MurderousTitaniumPuffin

Well.... mine aren't that cheap. Could they be substandard? It's possible. The difference for me has been fine. I use speakers (2.1) for actual 'good' sound quality.

Get a Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 set. If you're looking for directional heaphones (i.e. very good surround sound) I recommend what I use - Roccat Kave XTD 5.1. They can be pricey, but they are 'true' surround sound headpones. They'll almost certainly provide better position than the steel series Arctis 5. Apparently a sennheiser HD 598 is worse than a Kave when it comes to sound direction. see http://www.tomsguide.com/answers/id-2415057/real-virtual-surround-sound.html I feel like a lot of the headphones you've got up there are good audiophile headphones, but bad directional headphones. It sounds to me like you don't want to go down the audiophile route. I'm using the Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 digital, which were the really pricey ones about four years ago. They're ~$120 on amazon, not perfect review score, but some of those reviews are asking for good bass, and that's what the Kave sacrifices for the directional fidelity.

The Roccat Kave XTD digital (or analogue) headset is a true 5.1 headset - or at least pretty darn close. It uses 3 drivers in each ear cup to simulate position, but that's 6 drivers in total, and they work very well (according to me). It works well. I've never listened using synthetic surround sound using a normal 1 driver/per earcup. The Roccat Kave XTD the headset to beat for me, and I have come across people complaining that synthetic surround is not as good (see Tom's Hardware). My use case for the Kave headset has often been Team Fortress 2 (an oldie but a goodie); I have been able to hear the exact direction spies were decloaking from, and turn to meet them (to about 5 degrees of accuracy). It hasn't saved me from quieter spies, but no headset can do that. It's also helped me just get a feel for virtual battlefields that I wasn't getting in stereo. Now if you want sound quality, then get your sennheiser headphones. But if you want good direction, I recommend a Kave XTD headset. Jay liked them too. P.S. I know this is an old thread, but no one had suggested a true surround sound headset, and I feel I had something to contribute for any later readers.

"What does this button do?" "Fixing everything with reboots." "Go ahead, make my display." "Well-balanced tech maniacs since forever." "We told you not to touch that." "We put the 'dis' in disfunction." (incorrect spelling deliberate) "Seriously, the glitches aren't my fault." "I'd rather be sailing." (warcraft 2 allusion) "From of order, chaos." "It's not a simple as it looks - it's simpler." "Will someone return my coffee cup, now?"

If you are a twitch gamer - get a fast (and dull) TN screen. If not, get a big (and pretty) IPS screen. I use a Dell U2713HM (1440p IPS). It's the best screen I've ever owned. [edit] It's also the best screen I've ever owned compared to everyone else's screens in LAN parties I go to.

PB tech - the only really good retailer where I live.

I'm a bit of a cost minimiser so I would go for a slightly more modest GPU. The 780TI is great for showing off, but even a standard 780 is brag-worthy, and should work really well. Personally, I think having a good screen(s) is particularly important. I use a 1440p IPS screen from Dell for my primary display. Whenever I go to Lan parties it's noticable that I get bright, vivid colours at a good size and resolution. Almost always it's the best screen in the room. My back end hardware isn't always as fancy, but the fact that I get better images than guys with 780TI with inferior screens makes me question the value of the 'best' GPU. It's effectively unused muscle a good proportion of the time. I could have gone for a better refresh rate on my screen (+120hz) but I'm not a twitch gamer, and the market generally makes you choose between high refresh rates and high resolution. I chose the latter.

As someone who uses a radeon 7850 - I think you have a perfectly good graphics card for now =P.

I have a 1440p monitor and am using an AMD 7850 HD (a midrange GPU). I was considering getting 2 R9 290s in crossfire, but I intend to buy a (single) next generation replacement from AMD or NVidia... because multiple GPUs require excellent case cooling (esp with AMD); because dual GPUs require considerably more power; because upgrading over two generations of GPUs wiil result in a more tangible graphics increase than over one - esp. if I get a high-end card; because my 7850 works fine on 80% of games at 1440p and resolution can be downscaled for the rest; because some demanding (FPS) games don't provide a huge benefit at 1440p compared to 1080p (e.g. Farcry 3). because I have good word that the oculus rift won't perform well with SLI or Crossfire (and it looks like a cool bit of hardware); because Star Citizen won't be fleshed out until next year anyway (and it looks like a cool bit of software); because I'm considering a big SSD upgrade instead of a second GPU, providing a more rounded boost to gameplay; because giving myself more time to save means I can purchase whatever I want later (not that I'm particularly constrained right now). TL;DR version: Just wait.

I e-mailed oculus, and they were good enough to respond. They also suggested waitiing, if possible, for faster gpus. Considering that the commercial version of the Oculus may take a while (2015?) this suggestion has some merit.