Alright, incoming rant.

Let's start off with the difference of 5.1 vs 7.1, shall we? The logitec set is only $10 more expensive and it's full 7.1 not just 5.1, surely it's got superior sound quality! Well, no. No it does not. Why? It's a pair of headphones, and this particular pair is powered by two drivers. Now this raises the question, what the hell is a driver?!? Put simply, a driver is the speaker cone, it makes the sound. Technically, it's a piece of <material> ringed with <metal> with a small disk in the middle, with a high powered magnet behind it, that's where the power consumption is from. The magnet receives anywhere from 44.1 thousand to 192 thousand on/off signals per second, depending on your sound card's settings and capabilities.

But back to that 5.1/7.1 thing. The logicec set decodes the audio in 7.1, which means if you play back something in 7.1 out of the computer, it will not be converted to your setup at that stage. The feature of 5.1 or 7.1 is strictly a *marketing gimmic. Any headphones made by almost any company other than sennheiser, audio technica, shure, head-direct, or <other makers of fine small driver gear> will be only meh sounding, and importantly, only powered by 2 drivers.

So, what exactly does 5.1 vs 7.1 mean in this case? Well, it means jack shit. At the driver level, both of them convert to 2.0, meaning two channels, left and right. Typical 7.1 would be front center, front left, front right, rear right, rear left, right, left, bass (bass being the 0.1). 5.1 is the same without the dedicated left and right outputs. The problem here? I just told you these headphones only have two outputs, and will only ultimately read to left and right. Sure, logitec vied for the chip that costs an extra $2 so they can write 7.1, but that means nothing here.

Understand that the 7.1 vs 5.1 is meaningless now? Good.

-----

Thermaltake has stuck to the more technically relevant specs in their listing, terms like "diffuse-field equalized " and nominal ohms mean nothing to the end user, and again, with only two drivers will make no difference at the end of the day.

What you should take form this is that both sets have the same reproduction range (high to low / vice versa) and have the same impedance (sound dampening/time treating, nothing to be worried about, 32ohms is normal.) Your Ohm count only needs to be raised when doing mega-scale amplifying, because high frequency sound moves faster than low frequency sound and you might get audible "tearing" without adjusting it on the ultra-loud end. Again, nothing to worry about, this doesn't matter here.

----

So, blah blah blah rant rant rant, what do I recommend? Well, I recommend getting a good pair of headphones, and a cheap mic. This is the internet and your voice is being transmitted at anywhere from 16 to 84 kilobits per second (your music is probably being played at 128 or 320kbps), in short, studio mics won't have studio level performance for this.

So, recommendations.

Do you want in-ear headphones (some are called earbuds, what I will recommend here are IEMs, in-ear monitors [a monitor is an expensive driver/speaker cone])? Or do you want over-ear headphones? Over-ear phones typically have better quality, but can be uncomfortable. Likewise, in-ear phones will be more convenient, but probably sound a bit worse and have a bit less bang for your buck, while possibly being less comfortable.

IEMs:

1 - Absolute sonic clarity, across the board even and neutral reproduction: HeadDirect RE0's + Zalman mic - total: $95.09 - These babies sound much more like the dramatically more expensive IE8s than otehr ~$100 headphones, top notch recommendation. The average listener would probably miss bass, however.

2 High bass - Bose IE2 + Zalman mic - Total: $111.05 - This is your best bet if you want the best sounding headphones at face value, the drivers in these are pretty damn bass heavy and will sound amazing to the common man, an audiophile would want something with more neutrality and better across-the-board sound quality. Additionally, the stayhear tips are surprisingly effective, if you wanted to take them out with you. Jogging, riding a bus, in a car, they won't fall out.

-

Over-Ear's

1 -best quality Sennheiser HD555's + Zalman mic - Total: $116.07 - worth every penny.

I haven't read it, but it looks pretty good. I can personally vouch for this book however:

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319/ref=pd_sim_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C8KMCKES83EHGXS3VWSQ

It's truly amazing. I'm currently an EE PhD student but I had a pretty limited background in digital hardware and computer architecture, and I read most of this book just out of interest a little while ago and frankly learned quite a bit. It's written at a very readable level for anyone with almost no prior knowledge, yet gets technical when it needs to. It's very thorough, but approaches the topics at a wonderful and easy pace with very clear explanations. The author even says you can skip some of the more technical details if they're not of interest to you, and you'll still end up learning quite a lot. The book you posted looks pretty similar, so I'd say it's worth a shot.

So: you need some headphones:

Sony MDR-XB700:
Decent phones, popular because they've got good bass punch, but they're unbalanced towards that range. Should be fine for gaming, but they wouldn't be my first suggestion. Suggested because those big over sized muffs are pretty comfy.

Sony MDR-SA1000: Hot damn I remember these. Great phones, comfy for long wear, easy to hear through, but easy to drown out the world by pumping up the volume a little bit. Fairly balance range response, decent sound stage, good pricing.

AKG K 701: I shit you not, these headphones have caused my girlfriend to have an orgasm. Quite possibly the finest piece of audio gear I've laid ears on, but there's a catch. You can't get orgasm-inducing sound out of them without an amp, they're just too power hungry. Though, an amp would help any of these phones. I would consult this review for a decent explanation of the amp situation.

For Microphones, I've had two of these: good audio quality, and while not good enough for audio sampling, they are great for voice comms. Personally I think that desk mics work better, since most players seem to have a hard time keeping their heatset mics from rubbing all over their faces.

Edit: Link's 'n shit.

I have a pair of JVC HA-RX900s that I adore. I got these recently (with a cheap Logitech mic) and rarely use my 2.1 system anymore. The bass is great, but not overpowering and they have a very crisp mid/high. I'm not an audiophile per say, but I love listening to jazz and play a lot of video games. From Battlefield 3 to Starcraft 2, these cans are seriously phenomenal. They have a lot of padding and are very comfortable for long gaming sessions (I've had them on for upwards of 3 hours before).

I got them for around $75, they are on Amazon for about $68 right now. Hope this mini review helps!

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.

Buffalo G300NH Not bleeding edge but has good feature set, comes with dd-wrt pre-installed but also has an option for buffalo firmware, wifi is strong and has good range, the gigabit ethernet support is nice too.

I clean the interior of my PC about every 2 months with a DataVac. As some people already posted, this can be found here.

Now, for your photo. Yes, crevices of peripherals can get very nasty. I am actually surprised someone didn't post this yet, but Super Clean High Tech Cleaning Compound is the bees knees. I use this stuff all the time.

What it is, is a slime like pliable substance that sticks to small particles. You can roll it over keyboards, mouses, in crevices, over fan grills, etc., and it will pull all the gunk out. I have quite a few packs of these in my desk.

Happy cleaning.

Awesome. You made me remember how much I love my mouse pad.

I've had a func surface mouse pad since I was 14... whoa, that was 8 years ago now... and I still use it every day, it works perfectly still.

I can't believe their store looks like it's closed. I think they didn't survive because their product was so good that nobody ever needed a second one. ( www.func.net )

Here's an amazon page for it:
http://www.amazon.com/INDUSTRIES-Mouse-Surface-Mousepad-Black/dp/B0006U572A

Vacuum cleaners are supposed to be pretty bad for some reasons, but my mom used one when I was a kid and we never had any problems on that front. These days though, I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500P-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001U899HQ

​

They are a little pricy, but they do a good job and you won't have to deal with replacing canned air.

​

I'd also recommend a small brush for getting the fans.

​

EDIT: https://www.amazon.com/Brushes-Portable-Cleaning-Keyboard-Interior/dp/B07CQH78NS

​

Something like the toothbrush looking one will do good for cleaning fans off. Alternatively you can just use a cheap toothbrush.

Well, with audio, quality of sound and product often go hand in hand. My point about the headphone/mic combo stands. The quality on headsets, from my experience, pail in comparison.

For your budget, /r/headphones recommends the [Panasonic RP-HTF600-S] (http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHTF600S-RP-HTF600-S-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B004MMEI8W) with the [Zalman clip-on mic.] (http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ)
You can see down in the review section that someone published a video using the mic, and it sounds pretty good.

At $80, I would still stick to the PC151. The next worthwhile upgrade (in my opinion atleast) is going to Sennheiser HD280s and this zalman clip-on. The 280 pros are extremely solid headphones that are pretty comfortable in the long run. I picked the zalman because the sound quality is pretty good as long as you make sure to set the volume right. I haven't compared it side-by-side to other microphones, but the sound quality is satisfactory for me. I had to turn my microphone volume up just a tad, but otherwise the zalman has worked well.

The Triple 5's have a very good Quality/Cost ratio. I have them myself, they are excellent.

If you want a mic, use a Zalman Clip-On, which fits perfectly on the headphone's audio cable. Again, quality is good for the price.

IMO, i don't like headphones that are branded as "Gaming" ones, i feel the standard models are better, well that's my experience.

you could get a Sennheiser 202 II that is superb for the price range

oh yeah, i forgot, someone already mentioned this mic, it will be perfect for what you need

EDIT:spelling

I have these in my backpack for when I'm on the go Shure e2c's

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-E2c-Sound-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B0000CE1UO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310616555&sr=8-1

and these when I at home akg k-240's

http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Acoustics-K-240-Studio-Headphones/dp/B0001ARCFA/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1310616614&sr=1-1

they are both great, the akg's are open air so you dont get noise cancellation but for listening to music they are a joy along with gaming too. The shure ones are like wearing ear plugs with sound drivers built in. They can really transport you as you can't hear anything besides the music in its full range.

Low level stuff is pretty academic. You need textbooks just to get started.

These were my college textbooks (I have earlier editions):

Computer Architecture: A Quantative Approach

Computer Organization and Design: The Hardware/Software Interface

The material is pretty dry but if you can slog through it you will gain good insight into how and why chips and systems are designed the way they are.

Below this level is logic gate design where if you don't have a background in semiconductor physics you'd never get through it.

I have a Zalman clip on and it works great. Haven't actually listened to the quality but all my squadmates say I sound good. The only con with the thing is the clip, it pinches my headphone cord quite hard but that would be a case by case basis. For the money its a great investment.

If you're willing to spend $100+, the Sennheiser HD555 and a Zalman clip-on mic are a popular choice for gaming. The HD555 has a giant soundstage and excellent sound quality.


The ATH-AD700 is a good choice as well.

Unless you're trying to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of a fixed system (e.g. say you're reprogramming the firmware for Voyager I and II), writing software to only work for a specific piece of hardware is generally a bad idea. Yeah, it's nice and interesting to know how Sandy Bridge's branch prediction or reordering buffer works, but if your code is depending on that, then you're signing yourself up for software maintenance nightmare.

As for where to learn about CPUs, go with textbooks. Go with Hennessy & Patterson. That edition is from 2011. I graduated more than a decade ago and have the 2nd edition, which talks alot about MIPS architecture. I don't know if this latest edition has recent updates. However, as my professor like to say, most of the ideas of speeding up CPUs have been invented in the 60s. It's just that fabrication technology has improved enough in recent times that allow those ideas to actually be implementable. The more recent trends are all for low power savings, clock scaling, turning on and off parts of the processor when it is not in use, so a lot of micromanaging of all the different parts of the CPU.

Wikipedia has lots of details too, but you have to know the terms to search to find the articles. Here's a few terms off the top of my head that might help you get started: Branch Prediction, mis-prediction penalty, instruction bubbles, Cache, Memory Subsystem, TLB, Register Renaming, Reorder Buffer, ALUs, execution units. Vector processors vs. Scalar processors, Super-scalar processors. SIMD (single instruction multiple data), data hazards, instruction prefetching, simultaneous multithreading (SMT) aka hyperthreading, IO virtualization.

You mean like these?

I've had a surprising amount of success with heatsinks like those on a few overclocked Raspberry Pis.

Logitech G35. USB w/7.1 surround sound. Super comfortable and durable as well.

*also the inner band is metal which was a big deal for me. I've snapped the band on quite a few headsets.

I use the Logitech G400, which is apparently much more expensive now that the G400s came out.

The G400 and G400s use the same contoured shape for the mouse like MX518 (guess which mouse i used before?), which has been my main consideration when buying it.

This also has to do with how you hold the mouse, called your Mouse Grip. I've found the G400 body shape to be the most comfortable if you have a "Palm Grip" on your Mouse. Where as the shape of the Razer DeathAdder is more suited for the "Claw" and "Fingertip" Grips.

I should also mention that this styling is really only conducive to people who use their right hand to control their mouse as the shape is molded with the buttons on the left side of the mouse, assuming they will be hit with the thumb.

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm going into the city tomorrow to pick up the NEC EA231WMI-BK or order the Dell UltraSharp U2311H. Since I used to work with Dell, I know how their monitors function, so that will be my fall back if the NEC doesn't work the way I like it to.

Audio Technica ATH-AD700

Zalman Microphone

Simply superb combination. Throw in a Xonar DG is you want a nice (and cheap) sound card to bring it all together.

This is a great start, as it explains and goes into great detail regarding cpu/gpu architectures: Computer Architecture, Fifth Edition: A Quantitative Approach

Another one that goes to low level is: Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

>"He starts with basic principles of language and logic and then demonstrates how they can be embodied by electrical circuits, and these principles give him an opening to describe in principle how computers work mechanically without requiring very much technical knowledge"

-wiki

Having used both, I would have to say avoid Grado SR 60i for games. It is just too harsh. That being said I absolutely love the way they sound.

For the AKGs I would suggest the full sized model:

AKG K240
Cheaper and better (subjectively).

Both work fine without an Amplifier; however, the Grados benefit from an amp than the AKGs.

This, definitely. I bought one last year and love it. Tons of customization options too, via stock built-in dd-wrt.

On Amazon UK same pad cost about $48, gotta love American prices (apart from healthcare, that is ;)

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/ Not an air compressor, but a lot more portable for $49. I love it.

I use this and can say It blows! (Pun intended)

It works so well that i have started to use it all over the place. I blew all the pine needles off my patio, blew all of the crumbs out of my toaster and oh yea i blew the dust out of my computer case. Comes with a nice assortment of attachments and extenders.

I recommend you sit your box outside and go to work.

Here is a working link to Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001J4ZOAW/ref=mp_s_a_1?qid=1348088421&sr=8-1

Most people love it. I might buy one soon as well.

I use my Sennheiser HD650 every day at my desk for nearly a year, they're practically as good as new. But they pretty much stay in only two places (on my head or on this

In any case, if I had to go with a gaming headset, it would probably be the Logitech G35

Sennheiser HD 558's : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FEEY9A/ref=oh_o02_s00_i00_details

+

Zalman Clip on mic : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029MTMQ/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

This combo has superior audio quality and mic quality while also allowing you to have independent headphones and mics that can combine.

This will be much better than almost any headset you can get, especially for $190.

> It's $120! Lol....not so budgety....

What? What crackhead is charging that much. According to ebay the MX518 is $39. It wasn't even that much new in 2006...I got mine on sale for $35, msrp $50.

I just noticed a cheap G400, the successor to the 518.

*edit: I just noticed there's a $25 MX518 on my ebay link, and a $29 free shipping 4th from the top.

The book that fits here is Code, by Charles Petzold. Not a textbook, more a general CS divulgation book, but is gold. The author explains the very basics of how a computer works in a very gradual way. You end up thinking, as you said, is amazing what we have. Complex async graphical UIs, distributed systems, virtualization... I work on IT for more than 10 years and still can't believe we have it.

https://www.amazon.com/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319

Don't buy gaming headsets. You get a crappy pair of headphones with a barely audible mic glued to the frame. This is my gaming setup that also works well with movies and music. These headphones have a god like sound stage, and you won't regret them. The mic is good, but there are better available for more money and if you don't like it you can replace it, unlike the crappy mics on gaming headsets. Also if you think the headphones are loose you can put a rubber band between the inner head rests and they fit like a dream.

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371750942&sr=8-1&keywords=ath+700

and

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ/ref=zg_bs_173454_10

FWIW airflow actually isn't very important in real-world testing. LTT did an experiment and found that you need to basically fill the entire inside with blankets before there's a difference.

Also the issue with m.2 overheating can be 100% addressed by mounting some stick-on RAM heat sinks you can get for a few bucks on Amazon like these: https://www.amazon.com/Cosmos-Copper-Cooling-Heatsinks-cooler/dp/B00637X42A

They're a good idea even if you have an open case and water cooling.

Most consumer headsets are crap. I would recommend attaching this good microphone to a good pair of headphones.

Couldn't you just get a nice pair of Sennheiser 558s and a Zalman mic? I'd recommend that over 'gaming' headsets any day of the week.

i used this book for my first comparch course, written by the guys who pioneered RISC and MIPS

goes over just about everything for the basics of how computer processors work, you can find a pdf online pretty easily

You can test this out on yourself and friends by buying a meter like this, so it helps get a more accurate estimate.

Ill check that out.

Would something like this be good? Dual-monitor desk clamp

I mean, its $45 bucks and has great reviews!

I have a Func Industries Surface 1030 that I'm a fan of. It has two sides of varying slickness, a slip-proof base, a cord-holder, and it's quite thin. Definitely thinner than a cloth mousepad; probably 3-4 mm thick. You can find them online for between 15 and 25 dollars.

func surface 1030.

It was recommended by PCGamer around 2003-2004 (which is when I picked it up), since then I feel that no mousing surface has been superior. When I miss headshots, I'm now certain it's my fault rather than my mouse's.

It's actually the only object that has survived multiple computer (and monitor) upgrades.

My $265 NEC EA231Wi is an excellent monitor in every sense of the word.

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

As the title implies, it's not just about hardware, it goes into how software is written for hardware as well. But it's a really cool book, takes you from the very basics of circuitry (a battery, a light bulb, and wire) in the first chapter, and building only on things taught in the book gets you to a fully working computer.

Really sad to see them go. I've been a longtime user and fan of Zalman's Zm-Mic1 and cooling hardware. The mic is really good compared to how much it cost so it was always a mic I could recommend to gamers or people that just wanted to skype.

Take a paperclip and hold the fan in place through the holes on the bottom and blow it out using www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/

Be sure to remove the paperclip before turning it back on of course.

For the room, get one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Holmes®-HAP756-U-Allergen-Remover-Large/dp/B000C173W0/

> Textbooks aren't much of a thing because so much information is available online and technology changes so fast.

That's

• really
  
• not
  
• true
  
  and I'm not just pointing out that those books exist. They're really good resources!

get something like this and measure your intake, you'd be surprised

I've never found a "gaming headset" that had anywhere near good enough audio quality.

Why not just get yourself a cheap desktop mic. and a decent pair of audiophile headphones?

http://www.amazon.com/Buffalo-Technology-Nfiniti-Wireless-N-WZR-HP-G300NH/dp/B0028ACYEK/ref=sr_1_15?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1287815470&sr=1-15

Comes with DDwrt preloaded. supports tomato.. good specs.. been using it for sometime and no issues.

There a really easy way to verify this.

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-BX80684I78700K-Core-i7-8700K-Processor/dp/B07598VZR8

If you want textbooks, Hennessy and Patterson's Computer Architecure 5th ed. is the de facto standard taught at most universities. It's a pretty good book, and shouldn't bog you down too much with equations. It won't help you evaluate components, but you will learn a lot of the underlying principles that are used in modern processors.

You could upgrade to HD555 for about $30 more.

If you do some research, you'll actually see that you can mod these in your own home to be the HD595 exactly, meaning a $150 ($350 before discount) pair of headphones for $70.

I got lucky and found a used HD555 for 40 bucks, which was a steal!

I've heard good things about this mic: http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Microphone-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

Something like this?

Strange, you are choosing between $200 and $400 monitor and both are TN? It looks like you just randomly grab some ^^


NEC EA231WMI

IPS panel not TN

23"

16:9

VESA Mounting


or SAMSUNG F2380 with cPVA panel


or you can go with some 27" TN panel, some Samsung, LG or DELL will do just fine

Maybe something like this? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RL84OY/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&keywords=usb%20desk%20mic&qid=1344618485&sr=8-24
I have a Blue Mics Snowball, myself. But they cost a bit more.

RAM heatsinks? Just get, like some of these. Or anything that's copper or aluminum and roughly RAM-chip-sized, and thermal-tape it to the RAM.

A clip on mic would have been much easier. They're cheap too.

"Smart" power supplies like Corsair's RMi and AXi or the venerable Kill-a-watt meter : https://www.amazon.com/P3-P4400-Electricity-Usage-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU

at that price range you would get more bang for your buck getting an actual studio quality headset and a clip on mic, like the JVC HARX900 with a zalman mic. I personally use the HA-RX700, which is almost half the price.

"gaming" headsets are a marketing gimmick.

You can purchase a microphone separately...I recommend a Zalmna ZM-1

I'unno if it's an air compressor, but I'm planning on getting one of these things when I get a chance.

Buffalo AirStation High Power N300 Gigabit Wireless Router & AP WZR-HP-G300NH $65 from Amazon

Powered by DD-WRT, leading open-source firmware equipped with robust and high-performance features for custom configuration.

I've found that I can't really hear much when I have my sound playing with my open-air ATH-AD700. Unfortunately they have the side affect of being mini speakers; so everyone else can hear you.

OP: Whatever is in your price range from here (closed is better for isolation) plus this

Kill-A-Watt meter

Really helpful for determining how much power your components are using individually when overclocking, but also gives you an idea of how much $$$ you are spending on keeping the thing on.

He probably means the G35.

I would actually recommend you avoid headsets, as they are not particularily good at anything. alexistukov's recommendation is [almost] mine as well.

They have an updated version called the G400s. Only difference I can see is 4000dpi (instead of 3600), and different cosmetics.

It's a few bucks cheaper on Amazon right now, compared to the G400.

in my opinion, cans of compressed air are a waste of money.

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW This can save you money long term.

You might want to consider investing in one of these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Computer-Architecture-Quantitative-Approach-Kaufmann/dp/012383872X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496689447&sr=8-1&keywords=Computer+architecture

I learned mostly from:

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Architecture-Fifth-Quantitative-Approach/dp/012383872X

But this has alot of information in it, and was the book for the prerequisite of the class I took that Used the above book:


http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Organization-Design-Fourth-Architecture/dp/0123744938

I'm looking to buy this one if I can't find any decent websites

https://www.amazon.ca/Code-Language-Computer-Hardware-Software/dp/0735611319

I've owned a pair of Sennheiser HD555's for 4 years and counting. The only wear and tear so far has been fixed by a single strip of electrical tape.
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD555-Professional-Headphones-Channeling/dp/B0001FTVDQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321122676&sr=1-1

Depending on your intended use, I'd suggest the CAL!, Sony MDR-V6, or Audio Technica ATH AD700 with a Zalman clip-on mic.

With any of these headphones plus the mic, you will get much higher sound quality than any headset in the price range.

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

I've never had one of those, so I can't vouch for the quality of it, but it appears to be a decent mic.

I use this with my AudioTechnica AD700, works perfect...

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Microphone-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

[These] (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10823&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2) and this.

Already exists:

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ/

http://www.amazon.com/INDUSTRIES-Mouse-Surface-Mousepad-Black/dp/B0006U572A

$17 is expensive?

There's this: http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/ref=sr_1_1?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1324273148&sr=1-1

Get a Datavac.

Datavac duster

https://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500P-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001U899HQ/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_229_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=1KSKYNWVVDW9T5AF7GTE

I have one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Monitor-Stand-clamp-monitors/dp/B002R9HQLI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1319067618&sr=8-2
way cheaper than the Ergotron stuff. Maybe that's also available in the UK

Here you go. It uses a USB port so you can still use your stereo system.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0055QZ216/ref=sr_1_2_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1375154027&sr=8-2&keywords=mx+518&condition=new

Logitech G400s

There's also the G400s: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-G400s-Optical-Gaming-910-003589/dp/B00BCEK2LA

324€ on amazon.es
https://www.amazon.es/Intel-i7-8700K-3-7GHz-Smart-Cache/dp/B07598VZR8

I wouldn't say so.

Looking at the 8700K in Europe, neither Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Alternate or Mindfactory have it in stock. The US is similar, out of stock on Amazon.com & Newegg and most won't ship until 1-2 weeks.

I'd only recommend that if your sinks arrive with very soft thermal pad material, like that which you'll find on your main Gelid VRM sink, instead of actual thermal tape. I don't know what adhesive you have on hand but most thermal adhesive is permanent, so just be aware if you choose that route.

I ordered these sinks and this tape which is actually 3M 8815. After wasting about 30 minutes installing one sink with the 3M tape, I just went with the OEM applied stuff for the other fifteen. Several months and tons of heat later all 16 sinks are stuck so well they may as well be considered structural. Surface prep and application technique are where the battle is won or lost.

Most people recommend the Zalman Zm-Mic1 - a steal for $9.99.

Canned air is shit. Get something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/

I have one and it's a solid purchase.

FUNC surfaces. There is nothing better.

http://www.amazon.com/INDUSTRIES-Mouse-Surface-Mousepad-Black/dp/B0006U572A/

My apologies, i meant to say noticeable difference, and as for the pricing the 8700k is £330 while the 2700 (which if it follows the leaked benchmarks and the 1700/1700x will OC higher the the X sku)will only be £216 which is a difference of £115. which isn't the 150 i stated before, but i didn't realise 8700ks had actually come down to MSRP.

I am wearing some JVC headphones right now. I think they are comfy, even for a long period of time, and my wife and kids are always complaining that I can't hear them, even when the sound is not cranked up. They are not too expensive either.

Zalman clip on mic gets great reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ

I've used one for a long time and so have many others. This seems to be the 'go to' mic for people who want a proper set of cans + a mic instead of crappy can + mic combo 'gaming' heatsets people waste money on.

Just stick a Kilowatt usage monitor between your computer and the wall. Get another one for the TV or some other appliance that is used regularly and then compare the two.

You'll want to have some hard data as backup if he gets worried about the electric bill.

Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach

This is THE classic textbook on CPU design. It was written by John Hennessy the creator of MIPS CPU who went to Stanford and David Patterson the creater of the SPARC CPU from Berkeley. I've probably talked to 50 engineers over the years and everyone used the same book. I interviewed new grads last year and they are still using the same book.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Hennessy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Patterson_%28computer_scientist%29


This is the current 5th edition.

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Architecture-Fifth-Quantitative-Approach/dp/012383872X/

I used the 2nd edition back in 1997. You can get it for 1 penny used. Considering that 3 of the students I interviewed last year did the exact same 3 projects I did 18 years before I'm not sure that you need the new edition!

http://www.amazon.com/Computer-Architecture-Quantitative-Approach-Second/dp/1558603298/


There are other books on analog circuits, logic design, layout etc. I linked to a very basic intro to layout book elsewhere in the thread.

The sophomore level intro to digital logic design class used this book. This explains AND / OR gates and flip flops which are the foundation of any CPU, GPU, ASIC.


http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Logic-Design-Randy-Katz/dp/0201308576/

Yep, the G400. I switched from a 518 to it and haven't looked back. It's the same shape and button layout, but more precise.
*edit: wrong product name

Seriously the best bang for your buck, gamer or otherwise is the g400. Premium optical sensor (Avago ADNS-A3080E/S3095) with the best tracking on the market. Laser sensors suffer from certain inaccuracies. Retails for around 30-40. Amazon Link


If you hate the form factor, go with the death adder, which is cheaper in construction in my opinion but some prefer the form factor of the death adder: Amazon Link.

You might want to provide more information, such as usage for the mouse: gamer, artist, high dpi needed, low dpi needed, on the fly dpi switching etc. Are you a palm grip or claw grip? Do you use your wrist primarily for mousing or your whole forearm? What type of mousing surface do you like?