Spec me a headset/headphones for PC

[Mr C]

I've been contemplating a new pair of headphones for a while to upgrade from my old Sennheiser PC 131's.

Im trying to keep costs to a minimum so £50 is likely to be maximum price, also i am using my onboard sound on my gigabyte DS3 i think thats realtek not entirely sure as its been a while since i last checked.
It will mainly be used for games but i do occasionally listen to music, play movies and watch TV through my pc but gaming is the majority.

A mic on the headphones is not essential but if it didn't have one how much is a seperate mic likely to cost and i would probably be looking for something that dosen't clutter my desk. I know very little about mic's so any help on choosing that would be appreciated too.

So far my options have been either: Sennheiser PC 161 or the HD 555's and a seperate mic, though im unsure if my onboard sound would affect the quality and if the additional cost of the 555's and a mic is worth it over the 161s.

What would be the best thing to buy in my situation? Im not bothered by brand etc.. just mainly what would be best for my use within £50.

 

[mnemonix]

I think you need to decide what's important to you.. but if you want a mic then get a complete headset, no inexpensive mic on a table will come to close in terms of convenience or sound quality to a decent headset.

I use a Senneheiser (PC166 USB) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=SP-022-SN&groupid=702&catid=22&subcat=502 and can vouch for the quality of the headphones and the noise cancelling mics it uses. For a general purpose headset it'll be a big step up from the typical budget models to be found on the highstreet and it looks to be in your budget. USB is a big + for connection convenience also.

If you're more interested in sound quality then frankly your onboard sound and the HD555's are still far away from audiophile level so you'd be looking at spending a lot more money to get in to that game.