Cameron

Try a usb sound card, or a usb mic.

I agree it doesn't make sense that you would see an increase in fps by using a higher resolution. After googling the subject, there is a theory that as you increase graphical demands the load is switched from your CPU to your graphics card, removing the strain on your CPU and RAM. This may be the case for you as you mentioned your CPU is holding you back in games.

I think you would be pushing it, but at least it's a high quality psu. Is your Q9550 oc'ed?

I am a fan of Avast aswell :D, MSE users smh :P

In the past I have owned two sets of Siberia V2. The first one broke and steeleries replaced it without and hassle, and the second on I smashed out of rage. They are one of the best gaming headsets I have owned sound quality wise. I have a large head and they were pretty uncomfortable for me although my brother with a normal sized head thought they were quite comfortable. I don't believe the headset is optimized for hearing footsteps in games, previously before owning the siberia I had a pair of 5hv2 and in CS 1.6 imo I could detect and localize footsteps more precisely. In contrast I do appreciate the bass that the siberia presents, and the sound-stage is a lot better suited to music than other gaming headsets. Lastly, I have had experience with steelseries products breaking prematurely and my friends have reported the same thing. Overall they are a very capable headset for a whole range of activities but I don't think they shine in any one category.

I would say get a modern HDD and a cheap 1080p monitor

Did he short circuit the mobo or did it work after installing standoffs?

David Rio chai tea served hot or cold. YUMMM

Weird I have the same CPU and memory and my memory score is 7.9, do you have your XMP profile enabled in your bios? Or very possibly it just shows how windows experience index means nothing :P

False, it is because it is DDR (Dual Data Rate) memory, it has nothing to do with dual channel.

Factory oc'd cards often feature a beefier cooler and better power delivery. Also they can be binned so you receive the cream of the crop

I have that motherboard with an i 5 3570k, works perfectly for me. The board does have some mixed reviews, and can be hit or miss it looks like.

Counter Strike 1.6 and CSS League of Legends Stronghold Crusader Roller Coaster tycoon Battlefield 2 and 3

I have the OCZ Vertex 3 in my laptop and I like it a lot. Vertex 4 is completely different though, nevertheless I think you will be very happy with it.

Ram won't make your fps lower unless you don't have enough of it, the type of hard drive you have has no effect on fps. Your cpu with no doubt is bottlenecking you, If your board is an AM3+ socket I recommend picking up a fx-8350 which would eliminate your bottleneck.