Quote from hazaky :

I would recommend to stay away from logitech (including z5500) if ur into clear sound, quality and power. I owned these and well ... yeah. Sold them for now.

My 30w rms speakers eat z5500 systems for lunch

Yea well after this experience I am inclined to agree, reviews rave about the sound quality on the Z5500s...however I haven't heard them so cannot comment, but I am willing to bet my Acoustic Energy 2.1 will sound better than them without listening to the Z5500s beforehand.

To put in perspective, I want to listen to music whenever I can just to hear them from these speakers. I wasn't bothered about the quality of MP3's I downloaded either, but now I only download high quality ones...preferably FLAC because I can hear some of the detail/depth low quality files miss.

I know there will be better sounding ones out there, but I think these and the Teufel ones I linked in my first post will be as close to hifi quality as you're going to get from 'PC speakers'.

2 weeks ago I was shopping around for a new speaker set, I couldn't decide really between 5.1/2.1 etc...so I had a gander at reviews and what was available to me.

It probably won't come as a surprise that the Logitech Z-5500's quickly found its way to my shortlist so on impulse I was just going to buy there and then to a website that sold them at a reasonable price. I looked around and the prices were a bit crazy...at least I thought anyway.

I then consulted ocUK to ask if they would get any in stock, since they were reasonable but obviously none in stock. A representative replied with this:

Quote :

Although the product is still current we are being told by Logitech that it will be end of life shortly and haven't seen any stock for some considerable amount of time.

Logitech increased the price of the product massively as it was costing rather a lot to ship from the far east due to the high weight.

So I decided against them.

Then I went to my uncle's, who's kind of an audiophile. He told me to look at different brands, ones specific to speakers/hifi. He even offered me an old amp of his and said buy some bookshelf speakers within your budget, however because of a space issue I decided against.

So more to the point I found a 2.1 system made by the hifi company "Acoustic Energy". Upon reading reviews they are spot on and almost half the price of the Z-5500s. I found specifically these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=22&subcat=173

I bought them and...well....they are fantastic. Opened the box and felt the satellite speakers...noticing they are fully metal and weighty yet so small! Even the sub which is quite the opposite being huge has a metal body. Audio reproduction is simply brilliant, I mean theres so much more depth to my music...sounds I never knew existed in some songs! And they go very loud, with no sign of breaking up either.

Basically thought I would share this product to anyone looking for speakers, because they are that good

PS
If I did look even further than I did, I would have bought these, but I am far from dissapointed.

Last edited by spacedskunk, Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:54.

I bought Richard Burns Rally back when I got my G25, no doubt its the best rally game I've ever played.

Its so immersive, and for the era it came out its amazing.

Dissapointing there won't be another one, but the online fanbase is keeping it alive with new mods and updates, so for the price it is...I got it for £5 new...its a bargain and every car simulation fan should own it.

Look up at some replays on YouTube...ahh makes me wanna play it right now!

Its the best and most fustrating rally game you'll ever find

Quote from Crashgate3 :

If you've said you're not commuting (I'm not planning to commute in the car when I get it) and you just happen to do it *once* and have an accident, are you knackered, or would you be able to get them to pay out if you could prove that you usually used other means to get to work?

I found this quote for you:

Quote :

"One reason insurers need to know if you use your car for commuting is that by leaving [it] in a public place it is at greater risk from theft or damage," said Thompson.
"In this example, by not disclosing the right information to your insurer about your journey to work, your policy will be invalid and in the event of submitting a claim the insurer is under no obligation to settle the claim."

Even if it wasn't a lie, its a reason for them not to pay out. Most likely in this case they will probably pay a third party if one is involved, but it will a reduced claim still meaning you have to splash up the rest.

An insurer...no matter what insurance...will try and find a way out of paying for a claim.

Quote from Krane :

Stupid brits, you drive on the wrong side of the road and insure the wrong part too

Here you just insure the car, and you can drive any car if it has atleast the mandatory minimum motor insurance.

Driving on the left goes back to when we rode around in horses because the average right hander mounts a horse from the left side, so they used to ride on the left side too and its just staying with cars

I agree with insurance but what can you do

Quote from Jakg :

Own policy, Third Party and no, no price or mileage limit.

There will be limitations in the small print, but they are very much different across all insurers so make sure you read not only the small print in the section under driving any car but the general limitations aswell.

I looked up Quinn's policy on 'driving any car':

Quote :

If your certificate of insurance says so, we will also cover the policyholder for your liability to other people while you are driving any other private motor car which you do not own or have not hired or leased. This benefit applies to full licence drivers only. We will only cover you if:

• The vehicle is not owned by your employer or hired to you/them under a hire-purchase or lease agreement;
  
• You currently hold a full European Union (EU) licence;
  
• The use of the vehicle is covered in the certificate of insurance;
  
• Cover is not provided by any other insurance;
  
• You have the owner’s permission to drive the vehicle;
  
• The vehicle is in a roadworthy condition;
  
• You still have your vehicle and it has not been damaged beyond cost-effective repair; and
  
• Your occupation is not restricted by our acceptance criteria.
  

This extention applies while being driven within the territorial limits and only to private passenger vehicles. It does not include:

• Vans;
  
• Car-Vans;
  
• Jeep-Type vehicles with no seats in the back; or
  
• Vans adapted to carry passengers.
  

The only thing you are incorrect with Jakg is the mileage is limited to what you've declared to Quinn in the original quote, which will be accumalitive across your car and any car you drive under their DaC policy.

You are also limited to using other cars in your declared use of vehicle (for example if you didn't say you were commuting, and use another car to go to University, it would invalidate the insurance).

And of course 'drive any car' will be issue to fronting fraud laws, many drivers insure a cheap car with a 'drive any car' policy to actually drive another persons car mainly...such as their parents...which is actually fraud, same of course if you put a policy in your parents name to get a cheaper premium yet you're the main driver of that.

Quote from Jakg :

It's times like this i'm glad I have driving other cars on my policy

At your age? Who the hell did you insure with!

Nice sig though :P

Quote from mrodgers :

What's up with all the gay music? You guys really listen to some gay stuff....

We remix things to make us appear to all non-Europeans as homosexuals.

We'd remix recordings of Elton John taking a crap if we could dance around like Chuck Norris on a pogo stick with it.

You don't need a HDCP compliant motherboard. All that needs to be HDCP compliant is your GPU and monitor. You'll find the HDCP compliant motherboards actually have an onboard GPU, which you won't need.

As for the sound card, both motherboards you linked have this:

Quote :

Blu-ray playback supported by high quality 106dB SNR ALC889A HD audio

I wouldn't even be tempted nowadays to get a soundcard unless its a decent one, such as an Asus Xonar. I tested this, I have an X-fi fatality and was really annoyed it couldn't connect to my front panel audio...so I used onboard instead and I have to say I've stuck with it.

Other than that, good choices and I would recommend AM3/DDR3. Make sure the RAM is AMD compatible! This is one thing that shafted me when I got a dual kit from Scan, I had to take it back because it was designed to work with intel not AMD.

EDIT
To answer more of your questions, from scouting around both CPUs are Deneb cores but the more expensive one is a later generation and should run cooler and overclock better (if you're into that thing)

Your parts will play the games easy to be honest.

My main recommendation don't get the soundcard and spend some more on the case and possibly a third-party cooler for the CPU.

Last edited by spacedskunk, Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:34.

Quote from brt900 :

just that normally my friends get the info of deadlines before me and they just never talk to me anymore

Oh lord.

Quote from brt900 :

ah well ****ed up my life anyway not applied to any college yet because what id usually call "friends" always **** off then a few days later they say they went for application form they never inform me of anything and i never get told anything

That is quite a daft reason for not applying for college...the best friends I have I made at college.

Check these 3 out

Awakening State - Out There (Subsonik Remix)
Vocal.

Kirsty Hawkshaw - Face to Face (Seba Remix)
Vocal.

Trei - Day Away
Awesome.

Quote from UncleBenny :

Agree with everyone who said get Sennheisers, best headphones I've owned.

Right now I'm listening to Sennheiser HD650s through a Graham Slee Novo headphone amp, ****ing fantastic!

Quote from brt900 :

when my dad emailed them it said i could take them back to a local game store in original packaging and the thing is they dont actually work

Providing everything is still there they will understand you can't actually put them in the original packaging. If you can find a box to put everything in and make sure you make it look like you've tried they can't really challenge it, since its your rights to send back a faulty product.

The way I read it...this rule:

Quote :

Any product (excluding gift vouchers/gift cards) may be returned for refund or exchange within 28 days of the purchase date, providing that the seal remains unbroken.

Is for items purchased that you decided you didn't want after purchase and therefore are returning it unopened.

The rule that more applies to yourself is this one:

Quote :

Please note that hardware must contain every component part (cables, memory sticks etc.) before it can be accepted as a return.

Which doesn't indicate the need for its original packaging.

ahh sorry for the double post but for a complete headset, certainly recommend http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/ ... ming-Headset/Product.html

I've looked around at reviews, and trustedreviews.com which is the site I normally get the best pros/cons reviews from rate this their highest headset, and just having a gander across more reviews pretty much one of the best, if not the best...and cheaper than the ones you've got brt900 so win win!

Quote from brt900 :

i dont give a crap really about xbox but the headphones and mic seperate is so unpractical for my position im on a racing seat all the time im on my pc with no where to put it.

But befor ei get another headset i need to tak ethis one back so if anyone could answer my second question?

http://www.game.co.uk/Help/~h9824/Returns/

Hopefully that will help, it does say:

Quote :

Hardware and software purchased during the months of November and December can be returned for refund or exchange until the 10th January. Same conditions apply.

and

Quote :

Hardware or peripherals may be opened for the purpose of inspection (but not used) and may be returned for refund or exchange within 28 days of the despatch date. Please note that hardware must contain every component part (cables, memory sticks etc.) before it can be accepted as a return.

Its really a case of making a story up mate, these rules should hopefully apply for in-store and online purchases.

Sounds silly but I would seriously recommend getting the mic and headphones seperate. It really depends what you want from it though in underlying features. For instance Sennheiser hifi headphones reproduce sounds in clear lows, meds and high tones...obviously the more expensive the better the more clarity you get. Gaming headsets tend to be bass heavy again more designed for their particular needs.

Still though, decent hifi headphones will sound MUCH better...and in your budget more specifically http://www.scan.co.uk/Products ... 555-HiFi-Range-Headphones. Skim around the internet for reviews, these are brilliant for the price. I have these ones, I use them for music, gaming, films etc...I MUCH prefer these over speakers.

Now as for the mic simply get a seperate one. I use this one http://www.scan.co.uk/Products ... rophone-%28980186-0914%29. Its USB so should work with the xbox, and sounds extremely clear to ones I've plugged into my creative fatality card. Having said that though its a desktop standing mic which I don't use for the xbox, so may be impractical for yourself, in which case I still recommend the HD555's but with a clip on mic such as this http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/6 ... uct.html?searchtype=genre

I've never tried surround sound headphones so can't comment, as for the one you linked its more a case of looking at reviews...I've read a few reviews over various sites to get a broad range and matched a few similar comments which detail its a very well made package, sounds good but is only worth buying if you NEED the USB connectivitiy...whereas your usual headset has two 3.5mm jacks for the headphones and for the mic.

Quote from rich uk :

Saw pendulum at Isle of Wight. Sadly it was outside and still light so didn't have the same atmosphere. Prodigy though were most definatly stunning.

Some stuff thats hooked me in this week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GFoYj4-qqY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZA2R-yiiM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SIXlxIcvok

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9720XFfoms
I like that this is a bit more like vocal trance

These are all very very good mate, thanks for sharing

Quote from hazaky :

... Something im working on, should fit in this thread i guess. If you dare to listen it, dont mind the beat - its just to have something, mostly im working on the scratching sound right now, will do a correct beat for it later.

Download / Listen Directly here - Enter verification code andpassword before: lfsforum

Mate that was awesome, can't wait to listen to the full one. Also the password lfsforum doesn't work for your last download link

Check this one out hazaky:
Spaow - Chicken Town

Of course 'Next Day' delivery means when next week delivery because when it snow in the UK people run and hide with their tails between their legs.

Quote from hazaky :

Bump!

Here's my latest soft jungle track im working on. In FLAC format.

Download

Sounds silly but whats the password mate to download it



Chase & Status feat Plan B - End Credits
Music video and trailer song from the recent British film Harry Brown which is a recommended watch too!

Unknown Error VS Korn - The Ye ... ng Undone (Aggro1 mashup)
One of the best 'mashups' I've heard.

Юлия Савичева-Ес ... любовь (DnB Remix)
Niceeee tune

Miss Redflower - Immobilizer
From the only solo female DnB artist I know tbh

I wanna learn to yoddle, this is my new years resolution. Yoddaaaallaaaaaeeeeoooo.

happy new yearrrsss!

Quote from Crashgate3 :

Overclockers are ridiculously overpriced.

Depends really, Overclockers tend to do a better range of hardware with good service. I do shop around when buying my hardware and they are overpriced in some things, and not in others. If your going to buy a computer from scratch they (for me anyway), tend to be the best place. Price a full tower and hardware up, because I could get some items what were better and cheaper than what most other ecommerce shops could offer without ordering from loads of different places, I actually found for the difference of a few quid you could get a better deal.

However I do go to Scan mainly, but thats because I live in Burnley and we can drive to Scan (Bolton) and pick the things up, but for other things I chose ocUK.

I don't like Ebuyer, had a bad experience with an RMA in the past so I'll only order off them if they are very competitive in pricing.

PS
I've just compared some prices of new things to Scan, and Ebuyer...such as the Intel i5 750 and found OCuk to be competitive. Its not the cheapest but not ridiculously expensive.

Either Scan.co.uk or Overclockers.co.uk

Both I've had amazing service with in the past.