Some friends of mine game online and use a program called Ventrilo to chat. Ventrilo mentions that many issues experienced with various sound cards can be solved by using a USB headset.
Various threads on the board seem to indicate that USB headsets seem to evoke a love/hate reaction from people.
My main concerns:
1. I already have a 5.1 speaker system plugged into my sound card, and really don't like the idea of crawling back there to plug in or unplug a 3.5mm headset when not gaming. (USB has a big advantage there; just unplug it from the hub when not in use, and all is well.) The center speaker of my Logitech 5.1 system has a headphone jack, but no mic jack, and I'd prefer using an all-in-one headset instead of a separate mic.
2. It sounds as if USB headsets all basically use their own built-in soundcard, with varying degrees of success and convenience. Some are said to steal cycles from your CPU, however, which is why I bought a PCI sound card to begin with. Is there such a thing as a USB headset that simply works off your existing soundcard's output?
3. Cost. I'd like to keep it under $40-street (since I will likely be buying two of them), unless a model is much better to warrant a small premium.
4. Comfort. Considering that they could be worn for hours at a time, sometimes (though not often) with glasses on as well, they shouldn't exert too much pressure on the ears. (For example, the headphones used at my school's computer lab cover the ears and appear to have plenty of padding, but the actual speakers in the middle have no padding, and so you have hard plastic surrounded by padding still pressed against your ears. Not comfy.) They don't even have to cover the ears, as far as I'm concerned. The pair I use now at home are simple "in-the-ear" (sort of like earbud) headphones, and they are the most conforable to me, but nobody seems makes a stereo headset (with mic) like that. As far as the kind headset that sort of hang on the ears, with the "behind-the-head" design, I would think even the weight of such lightweight headphones could cause pain after hours of hanging there, and possibly interfere with glasses as well. And then, some designs are not even found with USB connectors, only 3.5mm, and vice versa.
Hmm... as I was thinking of this post, I thought comfort would be the least significant issue, particularly since it doesn't have much to do with main USB vs. 3.5 mm topic, but if there's a set out there that fits the bill, then I guess all suggestions are welcome.
Various threads on the board seem to indicate that USB headsets seem to evoke a love/hate reaction from people.
My main concerns:
1. I already have a 5.1 speaker system plugged into my sound card, and really don't like the idea of crawling back there to plug in or unplug a 3.5mm headset when not gaming. (USB has a big advantage there; just unplug it from the hub when not in use, and all is well.) The center speaker of my Logitech 5.1 system has a headphone jack, but no mic jack, and I'd prefer using an all-in-one headset instead of a separate mic.
2. It sounds as if USB headsets all basically use their own built-in soundcard, with varying degrees of success and convenience. Some are said to steal cycles from your CPU, however, which is why I bought a PCI sound card to begin with. Is there such a thing as a USB headset that simply works off your existing soundcard's output?
3. Cost. I'd like to keep it under $40-street (since I will likely be buying two of them), unless a model is much better to warrant a small premium.
4. Comfort. Considering that they could be worn for hours at a time, sometimes (though not often) with glasses on as well, they shouldn't exert too much pressure on the ears. (For example, the headphones used at my school's computer lab cover the ears and appear to have plenty of padding, but the actual speakers in the middle have no padding, and so you have hard plastic surrounded by padding still pressed against your ears. Not comfy.) They don't even have to cover the ears, as far as I'm concerned. The pair I use now at home are simple "in-the-ear" (sort of like earbud) headphones, and they are the most conforable to me, but nobody seems makes a stereo headset (with mic) like that. As far as the kind headset that sort of hang on the ears, with the "behind-the-head" design, I would think even the weight of such lightweight headphones could cause pain after hours of hanging there, and possibly interfere with glasses as well. And then, some designs are not even found with USB connectors, only 3.5mm, and vice versa.
Hmm... as I was thinking of this post, I thought comfort would be the least significant issue, particularly since it doesn't have much to do with main USB vs. 3.5 mm topic, but if there's a set out there that fits the bill, then I guess all suggestions are welcome.
