/forward buttons (on mid-high end mice), and the scroll wheel. You're also looking at wireless vs. wired capability. Do you need to work far away from your computer at any time? (Wireless) Do you depend on zero latency for clicks? (Wired or very high end wireless) [Those are just a few examples]
  
  
• A keyboard's main concerns are sheer number of buttons, mechanical/non-mechanical, wireless/wired, and lighting/sensors etc. Once again the variable applications and settings for these devices will all depend on where and how you want to use it!
  
  While you're at it... grab a good mouse pad, cloth-woven with strong edges and gripping rubber on the bottom.
  
  
  ___
  
  Gamers usually opt for a nice mechanical keyboard (sometimes backlit for nighttime gaming sessions). On the other hand, for an HTPC you might like back-lighting and wireless capabilities. Or for normal use... simple, wired efficiency. You can even get solar-powered keyboards now to be more environmentally friendly!
  
  As for mice... the choices are wide open. Getting a 'gaming' mouse is NEVER a bad decision as they are usually manufactured with a higher degree of quality assurance and wonderful ergonomics. Personal tangent: An expensive (but entirely worthwhile) gaming mouse cured my tendonitis.
  
  
  A stellar Logitech mouse. (G400)
  
  I used one of those for many years before switching over to my current Razer Mamba. Razer mice are very expensive and usually come with a host of fancy lights and extra buttons. It really depends on what you need the mouse for, so I won't clutter your screen with links until we know more!
  

After doing my best mime impersonation in RiftMax a couple times I figured I ought to get the ability to speak if I'm really going to be able to participate in VR. Assuming that the CV1 is going to have some sort of microphone I didn't really want to spend any more than I had to, so this was my solution.

Microphone: Neewer 3.5mm Hands Free Computer Clip on Mini Lapel Microphone - $6.95 shipped for 3

I gaffer taped this to the underside of the Rift right above my mouth. I used the camera on my phone to ensure it didn't obstruct any of the LEDs then wrapped the cable around the Rift's existing cable and tied it in place with the bread ties it came packaged with. It picks up my voice great and doesn't require any adjustment when I put the Rift on. An unanticipated side effect is that it covers a good portion of the light leak that comes in through the nose gap.

After getting that sorted I was getting annoyed with the immersion breaking plasticy sound of my cheapo Sennheiser HD497 headphones when I moved around, so I wanted something that would stay in place and ended up with:

Headphones: Enhanced Bass Hi-Fi Noise Isolating Earphones - Black - $10.38 shipped

These aren't anything special, but do the job just fine. They block out enough outside noise that I can settle into the VR world and because of the way I ran the cable through the Rift's headbands I am able to lift the Rift off my head enough to see without having to remove the headphones each time.

Cables: iMBAPrice iMBA-PS-06MF 6-Feet Gold Plated 3.5mm Male to 3.5mm Female Extension Stereo Audio Cable - $7.99 shipped x2

Lastly I got these extension cables so I could continue running the headphone and mic cables along the Rift cable. Doing it this way keeps it at just one semi-bulky cable coming off the HMD, but a lot better than the "cables everywhere" feeling that I had before. One of which ended up being the most taught cable in the bunch, so in the off chance I end up tugging at it way too hard it's more likely to break the headphone jack on the front of my rig than the HDMI port on my much more expensive video card, which is nice.

I ended up spending $33.31 total in the end and a couple of the items are listed cheaper now than they were a week or two ago. I'm happy enough with the ease of use and quality that I figured it would be worth spreading the word to the rest of you, so I hope you find it helpful.

That mic is great, but you can get something like an SM57 much cheaper, if she's recording acoustic guitar.

If you want a pretty good vocal mic, that will also be cheapish you can get something like this.

Or just buy an sm58 which is a cheaper version of the other one you just showed, and is good for doing live stuff if you want to do that.

You can also get a 4x4 input thing so that she can multitrack into a daw, or just a smaller one if she's only ever going to record like 2 tracks at once.

I got something like this.

The SM57 and SM58 are pretty much standards in the music world.

That being said, IIRC the SM7b (the mic you're looking at) is what Micheal Jackson recorded a lot of his stuff on ( the bad album at least), so it's def pro level.

Thank you for taking the time! What kind of information do you need on RStudio? I'm not really doing anything particularly advanced. I'm a student. I'm doing introductory data analysis. We use real data, thousands of observations, but it's mostly simple linear regression. Honestly, my current computer handles it all perfectly fine. I can't imagine I need anything too advanced for the use of RStudio or Stata.

But I felt it important to mention since the purpose of the computer should be primarily my area of study. Is intel the superior choice over AMD for data analysis? I'd heard they'd come a long way to be fairly competitive with Intel. I had been considering a Ryzen 5 2600 or X? But I have the budget available that I don't want to cheap out.

While I have all my peripherals, do you have any recommendations on speakers? Since I appear to have some room left over in the budget, I wouldn't mind upgrading from these crappy little budget speakers. I do appreciate good sound quality but I'm rather amateur in knowing what to look for.

I haven't personally used these, but I've found some that have decent reviews. As /u/Faiter119 suggested, Logitech is a very trusted brand. The K120 is your basic, plain old keyboard.

There is also the Amazon Basics keyboard, which I would trust right off the bat as they provide decent quality electronics.

If you're willing to get a bit adventurous, I found the BlueFinger backlit keyboard that also comes with a mouse (for a promotion), but has no reviews because it won't be released until the 11th. This is the best $30 keyboard I've ever seen, to be honest. It looks legit, and their other keyboards are the same basic design and all get 4-5 stars, so I would take the risk. Amazon is always really cool about giving full refunds on products in case it doesn't work out.

I got mine this week, from using Steelseries Siberia V2 previously. I always thought the Siberia were adequate but the HD 598 is so much better. The sound is a marked difference, but the HD 598 is also way more comfortable. I was originally planning on keeping both because the Siberia has a mic, but I just ordered a small lapel mic because I want to use the HD 598 full time. If you're looking for a mic, there's also this more expensive Antlion product, and some alternatives at the bottom of this head-fi post.

Just as an example, I switched back and forth between the HD 598s and the Siberia V2s while listening to Sam Smith's Stay With Me, and during the chorus when the other voices chime in, it sounds so much harsher on my Siberias. It also sounds more... enclosed, as if the voices and instruments were playing in a small closet. The HD 598s in contrast sound like the voices are on a wide stage. The bass is also mushy on the Siberias, but very distinct and controlled on the HD 598s.

I read through a lot of /u/veni_vidi_vale (who's a moderator) post history and now that my ears are opened to this audiophile world, I have my heart set on saving up for an HD 600 or 650 with an amp and dac (possibly Schiit's Magni + Modi combo, which are $100 each). But for the time being, I'm really happy with the HD 598s connected directly to my PC.

Nominating /u/Shercock_Holmes for this awesome drawing tablet because I used to have one like this and I REALLY loved it, beyond drawing as well! It was really useful for doing math problems and taking notes too (:


ALSO gimme some tech Daddi! Can I just say your name gives me life lmao. Both Shercock and DaddiYanqui make me so happy for no reason lmao I love it.

1. Bra--It's a U-shaped plunge, which I think would work best. Plus I love Maidenform!
   
   
2. I'm thinking you need some sexy platform heels for this dress. These are cute, and super cheap!
   
   
3. I love tights with backseams! Here's a pair that's a bit bolder. This pair has a really pronounced backseam, which I love.
   
   
4. These are adorable. Love the blue.
   
   
5. Not sure what to do for this one. I like... vibrators?? ha ha
   
   
6. Get him a nice mouse! I bought my husband this one for Christmas and he's using it right now :D This one is a bit spendy at $50, but he loves it.
   
   Anniversary story -- it's happening right now :) My husband has never been awesome at gifts, and he's always felt really bad about it. Sometimes he just wouldn't get me anything at all, or say he would later and then never do it... anyway, he overheard me talking to some friends about how it kind of makes me sad, and he's been stepping up since the first of this month. Our anniversary is on the 14th, and i've been getting little gifts every day with a number countdown on each one :)

So my trash "gaming headset broke" and because of that I had to go back to my old Steelseries Siberia 100 headphones, and going back to them reminded me why I liked them so much, they had a good noise isolation, audio quality and were really comfy. the only drawbacks of them were that they had no mic when I game and a short headphone jack cable but that never bothered me too much as I stay close to my pc.
Anyways.. So I thought instead of looking for another, either overpriced or cheap gaming headset I'll instead just get a separate mic for it which is close to my mouth.
So I ended up after searching with this interested mic - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJOIHE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 , and I also saw a review that the sound quality is pretty good for its price and it comes with a pack.
So I might buy this but if you guys got any other recommendations I am happy to hear, but the thing that worries me a bit is that I am ordering the mic with my new mechanical blue switches keyboard so I am looking for something that doesn't pick up that too much.
Anyways yeah, what do you guys think? Should I buy it and continue from now on just buying a normal headphones? Because my siberia 100 is also a bit rusty and with duct tape taped at the sides so I'll probably also replace it in a few months, so if you also got a $30-$50 good budget headphones for just casual gaming I'll be glad to check them out. Thanks!

Mice

• Logitech G500 Programmable Gaming Mouse $57.39, probably the best bet for reliability and gaming functionality. I have 2 of these on different computers.
  
  
• Logitech Corded Mouse (M500)$28.79
  
  I can't personally recommend any Razer mice though I'm using a Razer Tron mouse at the moment. Every Razer mouse I've had, has had issues with the left mouse button randomly double clicking.
  
  Keyboards, you can get away with a lot in the keyboard department as they all do pretty much the same thing. Here's a couple of options.
  
  
• Logitech Keyboard K120 $11.97 It's just a standard keyboard, no bells no whistles. Not designed for gaming but will work fine for any game.
  
• Microsoft SideWinder X4 Keyboard $47.70, Microsoft has been known to make the odd good keyboard here and there. This is so far as I know, one of them.
  
• Logitech Gaming Keyboard G105 Call of Duty: MW3 Edition $64.99, Entry level gaming keyboard with programmable keys. If you can get past the Call of Duty branding on this device it'd probably be a pretty good keyboard for you and the programmable keys would work with any game.
  
• Logitech Gaming Keyboard G110 $69.99, For $5 more you can get a game agnostic gaming keyboard with 12 programmable keys.
  
• Logitech Gaming Keyboard G510 $99.67, Now you enter the realm of on keyboard displayed, these work pretty good for a lot of games. A friend of mine has one of these and it's served him very well. I've never seen the point of an on keyboard display as I've never used the one I've got for anything.
  
  EDIT: I accidentally the whole description of a product.

Here's what my setup looked like when I first got going. It was perfect to learn with...
Scarlett 2i2
Shure sm58 The mic is $99, but pay a few extra for the stand and cable.
Shure sm57 This is optional, but I had both. Remember the cable and stand. Honestly, if creative, you can make your own mic stand.
Sennheiser hd 280 as far as headphones, try not to get carried away with brands or prices. You can find plenty under $99. These I got on sale from GC for $79. Best bang for your buck imo. The main thing to look for in headphones are making sure they cup your ears.
Sony Music Studio Once again, I started MANY years ago when I picked up this DAW at a best buy. Don't spend too much brain power on which DAW to get. Some are WAY expensive, and some are "free". Look into Reaper too. Why I started out with Sony Acid was because they came with a quick reference loop library.

You have a couple of options. These are the things you will absolutely need:

1. A capture card - For PS2, I highly recommend this one. It is the best SD USB card for the price.
   
   
2. The right AV cables. For a sharper image, use S-Video instead of the yellow composite video. For S-Video, you'll need a cable such as this one You don't have to use S-Video, but if you're going to stream, I recommend it.
   
   
3. A powered splitter - This is to take the video from the console and pipe it to two different sources, your capture card and your TV. I have two of these splitters and they work wonderfully. You will only need one. It is a one-in, four-out splitter, so two of your outputs will remain unused unless you have another source you need the video to go to.
   
   
4. AV cables to go from the outputs on your splitter to the TV and capture card. For the connection from the first output to your capture card, you can use a standard male-male S-Video cable. For the second output that goes to your TV, it just depends on what kind of TV you have. If you're playing PS2, I recommend using a higher-end CRT, in which case you can just use male-male composite cables. If you TV has a native S-Video port, then just get a second male-male S-Video cable.
   
   
5. A PC that can handle streaming - I know this sounds vague, but you wouldn't believe how many people attempt to stream even SD consoles with a GV-USB2 on laptops pre-2010. When OBS or XSplit is open and streaming, your processor will be in use. If you do not have a decent processor, streaming will bog your PC down.
   
   That's about all I can think of. It's daunting at first when you're trying to imagine how everything would be set up, but I promise it's not as difficult as it sounds. If you have any other questions, just reply here and I'll do my best to answer.

This is normally my go to recommended headphones, but it's like half the price in the States.

My normal suggestion is to get a microphone and headphones and pair theme up since they'll sound better all around than any headset that costs a similar price. I'm honestly having a hard time fitting your budget. If you were in the states, this would be easy.

These headphones are slightly not as good as the other ones, but an easy suggestion to make when you can't pay for the HD688B and I know it's a bit of a hassle, but you could pair it with this lav mic. You wouldn't need to but the lav mic on your shirt, you should be able to place it on the head phone cable and just keep them together.

The only headsets I recommend are the HyperX Cloud headsets from Kingston. This one fits just right in with your budget. They're actually pretty good, but might be marginally worse than the headphone+microphone setup I've suggested, but also a bit more convenient.

I purchased;

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D378SW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(various dk2 users recommended passive (copper to copper) couplers for use with HDMI connectors, this is what I found on Amazon)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0194F1MY4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(this was recommended for users that don't have two hdmi outputs and use a TV for a monitor, etc. The 970gtx typically has a DisplayPort out. This adapter I believe can be used for either the rift or your external tv etc. My importance is for 4k Video with Audio. This is the go to cable. The 4k capability here is very important with the Rift. This cable is verified to work.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7SA21U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(these or AmazonBasics seem to be the goto USB 3.0 extension cables, DK2/CV1 owners recommend AmazonBasics, but they are all sold out. These are the next best bet. I plan on using this to go through my wall to my Powered USB 3.0 Hubs).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0192LPK5M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(I bought this as its a reliable brand, 4 port usb POWERED hub, you are going to get better results with USB 3.0 when its powered and extended due to obvious cable length limitations.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OSCJ7K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
(As the DisplayPort to HDMI was by Club3D, this cable is highly rated and reliably 4k Capable, I figured it was a no brainer).

Hope that helps, I feel confident, through my research I should be able to accomplish what I want. I know USB limits you to 15ft, but in my experience when you use powered USB hubs, you can get beyond that. And worst case scenario, you can convert the USB to Cat5 and go much further distances.

I figured, if something doesn't work, I always have use for adapters and hubs. Again my goal was just to get through my wall and have the PC in another room (less than 20foot overall, but I heard the Rift cables are 9ft?) So the Rift setup would end up being 9ft or so in my living room I think.

1. im not a sound quality person but i always get my music in FLAC, after that you just need good quality headphones/speakers. those CAN get expensive but these speakers are really good for how cheap they are.
   
   
2. this case is completely filtered up, if your cats have a lot of hair around you will just need to keep those filters clean often.
   
   
3. I only have a 7850 (160$) and i can play all current games on max, save crysis 2/3 on medium. a 760 is good
   
   
4. yes you will need to get win7/8

I'm hardly an expert on the subject, but I just went through the same process...
I put together a Skylake build this month and I've already had the power go out once which really got me thinking.
So basically passive surge protectors (I've had a Belkin $40 thing for 5+ years) are good but having an Active Inline filtering UPS that can run your important hardware for a few minutes is a lot better. I looked into your EVGA PSU unit to see if is has PFC but can't find concrete evidence (it will be damaged/not work unless the UPS has "Pure Sine Wave" output). I think it's safe to say you should buy one with that capability for sure. The next thing to consider is the VA rating and more importantly the Wattage. I decided to look for at least 600W for my gaming PC so worst case scenario (Gaming + monitor + console) I have a few minutes to safely shut things down on battery. I found the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD meets my needs (the lower power ones do as well but that model is currently on for $180 which is a reasonable sale price). There is also a similarly priced line by APC which is highly regarded (sorry no link)

The one I bought, for $178.98: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00429N19W/ref=pe_386430_121528420_TE_dp_1
It's cheaper at CanadaComputers but not after shipping in my case: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/cyberpower-ups-cp1500pfclcd

This is great. Hands are such a pain to draw well and you've done a great job. The story is relatable to anyone who's been high and experienced how weird your body is if you really think about it. 10/10, would read again.

If you're serious about moving from single illustrations to sequential art there are a lot of books and sites out there to help.


Fundamentals

Scott McCloud

Will Eisner


Writing

Jim Zub


Coloring

K Michael Russell


These are just a few. This may not be a popular opinion here but bittorent is your friend. Use it to torrent Photoshop, Manga Studio, and any drawing books you're interested in. Then you need to ask yourself what your end goal is. Printed comics? Web comics?

I've changed my workflow from originally doing everything with paper and pens to involving more digital elements during the process. It's made working quicker and most people want to consume comics on their laptop or tablet which means you'll end up converting to digital at some point in the future anyway.

Here's some examples of my stuff. I'm still learning so there's a lot here I'm embarrassed to show but it might be helpful context.

Web comic done with pencils and inks on paper then scanned. I did this for a year and you can see how much better my art gets towards the end from practicing every day. I wish I would have kept it up.

First try coloring something digitally.

Here's the second try doing a longer format comic. K Michael Russell's videos are awesome for learning the basics of coloring. Here's what the layers look like broken apart.

You can get a scanner relatively cheap, here's the one I use. The downside of a small scanner means you need to draw on paper smaller than 11x17 or draw on large paper and scan it in piece by piece.

I also moved to a Wacom tablet for inking/coloring. My next comic will be posted soon and was done 100% digital. I'm not in love with how it turned out but it helped me learn what you and can and can't do on a drawing tablet.

Hopefully some of this is helpful.

These are the exact cables I used to extend both my rifts. Both are lossless quality; no noise, snow, nothing.

USB Extension

HDM Extension

Also in case you are interested, these are the cables I used to extend my sensor cables. Entire system works flawlessly. Some people have had to plug one or two of the sensors into a USB2.0 slot instead of 3.0 to get perfect tracked. I just split the 3.0's up between several different card. A good rule of thumb is two inputs per card. So i used the MOBO slots, the top panel slots, and my PCI-E USB slots to ensure each component was receiving sufficient power.

Hope this helps. Best of luck and enjoy (:

> The price of a PS4 Pro bundle is around $430. That's around the same price of this build from the PCMR wiki. The PC build is slightly stronger than the PS4 Pro, but I believe that more overhead is needed in PC builds since games on the PC have a tendency to be less-optimized than on console so let's just consider them equal.

I strongly recommend against trying to match the setup cost of a PS4 (or any other console) when putting together a PC. You get an absolutely ridiculous boost to your value if you just spend a little more to begin with. Just as an example, swapping out the 460 in that link for a 470 produces a system that costs under US$530 - nearly $100 more, but absolutely annihilates even the PS4 Pro in terms of performance (thanks chiefly to the general target of 30FPS on PS4). The money will be made back on savings on PC anyway (cheaper games, free online), and you'll have better performance from day one.

Although these prices are largely moot, anyway, as the OP is in Canada (at least, I assume that's why they're buying in CA$!), and they're talking about buying later this year, rather than today.

I'll also throw in that PCs can connect to TVs nowadays, so you don't need a monitor - although, granted, this wasn't generally the case 10-15 years ago. (The "HDMI" on PC graphics cards is the same "HDMI" used on TVs, and they even use the same cable.)

(For a keyboard, I can recommend the indestructible Logitech K120!)

I have tried recording audio on phones with cheap lav mics and I got usable results. I also tried a shotgun mic with my phones and it did a very good job. Of course I needed to buy a headphone-mic splitter to connect a 3.5mm mic to the phone (just plugging a 3.5mm mic in phone doesn't work). You can get these splitters for couple of dollars on ebay.
The phone headsets record sound well, so you can use them too.

Please be aware that you will need to do more work in post (syncing, cleaning up noise, trying to match the qualities between multiple recordings) but it is worth a try if you don't have money to spend.

For android, I tried this app and found it well suited for my needs.
This app let me records USB mics using OTG cable. Worked extremely well.
I don't use iPhone so I don't know any apps but I am sure you can find some good ones.
Good luck.

Specs: Raspberry Pi Zero W running Raspbian. I have a generic case that I found at Microcenter that came with a heat sync. Samba is installed for windows file sharing. Pi VPN is also installed for access from anywhere. Two hard drive enclosures form amazon with a few hard drives I had lying around: 1TB (left) and a 320GB (right). The fan is an Arctic Breeze Mobile and I also have a USB to Ethernet adapter. Everything is connected to a 7 hub Anker powered USB hub. The fan is probably overkill but whatever, it looks cool.

​

Guides I followed to get it all up and running:

How To Geek: How to Turn a Raspberry Pi into a Low-Power Network Storage Device

Combining the two different hard drives to appear as one

Setting up OpenVPN with PiVPN

​

Edit: Added Amazon links - I didn't buy everything from amazon but this is easiest. Some things aren't the exact ones shown but close enough.

​

Edit Edit: Added links to the guides I followed

​

Edit\^3: Thank you all for the support and my first Gold! I didn't think this would get as much support as it has gotten! :)

​

Last Edit hopefully: I apologize I called it a "Cloud" Server. It has stirred up some debate on whether or not it is. I called it a "cloud" server because I can access it from anywhere.

I'd avoid moving the sensor around between standing and sitting. If you move sensors you ideally should redo the setup. That would get pretty annoying fast. Just find a placement that handles both.

Yes the 3rd sensor comes with a USB 2.0 extension and I would recommend using it. When on USB 3.0 the sensor sends raw images back to your PC on the USB bus using ~76MB/s per sensor. When on USB 2.0 the sensor sends back jpeg compressed images to the PC using ~16MB/s which is substantially less and really doesn't affect tracking performance too much.

If you really want to prepare for everything when your Rift arrives. I recommend you get this card from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Superspeed-Ports-PCI-Expansion/dp/B00B6ZCNGM
Amazon shipped this form USA to Australia really cheaply. Don't try to get a "similar" card from somewhere locally. This one with this chipset is supported by Oculus and works. 9 times out of 10 people with tracking issues battle their system for weeks and when they get this card the problems are fixed.

I know you have enough ports at present but it is more than just available ports on your PC. Have a read of the blog posts Oculus did on this topic.

https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-tips-for-setting-up-a-killer-vr-room/

https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-balancing-bandwidth-on-usb/

https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-roomscale-identifying-host-controllers/

Finally if you are getting that card from Amazon save on shipping and get the extension cables for the headset itself (and the sensors for the back room).

Don't try to push the headset extension more than 6 feet as you wont need it and can possibly run into issues. Again it is important you get cables that are known to work. People have tried a huge range of different cables and lengths and not everything works. Learn from their experience.

TLDR: you want these if you want to be 100% ready for when it arrives for any issues that might arise. The Rift could work out of the box without any of this. But if you have issues these things will likely fix them and also give you enough cabling length to get everything setup exactly how you want. Another tip. If you have issues don't fight them just get these things to fix it and save your sanity.

PC

USB Card - https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-Superspeed-Ports-PCI-Expansion/dp/B00B6ZCNGM

Headset

6ft USB - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CFL6ARO

6ft HDMI - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JJ519KC/

Sensors Extensions

6ft or 10ft - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7SA21U/

I've never used a deathadder, but if I could make some recommendations, the Logitech G400 and Perixx MX-2000B are really good mice in my experience. the [G400] (http://amzn.com/B0055QZ216) is particularly liked by the people over at /r/mousereview for its sensor, and it's just a nice looking, minimal mouse. I just got the [Perixx MX-2000B] (http://amzn.com/B0083H4NG4) and while it's a branded version of a mouse that some other companies use, I can tell you it's a very comfortable mouse to use and works well in gaming. Doesn't hurt that it's $31.99 and you get stuff like LED customization and weight tuning.

The audio will work the way you describe. This is actually pretty old tech. I was doing positional audio in Half Life with a Quad speaker setup, obviously no TrackIR back then, but how you move your position in game, be it TrackIR or your mouse of something else won't affect how the directionality of the audio works, they're different systems.

IMO unless you need headphones due to your living arrangement you're far better off getting a small surround system. Virtually all 5.1 or 7.1 headphones won't sound as good as actual physical speakers in a room. Most don't actually use multiple drivers to localize the sound, they use psychoacoustic tricks using a third party piece of software to make you believe you're hearing sound coming from different directions. If you've ever seen one of those audio demos on your soundchip's control panel where they simulate a bee or something moving from left to right and behind you seemingly and back to your left, its just like that.

Some of them do have multiple drivers but even they still use software tricks as help the simulation along. As to whether the software tricks, or multiple drivers, or some combination of the two work best is a matter of debate.

Personally I'm ok with it as software-only, (though again it'll never sound as good as actual speakers in a room) if done well, humans hear far better than 7.1 with only two ears. Headphones with fewer drivers in them for positioning sound better overall since they can utilize larger drivers in the earcups. (This isn't like the old woofer and tweeter and mid-range drivers from the days of yore, the drivers in surround sound headphones aren't there to split the frequencies so much but more for the positioning.)

A decent (audiophiles with $500 wooden knobs on their $10K vacuum tube amps can stop reading now) 5.1 speaker setup can be got for not too much cash, and the physical speakers, even the cheaper ones, will sound a thousand times better for positioning, at least. Price varies wildly, so your budget is of concern. The headphone I link to below is less than $100 and the solution provided by a comment earlier would cost you almost $1000. At some point diminishing returns set in, and you have to keep in mind your own personal experience; I've found you can give a person who is used to cheap earbuds and multimedia speakers a $100 item and a $1000 item and a $10000 item and they can't tell the difference. Hell half the audiophiles out there can't tell the difference.

If yo want to go with the headphones, I'm a fan of Plantronics due to the build quality, a big problem with these headsets in general is the cups break or the wires detach due to wear and tear.

EDIT: attempts at clarification. attempts.

I used to use the G35s, and I absolutely loved them. The whole "surround sound" thing is just a gimmick, but the mute button on the headset and just the overall design on the headset made it worthwhile. They lasted a long time, till they fell out of my bag and fell down the stairs (They're not the most durable. The headband is sorta rubbery and feels like it only has a little strip of metal supporting it.) and I used them every day. I must have had thousands of hours on those things. The matte finish on the cups are nice, and the volume control is even nicer, as is the red mute button that appears on the microphone when it's down and muted. The sound quality was decent, but I never got to compare them side-by-side with my audio technicas. Overall, they were (for me and my friends who use them) a supurb headset and I will be choosing either them or the Plantronics GameCom 780 as my next headset.

Get a M-Audio Mobile Pre and 2 Samson C02 small diaphragm condensers. I have this set up, and it sounds pretty damn good for the price. If you find you really like recording stuff, Tascam makes great interfaces with many more inputs. Shure SM57 is another great dynamic mic and built like a tank. If you want large diaphragm condensers, The Studio Projects B1 and AT-2020 are both great.

I think with the ram, you'd be better off going with 2 4gb sticks instead of 1, unless of course you were looking to upgrade to 64gb sometime in the near future.

Also, I don't know about that keyboard. I was looking into buying that one when I was building, but I remember after researching it a bit, it isn't all that great. There isn't very much to it that is actually gaming centered, aside from some keyboard caps and the light. If your on a tight budget, I went with the Logitech k120 which is inexpensive, and I'm just waiting to save up enough for a nice mechanical keyboard. I'm a pretty religious gamer, and the K120 has been doing me great for about a year now. I just don't think that the Sharkoon is worth the $30, when it isn't offering much.

Edit: I also agree with /u/MrGuydude19 that I don't know if you should be spending that much on speakers, when you're spending that much on a headset.

Logitech G-400

Razer Deathadder

Steelseries Sensei

All of these are excellent mice, which one you want really comes down to personal preference. I like the deathadder, but I know other people who are more comfortable with the logitech design.

You also might want to take into consider a nice mouse surface if you don't already have one. I can tell you that the steelseries 9HD is pretty awesome if you're into hard pads.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010Q57T02/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This is the SD card that I got. It is 32 GB. For the price difference between 16 and 32 (~$4), I thought 32 was worth it. I did not have to reformat it or anything. It was great. No problems thus far.

If you're interested, I have 13 GB left and have installed:

• Monster Hunter Gen
  
• Paper Jam
  
• ACNL
  
• Fire Emblem Awakening
  
• Fantasy Life
  
• Rune Factory 4
  
• Mario Kart 7
  
• Bravely Default (and Second)
  
• Story of Seasons
  
• Harvest Moon: A New Beginning
  
• Pokemon Y
  
• Happy Home Designers
  
• Random stuff that doesn't consume much data (pushmo, SNES converts, pocket jockey, etc.)
  
  For 10-20 games, I'm inclined to say you might be more satisfied with a 32 GB SD. Hope that helps! Happy gaming :)

Sort of depends what you mean by "stream well", what content you're streaming, and how serious you are about the whole endeavor. Some top streamers that play modern competitive PC games use two computers, both with very high specs, because it gives them the best FPS to eke out a competitive edge. On the other hand, there are people who just buy a $30 capture card and use whatever old PC to stream themselves playing analog console games. They don't get famous, or a ton of money (usually), but they have a good time.

If you just want to stream for fun, it's very easy to get started. If you want to build an audience, a name for yourself, cashflow, etc., then it's much harder. Being a professional streamer is essentially running a business - you're an independent celebrity and video producer. But if you're not worried about all that, all you really need is a capture card (if you're playing games) or camera (if you're vlogging), and any reasonably modern computer.

I recommend getting some Studio Over Ear Headphones, and getting a Mod Mic or Desk Mic to go along with it. I bought an Antlion ModMic for the wife, and it works great. Sounds great as well compared to all the shitty gaming headset mics. My setup is a Razer Seiren Pro that I got on a banging deal almost $100 cheaper than typical pricing :). I have a mic stand that sits right above my monitors. It does pick up echoes if I have my speakers turned up too loud, but it's not too bad. I use voice meeter banana to route all my audio to 2 separate audio devices so I can just mute my speakers and put headphones on.

 

Recommendations:
Desk Mic: Blue Yeti - ~$120, Blue Snowball ~$50
Mod Mic: Antlion ModMic ~$60, V Moda BoomPro ~$30 (V Moda Mic wont work on all headphones)
Headphones: r/Headphones | Read about headphones.

 

They come down to preference for the user typically. I have M-Audio Q40's with Beyerdynamic's EDT 770 V Replacement Pads. You probably won't be able to find any Q40's online, but I bought mine back in 2010 and I still use them today. I've replaced the audio cable probably 10+ times now. They are built to endure, and they are not that comfortable with the stock pads. Put the EDT 770 V pads on and feels like a cloud. I personally also have a desk headphone amp to get clearer/crisper sound.
As I said, this all comes down to preference. You need to research specific items you are interested in. Try to find reviews on reddit or forums. I wouldn't follow "reviews" that are articles on web pages. Half of those are BS and are generally favored towards the provider of the equipment unfortunately.
Typical google searches would be:
M-Audio Q40 headfi
Blue Yeti Pro reddit
Blue Yeti Pro Issues reddit
mod mic reddit

 

Good luck on your ventures! Let me know if you have any other questions.

PS - If you have a mechanical keyboard, invest in o-rings/pads to help with the clickiness, or if you don't have a mechanical keyboard and you are looking for one, get silent keys. I forget the actual switch types names.

As far as mics go I have an AT2035 large diaphragm condenser mic which does the job on vocals and acoustic guitars, and I sprung for an SM57 which I guess is a very widely used dynamic mic for amps or other loud things. I recorded some harmonica the other day with it and it turned out excellent. Well as excellent as it can be in a horrible room like mine.
You might be able to find a cheaper condenser than that if you're on a tighter budget. It's my first, so I honestly can't offer any other advice lol

While not 100% necessary for songwriting, acoustic treatment and a good set of flat-response monitors or studio headphones will most certainly help you hear what you're actually creating.

I used to make cartoons, it's a great hobby and can be a great job, too.

I think Adobe released Flash CS3 for free a while ago, that's a nice program for making cartoons.

Just watch a lot of tutorials on YouTube, I recommend OneyNG's "Oney's Toon Tutorials" and DrawWithJazza's old Flash tutorials.

Then if you're really into it get yourself one of these, it makes drawing a lot easier.

Please hit me up if you have any questions :)

Okay! You've got a pretty decent piano. If you like the sound on it, then buying a 2i2 and cables to connect it for analog audio would be great, or you could buy something like Synthogy (good piano samples pretty much start at $50, but I personally like Synthogy.) This would allow you to edit wrong notes, but might not sound as good if you like the yamaha's sound.

I would sell the Snowball, since it is really much better for podcasting than anything else. If you absolutely hate it, disregard my above suggestion for a Spark and look into other reputable brands of microphone.

You didn't say you wanted to record guitar, for that I would at a Shure SM57/58 to the list of things to buy.

So:
2i2 Interface - $150

Blue Spark - $170 new

Shure Sm57 - $100

The combination of the two mics could probably work well enough for the violin, so I would forget what I said about a piezo for now.

Now, you can either cheap out on cables or get good ones. Either way, this for $50 is a pretty good deal for 3 stands, and would give you 3 shitty cables. I have the same ones, and the fact that I'm telling you to buy three despite only telling you to get 2 mics says something about their quality.
But that's still way cheaper than any other set of 3 stands I've seen, and I actually like those stands.
Think of those cables as temporary or backup cables, wait for a deal on Mogami or other cables that are $20-30 each for the same length.

If you're looking for more plugs I like this model from Belkin. At a minimum/everything else go with these. Both have built in plug covers so little ones as well as animals and dirt will not get into the plugs.

As far as your UPS goes, that model is quite dated. That model and even new models usually do minimal surge protection. I like to have a good quality surge protector before the UPS and and then just put cheap power taps behind it. The UPS you have puts out what's known as a "square" wave while on battery. This can seriously harm audio amplifiers and newer active PFC computer power supplies. Some power supplies will just shutoff instead of accepting the battery power, others may self destruct, or it will just "seem fine" when you're actually shortening the life of the power supply...just depends upon the power supply.

As far as the life of the UPS you have, APC recommends changing batteries every 3-4 years. And the electronics are typically good for 5-8 years from what they say. However the electronics on these things can last a good bit longer. I would definitely see what the run time at your average load is with your current batteries. If it's enough for you, then I'd say stick with it till it dies...maybe put a UPS on both sides of it though in case the electronics in it go. Replacement batteries are pretty cheap if you use a 3rd party battery. If the linked above unit is the white tower model it requires battery kit RBC33.

If you decide a replacement would be better, I suggest this CyberPower model. I think it's the only thing I recommend from CyperPower. A very decent UPS for the price.

You know what, that's actually a good map! It's pretty clear and represents a good start.

/r/mapmaking is a good place to look around, and there's even helpful threads popping up all the time. If you decide to get more serious about making maps, I'd recommend a Wacom tablet for drawing on a computer. You can use free tools like GIMP or Krita. Of course you can use a mouse with these, but pen & tablet is easier.

If sticking to regular paper, get something like these. Good pens of different thicknesses. If you can express terrain using only "textures" in black & white (here is an example I found on /r/mapmaking), you can really make it pop once you start adding color!

Biggest tip is to just keep at it. And don't be afraid to re-do things over and over to try out different styles.

Keyboards:
Here's a Rosewill mechanical keyboard on sale for ~$65:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201052

Tt eSPORTS MEKA mechanical for ~60:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823162015

Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire Rapid (jesus) mechanical:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823129007

Razer Arctosa non-mechanical. ~45:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114010

Mice:
Logitech G400:
http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Optical-Gaming-High-Precision-910-002277/dp/B0055QZ216/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372086958&sr=1-2&keywords=g400

Razer DeathAdder 2013:
http://www.amazon.com/Razer-DeathAdder-Essential-Ergonomic-RZ01-00840100-R3U1/dp/B00AAS888S/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372086958&sr=1-8&keywords=g400

Logitech G500:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318

Zowie AM Black:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24S0R61063
(apparently the best CS mouse, forged by FPS gods in a fire of overclocked CPUs, using a linux server as an anvil. Or something.)

I didn't do a very good job of keeping you under budget, especially since the Zowie is $86.99, but this is a quick list of some items you should at least look at. Consider being a little more flexible with the moolah; you can get a lot more quality for $130-40 than you can for $100.

Edit: I own and enjoy a Logitech G400. If you're looking for a personal endorsement, you have mine for that model. It's also under $50. If you spend $65 on a keyboard and buy the 400, that'll squeak in just under $115 and you'll have some nice gear. Not bad at all. Do your homework on the mechanical switches. I love the clicky blues, but they're extremely loud. In fact, they're as loud or louder than a normal speaking voice, which activates my microphone when I type. Other switch types have different characteristics, and are quieter.

Another issue came up. Please help me out. I've got some games to work with my 32gb SD card with Loadiine. I switched off to 64gb (http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDXC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-064G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q588D4/ref=zg_bs_3015433011_3/191-2805409-8756006), and now I having issue to starting Loadiine. I get stuck with white background and WiiU logo on bottom right. This is how I start Loadiine.


-reset browser

-goto loadiine site

-step1, start illuminati

-go back to browser


-step2, launch homebrew


This method does not seem to work anymore...


I'm on 5.5.1, have gx2 files in app folder.


Thanks!


EDIT: I'm sorry to ask so many questions on this sub. But any help will be appreciated :)


EDIT2: Does 64gb work with WiiU at all?



EDIT3: VERY IMPORTANT!!!
switching back to 32gb works flawlessly. DO NOT use Sandisk 64gb (link on this post). It will never launch HB or Loadiine no matter what. I hope next Loadiine version can implement this feature so all SD sizes/brands can be used.



Thanks!

I looked up Pitendo and my god is that a ripoff, there's maybe 60 bucks worth of things there. Here, look:
This

https://www.amazon.com/Vilros-Raspberry-Basic-Starter-Kit--Clear/dp/B01D92SSX6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1469219491&sr=8-2&keywords=raspberry+pi+3

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDHC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-032G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q57T02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469219519&sr=8-1&keywords=32+gb+microsd

And whichever one of these you want https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=usb+controller

Is all you need, and you can honestly go for a Pi 2 Model B if you want to, and a smaller sd card maybe. Everything but the most demanding Dreamcast and N64 games work great on a 2, and N64 hardly works regardless of the model.


Honestly it's not a difficult set up, at least in my opinion. There's some troubleshooting you can do if you try and work out some more advanced things, but the basic set up is a breeze.

All you do is download the RetroPie image from the site, download Win32DiskImager, and write it to the card. It takes about 30 seconds to set up and maybe 3 clicks total.

After that, you put the microsd card into the pi, plug in your controllers, boot it up, follow the on screen controller config, and you're good to go.

Adding roms is as easy as putting in \\Retropie into any explorer window on you computer, if the pi is on your network, and dropping them into the console's folder. Everything else should be auto-configured and require little to no work on your end.

1 -

• Not getting into a whole AMD vs Nvidia, but at 1080, I believe the 7970 performs better. Once you get into higher resolutions, then the 670 is better.
  
  
• I'd recommend you wait on the SSD and pick up a 128GB on sale for the same price, but only if you're willing to wait a week or two.
  
  
• The Hyper 212 will allow you to overclock, but don't expect miracles from a $30 cooler. If you're looking to overclock a little more without spending the big bucks, look into the Corsair H50 or H101.
  
  2 -
  
  
• Your goal of 120+ FPS might be a little hard to achieve, especially with FRAPS. TF2 is CPU intensive and looking at some benchmarks from one guy with slightly better specs (i7-920 @ 3.75 GHz, GTX 680), you can probably only hit a steady 100-110 FPS without FRAPS.
  
  
• As I said before, overclocking is very meh, but possible.
  
  
• I went through and checked your parts for Hackintosh issues. I wasn't able to find any, so it looks like you're golden!
  
  3 -
  
  
• These are $40 on Amazon, well rated.

Value mouse wise, a gpro wired + paracord + hyperglides is still cheap, and the g305 is also fantastic bang-for-your-buck. The new lightspeed wireless mice (g305, GPW) are indistinguishable from wired, latency wise. I also have the glorious odin on pre-order, and everything i've read from people that have gotten to test it indicates that it'll be a top-of-the-line mouse.

Value keyboard wise: the magicforce 60% is like a ducky without any of the bells or whistles for $40

Speakers: Edifier R1280DB.

Go with 2.0 bookshelf speakers, not 2.1 computer speakers. These have Bluetooth, optical, and coax. Oh, and they sound amazing.

Headphones are tricker. Will you also be using them with a console or a phone at any point? Want to keep them on while running to get a cup of tea or take a leak? Do you play FPS's?

You have few different options:

Convenience be damned you want awesome audio quality above all else.

• Get a DAC. Sennheiser GSX 1000. Modern, slick gaming features, solid DAC. Little Dot MKII. Because toooobs.
  
  
• Open back headphones. There are a million suggestions at dozens of different price points. I recommend prioritizing comfort, spatial positioning, and a warm sound that won't cause listening fatigue.
  
  
• Modular attachable boom mic. Antlion Audio ModMic 5 or Minimic. Don't underestimate these mics. They sound amazing, you have little-to-no background noise, don't need any additional acoustic treatment, and you don't have to worry about boom arms and the like.
  
  
• Blue Yeti. You just couldn't imagine not having a huge mic like you see streamers using. It's the defacto go-to mic for a reason. Keep in mind everyone will hear your mouse and keyboard and that guy diving by and your dog sneezing and...
  
  Wireless PC and PS4.
  
  
• SteelSeries Arctis 7. Wireless for PC and PS4, wired for Xbox (blame Microsoft).
  
  
  
  
  
  Gaming headphones.
  
  
• Wired. HyperX Cloud Alpha or HyperX II
  
  
• Wireless. Corsair Void
  

This is my favorite set up to give friends. Looks good and mostly foolproof hardware wise!

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

Rasptendo SNES Case (IMO, connect the power button as intended, but either solder the reset button as per the method mentioned in there or don't connect it at all. This way there's no way for the user to do a non-safe shutdown of the OS)

Dual fan heatsink

Bluetooth adapter (more reliable than built-in bluetooth, change /boot/config.txt to disable onboard Bluetooth)

PS3 SIXAXIS Controller (Dualshock 3's work too, but I like the legit OEM ones, and those are hard to find. The convincing bootlegs/fakes are usually impossible to tell apart from legit ones when ordering online. That's why I look for used SIXAXIS controllers - no bootlegs. Also, I use PS3 controllers because pairing can be done or re-done entirely by connecting up mini-USB cables. No menus necessary once you set it up the first time!)

Sandisk 64GB MicroSD

Canakit PSU

HDMI cable, Mini-USB cable.


-----

For a more serious, less user-friendly but more overclockable setup, ditch the case/heatsink above and go with these instead:

Some kind of heatsink, I'm using one from the Kintaro case but I suspect the cheap stick-on heatsinks are probably fine too

this open-air case (throw out the fan as it's way too loud... I'm sure other open-air cases will work but I like that this one has the 40mm setup for the below fan and the little grille to prevent curious fingers from getting in there at least)

this Noctua 40mm 5v fan (expensive, but quiet and provides solid cooling)

Cyber power UPS is great, not super enterprise grade but still great. Comes with easy to deploy OVA template for esxi to safely shutdown the machine. Also with web panel to configure shutdown parameters and calculated energy used. Tons of other stuff but those are some of my favorites. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N19W/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_e-BszbWD7CF3V

Well when it comes to tablet's my opinion may be a little bit skewed since I bought this tablet first and foremost to play osu! with, and to draw with second.

That being said This is what I am using. It's even on sale right now so that's pretty neat. Now this tablet comes with a free drawing software, but the software you choose also effects the price of the table (ex the one I got was the cheapest so it came with practically the worst free program). I would highly highly HIGHLY recommend finding out what style your wife wants to draw in and how serious she is about it. I can not recommend clip paint studio pro enough. I've used the software that came with my tablet, and I've used 2 other lite free softwares and nothing compares. It's VERY deep and I'm still learning new things about it, but for 60 dollars I think you get more than what you pay for.

The first tablet I ever bought was this boyo here. This is for people who are like, only passively interested in tablet art AT MOST. the problem with this is that there is definitely a ceiling to it where eventually you will just get tired of putting up with it and switch to the one I linked above. So yeah if she only wants to like doodle once a week or something go for this one, but if she wants to take up the hobby, I've used a lot of stuff and the Wacom Tablet + Clip Paint has been my absolute favorite

Sony H.ear On 2 + ModMic 5 with a Sound Blaster E1 amp/DAC.

I just finished this really sweet setup a few weeks ago and the quality/modularity of it is amazing for the price! (<260€ with some good price hunting)

The DAC is there mostly for the mic volume/quality, and it is amazing how good it sounds. In a good environment, it is pretty close to a $200+ pro microphone and is useful is waaaaaay more situations.

For 'most' people, especially those new to the hobby, the go-to gaming switch seems to be mx blues. It really is extremely subjective though. Lots of people prefer quieter tactile switches or linears. Actuation weight varies a lot too. I personally prefer a heavier switch, so the first board I bought (which I'm still using) has mx greens (similar to mx blues, but heavier springs), and for my next board which I plan to custom build, I'm going even heavier and more clicky. I'll be spending a good bit more than $100USD on it though. Another big factor is size. Would you prefer a smaller board? How attached are you to your numpad? What about your FN row? Arrow keys? All things you have to decide before buying. If you just want something cheap, but decent, with mechanical switches to try, here is a very low cost "60%" (I'd call it more like 65% because of the arrow keys, but idk) sold on amazon, with good reviews.. This one has blue (tactile clicky) switches, but it comes in brown (tactile) and black (linear) varients as well. I really would recommend putting a bit more time into researching the different types of switches/ board sizes and maybe even invest in a switch tester from NovelKeys or make a post on /r/mechmarket asking if anyone has one with good, entry level switches they will sell you for cheap.

I like the format a lot. It feels like TableTop but with more emphasis on "what's this game like" than on "let's be funny" (which I think is a good thing if I'm looking for a review or a game recommendation).

Really the only things I would suggest are production quality issues, such as the lighting while playing (the lighting during the interviews is great) and slightly echo-y audio. If she's looking for cheap lav mics, try these. We just bought some and they're pretty amazing for $2 mics.

Subscribed.

Girlsplaywow is a jerk! An incredibly generous jerk! This headset coupled with a USB hub would be awesome! I play a lot of games with my friends and I never get to talk with them on vent or skype because my headset broke, and then my USB ports wouldn't work. ;w; And maybe then I can actually skype with people from RAoA! Anyway, thank you for the contest and good luck on your 10k!

And if I win, you can gift the rest to someone else! ^w^ MEOW!

Best option: Buy separate headphones and an attachable mic That will by far give you the best audio.

If you insist on a headset with a built in mic, I HIGHLY suggest the Sennhauser PC360 at just $118. Sound really damn good (same drivers as the Sennhauser HD595 headphones) and the mic is pretty damn good. Old gen and that's why they are so cheap now but still very very good. I've been using a set for a year now and love them. Unbeatable for the price. Sound can be beat with buying even better headphones and the modmic listed above though but will cost you a lot more.

>Does that mean that I can do 400w for 7.5 minutes?

Mostly, yes, but it will probably be more like 5 minutes.

And, yes, you can plug in a power strip to support more devices.

Keep in mind that high-capacity backup units are pretty cheap so it isn't the end of the world if you have to buy another.

Fun fact, you can daisy chain them to run them longer.

I use my SP2 and it's actually gone pretty well for me. A few notes:

1. I got the 8GB memory model
   
2. I changed settings to low.
   
3. I changed the settings to "High Performance"
   
4. I got a fan that plus into the USB port and cools it off. After getting this, I haven't been throttled at all. It's also super quiet. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XN24GY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
   
5. I use a Bluetooth mouse and Wi-Fi, and still haven't had any issues.
   
6. I generally get ~30 FPS--up to 60 in 4-man dungeons, and lower if there are hundreds of people around me (just Odin or in Revenant's Troll, but RT isn't too slow).
   
   
   
   The thing you'll want to consider when using an SP is that you need cooling. It's not designed for sustained high-graphics work. But honestly, the device overall is the best computer I could have ever asked for. I love it.

The cards I have aren't fake, I've tested them using FakeFlashTest. (And lots of cheap "deals" on various websites totally are fake cards, including some of the amazon ships; I've been burned a few times in the past, so I always check new cards now.)

The card I'm currently using is a multi-colored one like you mention, it's one I've used in a lot of other devices with great success. -- So I'm pretty sure it's not the card itself being "bad". -- Specifically, it's this card, sold directly by amazon, and not one of their member-run shops: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010Q57T02/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My thought is actually that maybe the UHS driver in Windows 10 IoT isn't compatible with all manufacturer's implementations, so that's why I was wondering about the specific card you bought.

If you can find a good amazon link for the cards you have, I'd be grateful.

thank you for the list

I am still researching DORI and differences between cameras, but from what I gathered so far here is what I need:

• blue iris $70 (with a phone app)
  
• pc (since it only supports windows) likely i7-6700 something like this
  
• PoE switch: something like this
  
• router, I have an old lynksys with dd-wrt which should do it
  
• several very long ethernet cables with some couplers
  
• most likely also a UPS
  
• ONVIF, PoE cameras
  
  the last bit I am still looking at. I am not ready to spend several hundred dollars per camera (one of your examples is Dahua 2MP Starlight which seems to be super expensive). While I understand it might be much better than the rest, I'd like to see if I can be in a $50 to $100 dollar range per camera. Is there any such cameras you can recommend?
  
  I can see some (ONVIF, PoE): Hikvision 4MP, ONWOTE 5MP, ONWOTE, 4X Optical Zoom Autofocus, Amcrest ProHD, GW Security 5, JideTech PTZ, etc. but I am not sure how to gauge the quality.

I actually don't recommend APC for standard home consumers these days, at least not for computers. Basically every PSU these days is 80+ certified which requires them to be using Active PFC. A-PFC PSUs are widely known to have issues with the more common stepped-wave UPSes, and to ensure compatibility, you really need a pure sinewave. APC has no pure sinewave UPSes at a consumer price, you have to step up into their enterprise grade stuff for that, and it's just way to much for home users. The APC stepped sinewave UPSes are fine for a lot of other household uses, just not really modern computers.

CyberPower has a similar reputation to APC and offers a pure sinewave UPS at a price home consumers can actually afford. For your use case, with 3 GPUs, you're going to be pulling a lot of power and I'd really suggest going with something much larger than your current unit if you want stability (and to not fry the UPS). This would be a good choice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N19W/

It's pure sinewave, supports up to 900W of power draw (remember this is from the wall, if you use a PSU calculator or PCPP to estimate your wattage you have to add about 20% to that because of the inefficiency of the PSU when it's converting AC from the wall to DC for the computer), has automatic shutdown software if you want it, and a good warranty on it too.

If you are undervolting or something, and your power draw is significantly less than normal, there are smaller cheaper units on that same amazon page, you'll see them linked as options. They will have the wattage they support in the item title. If you want to know how much battery runtime a specific unit would give you at a specific load, CypberPower has really nice graphs for that on their official website.

As a heads up, prices are kinda high on these units right now, they frequently go on sale for a lot less, and the past 3 or 4 years, they've had massive black friday sales, so it may be worth waiting for that. Like that same unit went for $120 last year.

CC: /u/ranyi cause I saw their comment.

I recommend the Logitech G400. It's like the G500, but with less bells and whistles, and a better sensor. If you must have programmable buttons, just go with the G500.

A good attempt at the 'best of both worlds' is the newer G400S, but I don't have any personal experience with it. As far as I know, it's just an improved version of the G400, with more features.

Hello!

These setups are using what's called a capture card. The way it works (in most simple cases) is a signal comes from a console, goes into a splitter, then one of the outputs goes to the TV, another to the capture card.

There are many many MANY video standards and when it comes to capture you're most likely either going to be working with composite, S-video, and HDMI. There's YPbPr and RGB too but you're most likely not going to use those.

For composite / svideo (pretty much all home consoles up from the 1990's (where most used RF) until the mid 2000's): I'd recommend the GV-USB2.

Sadly I don't do much HD capture so I don't have any resources for that.

So you get your console, split the signal into two using some of these (and something like this for s-video) have one output going to the TV for the yellow/s-video (video) and audio (red and white).

Here's a visual I made for a friend a few years ago, very similar.

Then there's the capture software, sadly I really can't go to in depth in this small reddit post. Some people like doing all the image processing necessary right in OBS, some people (like me) use amarec because it allows better control over the image.

Sorry this is rushed, can't really write too much right now. I found this video which seems to have good information.

My capture set up is huge now (multiple consoles modded for better video, matrix switches, component (not RGB because SCART is mad expensive) setups) but I'm just gave the bare essentials for how I started streaming on my consoles.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions

I just ordered a pair of these: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=1359155660R&vpn=86051-03&manufacture=PLANTRONICS . I can't say for sure how good they are because I haven't recieved them yet, but from what I hear, the sound quality is amazing (7.1 surround sound!), and the mic is quite good aswell. Also, even though they're a tiny bit over $50, everywhere else I looked they're about $80, so getting them for only $64 is a pretty good deal. If you want you can check out some reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Surround-Headset/dp/B00B1KJK22 .

I've never been an audio guy, so I don't know what is good and what isn't, but I have found these to be way way better than I expected them to be for the price: http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Headset-Surround/dp/B00B1KJK22/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1450142585&sr=8-10&keywords=plantronics+headset

Pretty comfy too. Like I say though, I'm not an audio guy so someone else will probably be able to say if these are any good or not, or if there is a better headset in that price range.

I can't vouch for the quality of that particular capture card, but I do know that the one many speedrunners currently recommend is the GV-USB2:

http://www.amazon.com/DATA-connection-video-capture-GV-USB2/dp/B00428BF1Y

Very easy to set up, and the recording quality is good.

Here is some S-Video footage I've captured from my own setup, resized to the correct aspect ratio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRRJ3HTr7kM

Keep in mind the quality is likely slightly less than the originals, because I've had to re-encode once to gain the correct aspect ratio, and because youtube may implement additional compression.

I could upload a video that's only been encoded once(For resize purposes) from a lossless file, but only if there's interest. Quality would be slightly higher.

It depends on what you want aim for in terms of quality. If you want a cheap but sufficient interface (what you plug instruments and mics into) then go for a line 6 ux1 or ux2.

http://www.amazon.com/Line-6-POD-Studio-UX1/dp/B001EKECAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449798017&sr=8-1&keywords=line6+ux1

http://www.amazon.com/Line-6-POD-Studio-UX2/dp/B001EKECC2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449798017&sr=8-2&keywords=line6+ux1

For a microphone, there's a bit more searching involved. I don't have experience with a huge variety of mics but the 2 that I know work really well are the Shure sm7b and the MXL 4000.

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM7B-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002E4Z8M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449798231&sr=8-1&keywords=shure+sm7b

http://www.amazon.com/MXL-4000-Multi-Pattern-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B001REGEF8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449798319&sr=8-1&keywords=mxl+4000

The Shure SM57 is also pretty good but is usually used on instruments more so than vocals but that doesn't mean it can't get the job done well

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM57-LC-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B0000AQRST/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449798383&sr=8-1&keywords=sm57.

If you want to hear the interface and the Shure sm7b in action, check out some of the stuff I've recorded before. Used to be into recording my old band a lot. I assure you it doesn't sound like it was recorded in a tin can: https://soundcloud.com/herpyderpypuddingpie/worldacousticmaster (and yes, i already know you love my soundcloud channel name) (oh and ignore the horrible acoustic guitar tone. this was before I figured out that recording them DI wasn't all that great of a solution)

Here is my build list formated for reddit

Group | Name | Price | Quantity | Total | Link
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Pc | (Everything Inside the case) | | | |
$1,601.62 | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $347.00 | 1 | $347.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012M8LXQW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Cooler Master Hyper D92 54.8 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler | $44.80 | 1 | $44.80 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NXLYE4G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Gigabyte GA-Z170X-UD5 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $171.49 | 1 | $171.49 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012N6EW6G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory | $129.99 | 1 | $129.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OTJZTZE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $97.99 | 1 | $97.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OAJ412U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Hitachi HD​S723020BLA​642 | $58.00 | 3 | $174.00 | EBay
| EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 8GB FTW Gaming ACX 3.0 Video Card | $459.99 | 1 | $459.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I60OGUK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| EVGA 850W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $90.39 | 1 | $90.39 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KYK1CC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| XFX AMD Radeon HD 5450 1GB | $29.99 | 2 | $59.98 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005IUW7YE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| PWM Female to 4 x PWM Male Computer Case Fan Splitter | $6.50 | 2 | $13.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DYQRFY6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Sabrent 2.5" SSD & SATA Hard Drive to Desktop 3.5" | $12.99 | 1 | $12.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UN550AC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 80MM 5000RPM Fan | $0.00 | 2 | $0.00 |
| 92MM 5000RPM Fan | $0.00 | 4 | $0.00 |
Monitors | | | | |
$744.66 | Seiki Pro SM28UTR 28-Inch 4K UHD 3840x2160 | $195.69 | 1 | $195.69 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013XWQF28/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| AOC e2460Sd 24-Inch Widescreen LED Monitor | $142.99 | 3 | $428.97 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C99MUHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Dell 17" 5:4 | $30.00 | 4 | $120.00 | EBay
Cables | | | | |
$137.77 | Cable Matters Gold Plated DisplayPort to DisplayPort Cable 10 Feet | $11.99 | 1 | $11.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005H3Q5E0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Cable Matters Active DisplayPort to DVI Male to Female Adapter | $19.99 | 2 | $39.98 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EDT01TO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| DVI Male to Female 90 Degree Adapter Connector | $4.43 | 3 | $13.29 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008X0ZJZ0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 15ft 28AWG CL2 Dual Link DVI-D Cable - Black | $10.47 | 3 | $31.41 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10209&cs_id=1020902&p_id=2760&seq=1&format=2
| 15ft Super VGA M/M | $5.69 | 4 | $22.76 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10201&cs_id=1020101&p_id=3622&seq=1&format=2
| 15ft USB 2.0 A Male to A Female Extension | $1.87 | 5 | $9.35 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=103&cp_id=10303&cs_id=1030304&p_id=5435&seq=1&format=2
| 25ft hdmi cable | $8.99 | 1 | $8.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SKVMHI4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Desk Accesseries | | | | |
$263.49 | Perixx PX-5200 Cherry MX Blue | $72.91 | 1 | $72.91 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NY45NCY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Logitech C310 Webcam | $31.93 | 1 | $31.93 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LVZO8S/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Lapel Mics | $6.50 | 1 | $6.50 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJOIHE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| FingerPrint Reader | $12.58 | 1 | $12.58 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HHHP7C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Mouse Pad | $8.99 | 1 | $8.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GB0IF50/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Headset Func HS260 | $79.99 | 1 | $79.99 | https://www.amazon.com/FUnc-FUNC-HS-260-1ST-fUnc-HS-260/dp/B00HH3H83U
| Altec ACS 54 - Speaker | $0.00 | 1 | $0.00 |
| Logitech G700S | $50.59 | 1 | $50.59 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BFOEY3Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Audio Accesseries | | | | |
$58.33 | BEHRINGER MICROAMP HA400 | $24.99 | 1 | $24.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KIPT30/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 5-Pack 6.35mm Male to 3.5mm Female Adapter | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XAQD4YA/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3.5mm Male to 2 x 3.5mm Female Splitter Cable | $3.99 | 1 | $3.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0081ZBNI4/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Coupler 3.5 mm Female - 3.5 mm Female Stereo or Mono | $3.93 | 1 | $3.93 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000068O4N/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3 feet Slim 3.5mm Stereo Audio Cable - M/M | $2.71 | 2 | $5.42 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004G3UK5C/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3-Feet 3.5mm Stereo Male to Female Extension Cable, 5-Pack | $12.01 | 1 | $12.01 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWOJLSS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lighting | | | | |
$86.88 | Studio Designs Swing Arm Lamp Black | $24.75 | 2 | $49.50 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I2S7MHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Lutron TT-300NLH-BL Credenza Lamp Dimmer Black | $14.83 | 1 | $14.83 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00024BJZE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Triple Outlet Swivel Adapter, White | $3.27 | 1 | $3.27 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HJBENG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Daylight LED Light Bulb 15W | $9.64 | 2 | $19.28 | https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-GVRLA1850ND-Great-Value-LED-15W-A19-Light-Bulb/38596922
Cable Managment | | | | |
$18.81 | 100 Velcro Ties | $5.00 | 2 | $10.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E1Y5O6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 100 Releasable cable ties | $2.47 | 3 | $7.41 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052012&p_id=5795&seq=1&format=2
| Cable Clip nais | $0.70 | 2 | $1.40 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=105&cp_id=10520&cs_id=1052006&p_id=5834&seq=1&format=2
Power | | | | |
$53.13 | Monster MP AV 750 Audio Video PowerCenter | $18.99 | 1 | $18.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004ETIKH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| AmazonBasics 6-Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip 2-Pack | $12.99 | 1 | $12.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TP1BWMK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 3 Outlet Single-Tap Wall Tap | $4.00 | 2 | $8.00 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XQORTO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 15ft 16AWG Power Cord Cable | $5.20 | 1 | $5.20 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=5287&seq=1&format=2
| 10ft 18AWG Right Angle Power Cord Cabl | $2.65 | 3 | $7.95 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022809&p_id=7677&seq=1&format=2
Network | | | | |
$33.98 | TP-LINK 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch | $22.99 | 1 | $22.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EVGIYG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| 5-Pack, Cat6 Ethernet Patch Cable in Blue 3 Feet | $10.99 | 1 | $10.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C2B81K6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Monitor Mount | | | | |
$215.27 | Arm wall mount | $17.54 | 3 | $52.62 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=12232&seq=1&format=2
| Top wall mount bracket | $4.80 | 4 | $19.20 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=3005&seq=1&format=2
| Center Monitor Mount | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=109&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082821&p_id=4564&seq=1&format=2
| 2x8 | $7.47 | 3 | $22.41 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Top-Choice-Common-2-in-x-8-in-x-10-ft-Actual-1-5-in-x-7-25-in-x-10-ft-Lumber/4082916
| 2x4 | 2.55 | 1 | $2.55 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Common-2-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-Actual-1-5-in-x-3-5-in-x-8-ft-Stud/1000074211
| 3" clamp | $5.98 | 6 | $35.88 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-QUICK-GRIP-3-in-Clamp/50214643
| 4" Hinge | $2.81 | 2 | $5.62 | https://www.lowes.com/pd/Gatehouse-4-in-H-Oil-Rubbed-Bronze-Interior-Exterior-Mortise-Door-Hinge/4772785
| Wood Screws | $9.00 | 1 | $9.00 | Lowes
| Assorted brackets/hardware | $25.00 | 1 | $25.00 | Lowes
| Case Rack Mount | $35.00 | 1 | $35.00 | EBay
Misc | | | | |
$35.97 | Steam Link | $19.99 | 1 | $19.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016XBGWAQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
| Bluetooth Adapter | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | GRANDCOW Bluetooth 4.0 USB Adapter Dongle for Windows 10/ 8.1 / 8/ 7 / Vista / XP
| 19 Key Numeric Keypad | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DJSAAU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you have $200 to spend on XKeys, get XKeys. From what I have heard, everything they make is really solid.

When I first started doing a lot of off-line programming, I did not have that kind of money laying around. So I made this out of a cheap keyboard and some white keyboard stickers. I also put a lot of extra functions on the keys too. For instance "B" is Label, "Shift B" is Block, and "Alt B" is Beam Pallette. The writing has to be tiny but it does help you remember the other functions of different keys.
It is far from perfect but at less than a tenth of the cost of an XKeys, it is a great deal. I have happily pre-programmed many shows with this setup.

Or funny to think how if you got just two large modern games with all DLC, say something like Battlefield 4, and Grand Theft Auto V you've just used up just as much space as all of those thousands of games on every game console and handheld released before the PS1, Neo Geo, PS2, GameCube, and Xbox.

Also funny to think that with a 200GB microSDXC card you can fit the entire library of thousands of games on the NES, SNES, N64, GB, GBC, GBA, Sega SMS, Genesis, and Game Gear libraries in a portable device that fits in your pocket that lasts for hours...with room to spare....for about $135.

...

$114.99 - Sandisk 200 GB microSDXC Card

$19.99 - BEBONCOOL Wireless Bluetooth Control for Android (I love this one because it fits in my pocket when not in use)

...

I bought those just recently, still waiting for them in the mail. Who needs a 3DS! I can't wait until I can fit the GameCube & PS1 libraries on my phone. Maybe I can do a dropbox thing...are there any good emulators for mobile for them?

I had a wonderful Redditor recommend the 558's over the CALs when I was searching for advice. My budget is around $100-$140 and I'll be using the headphones with the neewer mic the play LoL and talk on Team speak. I just wanted other opinions to confirm that the 558's are definitely worth the premium price over the CALs and that they would be good for my needs. Thanks!

For your FPS situation - mess with the gfx settings more. It may sound a bit strange but a setting or two on medium/high might increase your FPS. This is because the lower your graphics are, the more stress that gets put on your CPU (which isn't designed for graphics.)

As for peripherals -

Mouse: Steelseries Rival. Hands down. Literally perfect sensor, has RGB and (in my opinion) has the best ergonomic grip of most of the gaming mice.
http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Rival-Optical-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B00G6IJ5QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418914929&sr=8-1&keywords=steelseries+rival

Mousepad: XTRAC Ripper XL. It's smooth as hell and only $20. Same size as the QCK+/QCK Heavy, just a bit thinner.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817114182

Headphones - this is a really complicated one to suggest. Some people will tell you to get a dedicated pair of headphones and a dedicated mic, some people will swear by Steelseries/Razer etc. I am currently using Plantronics Gamecom 780 and I'm quite satisfied with them. They were $39.99 when I got them which was the deciding factor between the 780s and their stereo counterpart. I'm unsure if the Gamecom 380 has the same sound as the 780s but at $15 cheaper you couldn't go wrong.

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-780-Headset-Surround/dp/B00B1KJK22/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1418915092&sr=1-1&keywords=plantronics+gamecom+780

http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-GameCom-380-Gaming-Headset/dp/B00B1KJWE8/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1418915190&sr=1-4&keywords=plantronics+gamecom+780

Hope I was able to assist you.

EDIT - I forgot to add into the headphones area that I've used Sennheiser HD 280 pros, Sennheiser HD419s, KRK headphones and AKG headphones. The 780s are all around much better than all of these if you ask me.

I suppose you could.

Honestly, stir plates are dead easy to make though - a few bucks in parts and 15 minutes worth of time and you are set.

Here's the shopping list:

Magnets: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Magnetic-1-2-in-Diameter-Black-Disc-Magnets-10-Pack-96234/203613121

USB Fan: http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Mobile-Fan-External-Cooling/dp/B00080G0BK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414593299&sr=8-1&keywords=thermaltake+mobile+fan+ii

Project box: http://www.radioshack.com/project-enclosure-7x5x3-/2701807.html#q=project+box&start=11

Misc: A washer roughly the size of the middle of the USB fan, super glue, 3/4 inch to 1 inch stir bar, maybe a few small nuts and bolts. You'll also need a spare usb to power adapter, which you likely have 7 spare ones lying around from past phone purchases.

Instructions:

1. Take the metal grills and such off the fan that are obstructive.
   
2. glue down the washer to as dead center of the fan as possible (turn on the fan to make sure it doesn't wobble, adjust while glue is still pliable)
   
3. Add magnets to opposite sides of the washer, make sure your stir bar "snaps" to the magnets, ideally touching the tips of both magnets. This is both to double check your magnets are oriented properly and to make sure the spacing is correct. Then glue them down.
   
4. put your fan on the project box lid and mark where you need to drill 4 holes to put the bolts to mount your fan.
   
5. Mount the fan using bolts/nuts. You want the magnets as close to the bottom of the lid as possible without touching. Make sure the stir bar still snaps to the magnets through the lid.
   
6. drill a hole for the usb cord to pass through then seal it up with the screws the box came with.
   
7. Attach the power adapter to the usb.
   
   Done. Now you have a variable speed stir plate in a nice box that plugs directly into the wall.

Honestly, at 100-150€, you're best off not upgrading. The obvious upgrade path would be something like Antlion's Modmic and Sennheiser HD598. The Sennheiser Game One is also a good choice. Whether that's worth the upgrade, I can't say.

The wireless is your biggest bottle neck: Good wireless microphones just aren't a thing outside of pro gear. You could get a desk mic like an Audio Technica AT2020 or a Blue Snowball and a pair of wireless headphones, sure. But even there you're sacrificing audio quality for the wirelessness.

You can pick up reliable rubber dome boards for less than that. Save the money and put it towards a keyboard you'll love.

Not the dream keyboard, but the one that you love to use until you can justify the dream keyboard.


Reliable rubber domes: One two


Save to buy one of these: One two


Tell yourself that one day you'll pick up one of these: cherry 6.0

Or maybe something else is the dream keyboard.

I highly recommend this UPS

CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System

You can get whatever capacity you need. They're rated in VA (Volt-Amps), which if you're familiar with Ohm's Law, is really a description of power. But it's important to note that that's power IN, not power out. Power out is 60% efficient on that UPS at 1500VA/900W. It's also important to note that this efficiency trade-off ONLY matters when power is being supplied from the battery of the UPS. Otherwise, power is passed through from the wall. I'm not sure if it's cleaned - I'd have to look at the UPS spec.

I've purchased two of these - one November 2016 and another November 2017. I got both of them for $120ish with holiday deals. I like getting the warranty, because these things sometimes fail. I've been really happy with the CyberPower - it's the best sine wave you'll get out of a consumer product. Mine are still running strong @ 1 & 2 years old, each.

For anything with the traditional red, yellow and white plugs, this thing here is king. I-o DATA USB connection video capture GV-USB2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428BF1Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_1bNMzb9C8YEM9

You will need this, a splitter, and two extra sets of cables (look in the "frequently purchased together" section below). Plug the console into the splitter, then run the extra cables from the splitter to your tv/monitor and to the capture card. The capture card is USB, just plug it in to your computer.

All the software instructions will be in Japanese, but just Google the name of the product and you will find some very easy to use installation guides.

From there, just use your choice of recording or streaming software! I'm an xsplit guy, but OBS is popular because it's totally free.

EDIT: Also, if you're going to run Mario 64 specifically, make sure you have the proper version of the game! I'm fairly sure it's primarily played in Japanese, and I'm not sure if there are glitches missing from the US release.

I own a Boxee Box, 1st Gen AppleTV running crystalbuntu (Linux w/ XMBC + CrystalHD/1080p support) and a little set-top PC running Plex.

Here is my consensus.

Easiest:

If you primarily want to watch streaming content like Netflix, Vudu movie rentals, and other various content from the web, the boxee is a real winner. It organizes and helps you locate content from around the web and puts it into and easy to use 10ft interface. The keyboard isn't backlit which is annoying, and the interface can slow down a bit during load.

I've also found that every once in a while it needs a reboot just because. (Especially after a larger movie like 1080i)
Also, Boxee Box sucks for large high quality files. It locks up with 1080p .ts files, (or at least takes 1-4minutes to load) and lots of .mkv files make it cry/slideshow. Most content on the web is 720p or less.

Moderate skills:

If you primarily watch video content that you have downloaded, a set-top pc is (IMO) the winner. You can put in hardware that can actually handle 1080p without croaking. Your selection of input devices is much, much larger, and you don't have to worry about something coming out that your device can't support.

The other advantage is that you can set up that set-top pc to be your media downloading/storing device. Transmission, Sabnzbd+ w/ Sickbeard + Couchpotato + Headphones can automate the entire process and give you what amounts to an internet based DVR (With music too.) You could even install Subsonic and serve the music to your phone to stream while you're away.

Tech savvy:

If you watch mostly local content, but also want to be able to rent stuff easily, a 1st gen AppleTV with crystalbuntu is the best/cheapest solution. You can pick up a used ATV for around $50 on craigslist and get a CrystalHD card for ~$40. This will handle 1080p files for less than $100 as long as you have some technical know-how and a free usb stick >4GB (Or don't mind formatting the internal HDD) You can even remove the USB stick and boot into ATV to use their rental service for instant access to films giving you a sort of "Best of both worlds"

Of course, with all it's strengths, a set-top PC/Hacked ATV requires you to build/install/configure/modify all of it. For many people, that alone is the killer feature of a boxee box.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00516547C/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1374986466&sr=8-3&pi=SL75

Check this system out. I recently installed a similar system for a client. 480 TVL is the typical entry level camera resolution. Zmodo is easy to install and there is a ton of support in forums. Of course I installed a 1tb zmodo system with 8 dome cameras. Wired is definitely the way to go. I recommend installing a battery backup as well. Youll want to make sure you have internet and a router hooked up at the house.

Here is a link to a decent cheap battery backup: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000FBK3QK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1374986911&sr=8-2&pi=SL75

Let me know if you have any questions ill be happy to answer any you have. Also if ya end up installing this type of system make sure to tell your insurance company they usually give you a nice discount.

Assuming you're in the US, I would recommend a Sony V6 or Sony MDR7506. They look dated but have amazing sound quality for the price (70-90 dollars on Amazon right now) and are very durable, with the exception of the ear pads. However, the ear pads can be easily replaced and replacements can be found for cheap.

For a microphone, I have heard great things about the Antlion ModMic. You can currently get one for about 70 dollars on Amazon.

Sony MDRV6 Studio Monitor Headphones with CCAW Voice Coil Sony V6

Antlion Audio ModMic 5 - Modular Attachable Boom Microphone with Noise Canceling and Omni-Directional Audio
ModMic 5

First of all: Screen Protector. Once it's on you never notice it, doesn't hurt to get that extra safety!

I've bought 10 games so far, and I'd say get all of these because I have enjoyed them. BOTW, Splatoon 2, Sonic Mania, Rayman Legends, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (assuming you like DBZ,) Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokken Tournament DX, Street Fighter 2 Ultra, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and Yooka Laylee.

If I had to pick 3 for you to get to start out then I would pick Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. I think that's enough variety to keep you busy for awhile.

A carrying is always a good thing, I'd recommend This case because it's the one I use and does its job.

Accessory wise I have joycon grips which are AMAZING when playing with one joycon.

Also, the grip it comes with is trash. Get the Power A Grip it feels A LOT better in your hands.

As for SD Cards, it depends. I have a 32GB SD card. I mainly buy physical games, The extra space is for screenshots and videos, and download only games, like Sonic Mania, Yooka Laylee, etc. If you're going for digital only then get a 256GB. Sure you won't use a ton of space now, but you might a few years down the line. Also, do NOT get the official Nintendo ones. They are a RIP-OFF! Here are some nice alternatives that will get the job done for A LOT cheaper: 32 GB 64 GB 128 GB and finally 256 GB

If you have any other questions feel free to ask OP, and other (potential) switch owners!

Quick edit: sorry that some links won't be put with the text, no idea what the issue is

Here ya go bro!

And you'll need one of these to go with it.

Pros:

• automatically turns on/off with your car (as long as your power outlet turns off with your car).
  
• records in 10 minute segments, deletes the oldest segment when card fills up.
  
• G force sensor will automatically lock the current segment against deletion if it senses a crash (adjustable G force level).
  
• 140 degree view means you can see cars that are alongside your hood.
  
• suction cup actually works! It hadn't fallen off once in four months!
  
  Cons:
  
• not true 1080p, it records in 720p then upscales it to 1080p. Video is still clear enough for liability reasons and sharing stupid stuff like this, but if you're gonna film your next track day you may be slightly disappointed with quality.
  
• directions are in pretty bad engrish, if you get directions at all. I still haven't figured out how to change the time stamp.
  
  Neutral:
  
• it claims to have infrared night vision, but I honestly can't see any real improvement over my Contour helmetcam which doesn't have IR. There's a chance it needs to be turned on but I haven't figured it out yet due to Engrish instructions.
  
• decent sound pickup, but it can be overwhelmed if you listen to bass heavy music. This is partially because the area between your dashboard and your windshield likes to trap the bass.
  
  All in all, I'm happy with my purchase, though I only paid $50 for it. I'm planning to buy another one to point backwards at some point in the future. I also plan to hard wire them into my truck so that I don't have ugly cigarette plugs in every power port of my truck.
  
  I do wish I could mount it up higher on my windshield, but my windshield has a bunch of dots along the top for aesthetic and sun blockage, and the suction cup won't stick over those dots :/

• Case: ARK PN-06 Black With Power Supply $24.99 Shipping $12.99
  
• Motherboard: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS $39.99 $5.99
  
• Processor: AMD FX 4100 $102.29 Free Shipping
  
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix 4GB $22.99 Free Shipping
  
• HDD Maxtor 500GB 7200RPM $34.51 Shipping: $5.49
  
• Graphics Card: Ati 4870 Sapphire 512GB $45.95 Shipping $5.99
  
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium $99.99 Free Shipping
  
• DVD Drive: LG DVD Drive $20 Free Shipping
  
• Keyboard: Logitech Keyboard $12.09 Free Shipping
  
  This is a build for $430 (With shipping) if you can increase your budget at all?

1. This scarf is so cute and warm!
   
   
2. This USB fan! I had one earlier this summer but it broke. (on the other things wl)
   
   
3. Strawberries are amazing!(beauty wl)
   
   
4. Paris!
   
   
5. Fairies! I was obsessed with them when I was younger! I loved to build mini houses for them in the backyard and look for them when ever I could!
   
   
6. Nutella makes everything 1000x better! Shitty food? Add Nutella!(other things wl)
   
   
7. This bear is so cute!
   
   
8. I Love It So catchy!
   
   
9. Bug spray! essential but not allowed on carry ons :(
   
   
10. Reminds me of the prizes they give out!
    
    Bonus 1: PM sent
    
    2: Your birthday is in June which has pearls as its birthstone! This set looks pretty!
    
    
    Some of the best memories are made in flip flops.

Ok so I think your going about this the wrong way.

I’m try to keep it as simple as possible.

Most people use a NAS along with a Plex server because a NAS just can’t do it on its own. They don’t have the proper hardware to perform as good as a computer. You will not be happy!

If you want simple the I would buy a Nvidia Shield and set it up at your server.

I would also buy an external storage device for your hard drives. You can use a nas but you can also use something like this.

The shield might be a little intimidating to you when you set it up but trust me it’s your best plug and play solution available.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor | $182.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $99.00 @ Amazon
Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $38.50 @ Amazon
Storage | Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $42.66 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | Gigabyte Radeon R9 380 4GB SOC Video Card | $229.99 @ Amazon
Case | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX Mini ITX Tower Case | $69.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $49.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $85.95 @ Amazon
Monitor | Acer S220HQLAbd 21.5" 60Hz Monitor | $89.99 @ Amazon
Keyboard | Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard | $9.99 @ Amazon
Mouse | Logitech G402 Wired Optical Mouse | $43.00 @ Amazon
Speakers | Logitech S120 2.3W 2ch Speakers | $15.00 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | ~$1006.50
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-13 16:43 EDT-0400 |
Comes in a little over 1k, but I included keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, etc. Things you may already have, or have extras of. Mini-ITX check, SSD, check, Windows 10, check (they come in USBs now so no need optical drive). Modular PSU so you can actually fit all your parts in easily. GPU should be able to handle most games satisfactorily. CPU should handle most tasks well. GLHF

I had success browsing ebay for a laptop with a cracked screen. I just had to make sure that the laptop screen wasn't so bad that I couldn't windows (to make sure I could change settings to recognize the tv being plugged in) and make sure the laptop had hdmi output. I ended up with a nice hp for just over $100.

It now has xbmc, hot keys to hulu, netflix, torrent sites/client, and I have a vpn (private internet acces, ~$40/year). Soon I'll have Aereo to replace USTVnow that I have setup on xbmc. I bought this keyboard/mouse to make browsing easier. My wife and I are very happy with this setup and never have any sort of issue. The only other thing I buy is NHL Gamecenter to watch on my ps3 (although if there is a similar work around to this as there is NFL games, I'd gladly drop it).

I got this 64gb card for $16 on Amazon. Seems like the sweet spot for me. If you happen to need more in a year or two, larger sizes will be available, and prices will come down. Why pay more for space now that you aren't going to use? In my personal situation, I am going to want physical copies of games whenever I can, so I may not ever get to fill this thing up when I'm just using it for the occasional Snipperclips or other digital exclusive games. For $16, it is cheap and good peace of mind.

Also, it's nice that the system will still use its 32gb storage for your profiles, game saves, etc. It'll then use your 64 microSD for games and other things you can re-download easily from the eShop. They will work together, it's not a complete replacement. So in a way, it's sorta like having more than just 64gb.

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDXC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-064G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q588D4/

We'll I'll be getting a SanDisk Ultra 200GB Micro SD which is going for $69.95. A 256GB micro SD is too much right now. I considered getting a 128GB to have even more, but per GB the 200 comes out to be about the same so I figured why not get a little more.

I'm also planning on getting the Nintendo Switch Hybrid Cover. I could just buy a case to protect my screen, but this seems like it will be good for standing up my Switch at angles the kickstand doesn't

I'll be getting a USB-c cable for charging as well, but I'm might shop around a little still. The one you have picked out there looks pretty good though.

I'll probably buy a carrying case too, but I haven't settled on one yet. I might hold off a while, but I'll probably buy a second pair of Joycons, and a Pro controller too. Of course I'll have to get either a charging girp, or charging stand for that extra pair of Joycons when I get it too.

For personal reasons, I am leaving the hobby. It was fun while it lasted but now my lackluster hardly-used equipment needs to go. This community is so positive and helpful for the up-and-coming homebrewer so I'll feed into it. If you want any of the equipment below all I ask is for you to pay for shipping (or pick-up if local), and if you want to shoot me a few more bucks feel free. Just put it to good use and don't let it collect dust like I did. Most of this stuff is probably not even worth the shipping but here's the list:

• 3G glass carboy
  
• 16oz Star-San
  
• 2x 1G glass carboys
  
• 2x airlocks and bungs
  
• hydrometer
  
• refractometer (Brix/SG)
  
• 5G plastic bottling bucket (no lid) (Northern Brewer)
  
• Parts for a MLT cooler conversion (minus bazooka filter)
  
• Crowns (silver metallic/black 'B')
  
• 5L Erlenmeyer flask and .5" stir bar
  
• This fan
  
• Cheap (but effective) vinator
  
• Buttloads of unlabeled brown bottles (12oz, bombers, some with branded glass)
  
• ~1# Irish Moss (not sure about viability, ~1y/o)

This is the one I have. It's been a little over a year that I've been using it and it works great. For my setup it gives more than enough time to save your progress and shut down. I have had times where I kept playing and the power came back on before I decided to save and shut down, granted the power was out for only a few minutes. But at least for me it gives me the piece of mind that all my gear is protected from any surges.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FBK3QK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

how did you increase the memory to 256gb?

Lol i actually found one of your threads on it. I'm curious when people say to format it, but am finding some posts stating you shouldn't format the sd cards on their own. I noticed someone said it's better to format the disks on their own because the psp will tremendously limit the amount of space you'll get. So how should I format it? And what to? are there any particular microsd cards I should purchase?

EDIT:

I found this explanation, let me know if it's missing anything:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PSP/comments/18s3yu/32_gb_microsd_card_with_adapter_not_formatting_on/c8hkghn

Would this work:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B6DYDZS/ref=pd_cp_107_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2N0EZ57B9FPH7ZV70TSH

and with this (I actually found like a couple unopened boxes laying around in the house but I'm unsure if psp's require certain sd cards or not):

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-microSDHC-Standard-Packaging-SDSQUNC-032G-GN6MA/dp/B010Q57T02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474339677&sr=8-1&keywords=sandisk+ultra+micro+32

Finally...which cfw should I get? the latest 6.61? I ended up getting a psp 2000 for free from a friend

You'd need a considerable amount of room for your graphics tablet unless you disable your keyboard. Second year comp eng courses have a lot of people in them, so you might be stuck in DSQ, LIB 072 or ENG 103 for some courses.

As for graphics tablets, I prefer Wacom ones, since they have better pressure sensitivity and response. I mostly use my graphics tablet to do illustration, so you might not need all those levels of sensitivity. The Intuos and Intuos Pro are both great graphics tablets, but they're kinda pricey. If you can find their old Bamboo Splash/Capture ones, they're also pretty nice and cheaper than their Inutos line. This Huion one is pretty value since you get 12 macros you can program to do common commands (undo, redo, etc).

I've been using this Mediasonic enclosure for the last few months and it works great, with USB 3.0 transfer rates are pretty decent. I have 4 reds in there and the cooling fan rarely turns on or gets hot. I am supporting both LAN and remote streaming and it works great.

Mediasonic ProBox HF2-SU3S2 4 Bay 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure - USB 3.0 & eSATA Support SATA 3 6.0Gbps HDD transfer speed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003X26VV4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_0wbvDbDZRJHCN

Wow. Where is that offer? I'd get a person who is more knowledgeable about this but, that looks really, really good. I'd shoot after getting a better opinion

Just by the way, I wouldn't use the headset that comes with it. With all that money saved snag a sennheiser HD 598 - https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-598-Cs-Headphone/dp/B01JP436TS/ref=dp_ob_title_ce
and a modmic if you need a microphone - https://www.amazon.com/Antlion-Audio-Modular-Attachable-Microphone/dp/B01MCYRKY3/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486872593&sr=8-1&keywords=modmic+5

For $150 this combination provides best sound/mic quality.

1. Wet shaving Edwin Jagger razor blade, because Edwin Jagger is a company in England that produces products for wet shaving, which normally wouldn't be used unless you're either 1. A hobbyist, or 2. A old school 70+ fellow. default wishlist
   
   
2. Hello Kitty wheel cover, because it's a product primarily made for young teenage women. <20 list
   
   
3. Phallic item I'm... not jealous....of its length...not at all.. default wishlist
   
   
4. Geekiest gaming headset, my list is primarily composed of geeky items, but this is probably the geekiest. default wl
   
   
5. Bath scale , it has a body fat % option as well, which is what I'm more focused on rather than weight. default wl
   
   
6. Search and rescue knife would be best for a deserted island. default WL

So other than style, what differentiates your product from the myriad other USB powered fans on the market? It looks cool, but at the end of the day it looks like it's just a case fan inside an enclosure with an adapter for USB power. What makes your product better than something like this or like this?

A good affordable mic for vox and guitar is a Shure SM57. They make versions specific for vox and for guitar, but they are pretty good for both for the money.

​

It's a solid industry standard.

​

But depending on your interface you may want to also pick up a Cloudlifter or a Dynamite to get a better signal.

​

Lots of people do just fine with the Shure SM57. I'd start there if I were you.

TO EVERYBODY COMPLAINING - If you have $60, buy this 200gb micro SD card.

If you don't, then instead of paying for online for however many months (I haven't looked since I don't plan to use it), save up and spend that money instead on this 200gb micro SD card. Yes that's the same link as before. It's a good deal.

edit: added words to make gooder english

soapbox edit: Before I get downvoted out of sight let me just say this - Copying saves wasn't an intentional feature. Memory cards was a product of its time. If Playstation had the space to add the extra hardware to save in the system I'm sure they would have. Microsoft has made their products Windows-like because they're Microsoft. Cloud saving costs the companies money. This was just a matter of time, yall. I'm sure Nintendo is keeping us from messing with the save files for some reason or another - cheating or hacking or whatever. Costs of things keep rising (or inflating or however the economy works) so, yeah, we're gonna have to start paying for shit we are taking for granted.

Now, could they enable us to access/copy/whatever this data with a patch? I'm sure they could. Even allowing us to put it on the SD would save us hassle. But they don't have to. They never had to. And don't argue being nice or whatever, companies, moreso everyday, are out to make a profit. That's why they exist. Speech over.

Build looks pretty good, the 1070 should be plenty to max any games you want to play at 60 fps, as long as you aren't doing 4k, multi-monitor surround etc. Even then it could do alright, just with appropraitly tweaked settings. If you're doing 1080p or 1440p @ 60 Hz then you should have no problems whatsoever.

As for the UPS:

You need to be careful shopping for one that will be used for sensitive electronics like a PC, as you'll need one with specific features. Something like this would probably suite your needs. In general though, you'll want to look for a UPS the is made to be used with computers and other sensitive electronics; not all are. Some don't regulate incoming power and don't guarantee a clean 120V AC current, since they don't do any regulation of incoming power. "Dirty" power like this can destroy PSUs and other computer components (though it should stop at the PSU if you buy a good one). If you buy an appropriate PSU, they actually offer the added benefit of protecting your system from any kind of electrical anomalies such as surges and brown outs, as well as preventing unsafe power cuts. Also, keep in mind that even high end PSUs will only have enough power to keep a system running for a handful of minutes; if you wanted extended uptime from them you'd have to expand the battery banks extensively, and that ain't cheap.

If you want to see how long your system could run off a particular PSU, they all measure their available up-time with Volt Amperes. It can be a little mind-boggling so here's some links:

http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/34745/choosing-power-supply-how-to-get-the-voltage-and-current-ratings

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/256419-28-rails-voltage-amps-explain

P.S. I'm from the U.S. so everything is 120V AC @ 60Hz. You may be running 220V? Something else to be aware of.

This shouldnt happen if you're using an external fan. I use a usb fan plugged into the surface and I never experience throttling, while playing any of my games- whether it be cs:go, civ 5, overwatch, rocket league. I do not even undervolt.

You must either have a defective unit, or you're using your fan incorrectly. I use the arctic breeze usb gooseneck fan, and I point it at the upper right hand corner of my surface. The surface blows hot air out the left side. Do not point it at the left side.

If you wanted a laptop for gaming, you should've gotten a regular laptop in the first place, or at best- a gaming laptop. This could all be made extremely easy through using this simple 7$ fan, http://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-USB-Powered-Portable-Solution-Gooseneck/dp/B003XN24GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465169109&sr=8-1&keywords=arctic+breeze+usb+fan

> u/AlphaFemaleNerd: Good headphones.

1000000x yes. And not a gaming headset. Proper audiophile headphones like the DT 990 Pros, Sennheiser 598s, or the less-expensive 558s. Pair those with a modmic and you're good to go.

Also:

HWMonitor/CPU-Z: HWMonitor for quick access to temperatures (usually over/under by a couple degrees), and CPU-Z for frequencies and such.

Surge protector: Useful when you need it, ease of mind when you don't. Covers $300k worth of equipment in case anything is damaged, as well. Gotta love Belkin.

Mechanical keyboard: Much longer lifespan than some typical office keyboard, pretty lights, clickity-clacks, etc.

Good mouse: Same case as the keyboard: Much better than an office mouse, better tracking, button customization, etc.

Your hardware's respective software: Whether it's Ryzen Master, your SSD's storage manager, blah blah blah, it's useful.

UserBenchmark: See how your build stacks up to others, and/or if it's performing as it should be. Fun little thing.

Some greenery: Adds color to your battlestation. Nice little accent piece. Not necessary, but I like it.

whats the budget?

and any pair of headphones can be a headset. there are microphones that are specifically made for this, so you can just stick them on any headphones you like. then the mic is easily removable so you can take it off if you dont need it, then pop it back on when you do.

https://www.amazon.com/Antlion-Audio-Modular-Attachable-Microphone/dp/B01MCYRKY3

or this one, which needs headphones that have removable cords.

https://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-BoomPro-Microphone-Gaming-Communication/dp/B00BJ17WKK/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_23_bs_t_1?


i use philips fidelio x2 with the antlion modmic and it works great. theyre open back so they have a great soundstage. they do a great for positional audio.

i go with https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MCYRKY3/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• the HD598
  
• creative soundblaster ZxR (theres a cheaper version without the daughter card i believe)
  
  and I have a logitech z906 that will be getting upgraded at some point
  
  gods cds and FLACs are heaven, and it is amazing how fantastic games sound. I love hearing people sneaking up on me in CSGO and then nope them

I had my little guy in a 5g when I got him and used these to keep it cool. (linking directly to usa amazon just so you know what I got but you'd probably be better off finding the same/similar on a more appropriate site for your location!)

USB Fans (x2) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XN24GY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - these are SUPER quiet - could barely hear them when running!

USB Hub - I covered up the two remaining ports with tape so water didn't get in it, but you could also just get a hub with two ports instead of four! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XMD7KPU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Extension cable to plug in the hub to my power strip that had usb outlets. If your power strip doesn't have a usb port then you'll need to get a brick as well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00007FGU5/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

In the North Carolina summer at 90-110 degrees F, this kept my tank at about 62-65 F

Sorry for being noob...but what's %output THD? For example, here's the simulated sinewave cyberpower model:
https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500AVRLCD-Intelligent-Mini-Tower-Features/dp/B000FBK3QK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1486670594&sr=8-1&keywords=cyberpower+ups

They talk about how it's great for "desktop computers" but in their table they don't say it is rated for active PFC power supplies. Most of the people here (if they follow advice on BAPC) will buy an 80+ rated PSU that will always be active PFC. My impression is that it might work, but the only guaranteed ones are "pure sinewave" UPS units. I assume there is something better about the "pure sinewave" models that make them rated for PFC power supplies.

Does this %output THD have something to do with that? How do we determine it? (I didn't see anything on the product page on amazon, for example)

Oh, don't worry :). I'm glad you like what I do.

She should definitely try digital painting. It's just another medium that offers a lot of possibilities, some of them not possible through traditional means (or really difficult/costly). It's also THE MEDIUM if she has even a passing interest in working in almost any art related industry. With just a small graphics tablet and a computer she has all she needs :).

She shouldn't abandon "analogic" drawing though. I still paint on paper and will always do. I love it and couldn't live without doing it.

Digital it's just another tool on an artist's belt :), albeit one of the most important ones nowadays

I used the free OpenMediaVault as the OS and built my server in an old cheap computer to start. I am tech savvy so I built my own second server and put it at a family members house as my offsite backup, but it sounds like that wouldn't be a good option for you.

With you wanting as much as 30TB of data on the server, an off site backup is a must and I would highly recommend some sort of RAID or redundancy. I decided to do mine on the cheap and use ZFS Raid1/RAID 5(only one disk of redundancy between 3 disks) and the offsite backup as a secondary.

When your talking about that much data you have to seriously look at whether or not your ISP imposes a monthly data cap. For my Comcast I can only use 1TB of data a month without incurring a bunch of extra cost. So regular offsite backups of a 30TB library would push me way over the edge, even if I backed up incrementally. And Restoring from any failures would push it over the edge again. If you have a data cap like I do I would recommend using an enclosure like this for backups. Plug it in and back up your stuff, then bring it to work or a friends and leave it until you want to run another backup. Restore process is quick since it isn't using the internet and it protects your data from a natural disaster at home.

Seeing as you are just starting out, I would not invest in that mic. Where it may sound alright recording vocals, a shure sm57 will sound just as good if not better (it is one of the most popular microphones on the market and has been for decades) then get yourself a simple interface. the m-audio fast track mk2 is a popular choice. All and all you would spend less than the Rode mic you planned on getting and the quality will be much better. Good luck.