FUR1AN

Thanks, I'll check them out!

Like I said, I am looking for just a clean and easy setup for my bedroom. I have a $10K+ speaker and receiver setup in the movie room, so I don't need more of that haha.

Hey all, I have a killer sound system for my movie room but waiting on a new TV to finish it off. My bedroom has the older 4k TV, which has awful audio. I am looking for a solid sound bar to bump up the viewing experience as that is currently where we watch all our TV/movies. I have looked at a lot of review lists, top 10's...etc., but I don't see all that much consistency among them aside from the really top dollar models. I have seen a lot about some Vizio, Yamaha, and Samsung models but it seems to be kind of a mixed bag. I am a bit of an audiophile, so I can appreciate a quality sound stage. Really only looking for 2.1 or 3.1 here, I don't really want to have satellite speakers all over my bedroom for Atmos 5.1. All that said, does anyone have any bullet proof recommendations for the sub $400 range as of Spring 2020? I am not opposed to older models, so long as they outperform the newer counterparts in your honest opinion. Let me know what you think, and any personal experience you may have. Thanks for all the help!

Interesting that you like the Void Pro headset. I had a pair and couldn't stand them. They were too heavy and always felt like they would fall off if I turned my head too quickly. I also found that the software was very buggy with muting/unmuting the mic mid game.

lol verbatim what I said. A basic rule of thumb is that the included mic on *most* wireless or wired headsets is going to be a bit crap. The modmic wireless is a good alternative add on for decent mic quality but it is pricey. If you are really worried about your mic quality you can get a standalone boom mic, but that is a lot of added cost.

Hey there, I'd honestly go check out the various reviews HardwareCanucks has put out this year relating to gaming headsets. They have done a couple of roundups that cover the big players in the market right now. That way you can see and hear mic qualities, headset construction...etc. I personally use the Hyper X Cloud Flight Wireless. They are awesome for true stereo output (great for competitive multiplayer..i.e. CSGO), but the sound quality itself is so so. The included mic on that headset is garbage so if you go that route, I would look for an alternative for a mic. I hope this helps!

That's a good idea, and IMO any monitor claiming to have HDR 10 right now is kind of BS. From my understanding HDR10 is really poorly optimized/implemented in windows for one, and 99% of games that claim to support it. I think mainstream high FPS 4k and HDR is still a little ways away.

Interesting, is AMD different than Intel in that sense then? Because Intel X Skews are "unlocked" for overclocking whereas non X skews are locked and cannot be overclocked. Can you manually overclock a non X skew AMD chip?

Oh my bad, is it the 2600x and 2700x in the latest gen? Shows how much I pay attention to AMD.... Regardless, the most recent gen of Ryzen chips are super sweet for price/performance IMO.

I wouldn't say it is over the top so to speak. It is still a mainstream board, just on the pricier end. You get more internal headers, lighting...etc. These are all just bells and whistles that make building custom PCs easier and it gives you more flexibility with what you can do to your PC. I helped a friend build his first system and this is the board he chose. It looked great and had plenty of support to set up his build no problem. From a building perspective, I'd say go for it!

LOL. @Steve1978 I would agree that a full platform upgrade is probably your best bet. I am an intel fanboy and love my 8700K, but that isn't to say that a 2500X or 2700X, with a newer mobo and some DDR4 wouldn't be stellar for gaming as well. Its 2019 Steve, TREAT YO SELF.

Echoing what Mholes said, 4k displays are kind of in a weird spot right now. High fluid gaming at 100fps or more is much more enjoyable than trying to notice the difference between 1440p and 2160p on a desktop monitor. I have a 2k and 4k monitor side by side on my desk and I can tell you the difference in clarity isn't worth the frame performance you'd be giving up by going with a 2160p display. I would find a 1440p IPS display with Gsync, 144hz and <5ms response time and use that instead. If you want to go the ultrawide route I would check out the Acer Predator, the Asus models, or LG / Samsung. Those brands have pretty reputable displays with quality color calibration and whatnot. Acer Predator (a little dated but still a solid pick): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824011185&amp;Description=acer predator&amp;cm_re=acer_predator-_-24-011-185-_-Product Asus (Open Box Deal): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236717R These are a couple options, and there are going to be a bunch of new panels coming out in 2019 as well, notably from Gigabyte and LG. Good luck!

I didn’t know that about Prime95. Good to know!

3DMark is usually used for GPUs yes, but I am pretty sure there are CPU specific tests as well as part of the software suite. If I were you, I’d use the MSI Afterburner or GPUZ Tweak (the ASUS GPU OC software).

I would follow the general formula: Step up OC Benchmark. If pass, turn up and repeat. If fail, restart and lower OC. Benchmark again. Once you find a sweet spot using artificial stress tests that you're happy with, then do some gaming ~1 hour, to see if it really is stable. If not, rinse and repeat. I believe ada64 is a solid benchmarck, also 3DMark has some CPU stress tests I think. Also Prime95 is another CPU heavy test if I remember correctly.