General computer talk/advice

Then maybe you should look for a microphone instead of a microfone.

Seriously though, for $70 you can get a snowball and that will work fine.

 

Really?
The last time I looked they went for 300€.

 

$43 on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Micropho...pebp=1434385945191&perid=77E0FB32DB0645D99C58

 

They really went down in price.
Also, remember the name of the Røde mic now, NT-A1

 

False alarm on HDD failure in my PC. Some reason my motherboard reset itself. Lost a fairly critical setting that allowed my HDD to be bootable in the first place.

 

It really depends on what you want to do and how you want to do it. Studio microphones tend to use the xlr connector which will require a proper audio interface. You would also need to consider condenser vs dynamic in that case since condenser would require that the audio interface supported +48v phantom power.
If you are choosing a USB microphone then you have a much smaller choice of microphones. They also dont tend to be great value for money since they are aimed more at the crowd of people who either dont want a proper set up or dont know any better. Getting a proper setup would be modular meaning if the microphone broke you would only have to replace the microphone, not the whole thing, same goes for upgrades.

If you are choosing a microphone for vocals then both a dynamic or condenser microphone will be fine, although condenser would be preferable since they tend to have more dynamic range and are more sensitive. There are also ribbon microphones, they will also be fine but tend to be pretty rare, they are also less robust. If you plan to use the microphone to record any loud instruments such as brass or drums then you may be better of getting a dynamic microphone since they are more robust. A condenser microphone would also work but you might have to distance it or enable a -10db pad if the microphone has one. A ribbon microphone would flatout break.
You should also consider the polar pattern of the microphone. For game vocals a cardioid polar pattern would be ideal, omni directional would be bad since it would pickup everything. There are also other variations but those are the main two, you can just use google images to see what these pickup patterns look like in practice.

If you want the most versatile microphone that is pretty much an industry standard at this point you cant go wrong with an sm57, it can be used for anything. But it is not really ideal for vocals. In the world of condenser microphones i have got some decent recordings on an akg perception 220 but that is discontinued. I have got some very good recordings on a stereo pair of SE 1A microphones, a single one of them would do a decent job of vocals and basically anything you throw at it including drum overheads and concerts.
If you are going purely for vocals a large diaphram condenser microphone is probably your best bet.

As for audio interfaces there are loads of good ones. An M-Audio M-Track would handle 2 of any microphone on the market as well as providing a good quality audio output since it will also act as your soundcard (if you want that). There is also cheaper stuff like the U-Phoria UM2 which would be fine for your needs for a much lower cost which will also work as an audio output and work with any microphone.

Rhode is a respectable brand so that will probably be pretty decent.

Experience: A-level music technology

I think i may have just done a 6677

 

Yeah, I looked at the Røde NT-1A, since I knew that Røde makes good mics, I also had a look at the Pronomic M502, since that has 48V, wich is what I would need.
I also had a look at the Auna mic 900B, wich is a USB mic that wouldn't require all of the stuff wich I actually don't have enough space for, now that I think about it.

 

That pronomic is a mixer, not an audio interface. All it would do is take two analoge signals and mix them together. What you would need is something that takes an anologe signal and makes it digital and send it over usb to your pc.

 

Then I just read something wrong.
Will look for some of those.
Any advice on good ones that would keep the whole thing under 300€ (340$)?

 

And I may have to sue you.

 

I would not suggest spending that much money on a high end audio capture setup as a punt. I would go for a more low end setup since there is little need to spend that much unless you are recording proffesionally.

I guess one of the best deals that you could probably hope for are the bundle packs.
For example there is the focusrite Scarlett Studio. You get headphones, microphone, audio interface and all the cables in one box. They also give you some basic free music production software (cubase le) and a bass station software synth which i can say from personal experience is actually pretty ok. You will also get a free set of audio samples from loop masters which includes drum loops and riffs etc, this means you could make your own intro for your youtube channel as well. The audio interface is actually a fairly good one as well with two inputs and outputs. Focusrite is very well known for making some of the best audio interfaces, they dont make headphones or microphones but apparently the ones they include in this bundle are actually pretty ok.

Also this setup is all in one box so you basically cant go wrong.

 

I'll go for that when I have the money.
I don't really need the headphones though.
Is there a way to get them without the headphones or is it either the whole deal or nothing?

 

Whole deal or nothing. But when mastering audio it is always best to listen to it through as many audio outputs as possible since you are nearly always best of getting something sounding decent on everything rather than amazing on your own personal setup. Plus those headphones will also be fairly decent, nothing amazing but decent none the less.

M-Audio also do a similar bundle the "M-Audio vocal studio" bundle. Its basically the same thing but with different components. I have actually used the M-Audio bundle and the audio interface is solid and the headphones are firm but comfy and have a boosted bass kind of signiture. Personally i would probably go for the focusrite bundle though since M-Audio sell mostly re-badged oem stuff. Plus the focusrite stuff looks cooler and allows you to place stuff on top of the audio interface which will help if you are tight on room.

- - - Updated - - -

This video is probably suitible for you
This is the audio interface you get with it

 

I have been summoned

Those parts aren't overpriced, the prices are in AUD so more expensive than US prices.
Also, games can handle any RAM speed, although not all motherboards support clocks higher than 2133 MHz (Highest in DDR3 spec) DDR3 RAM goes up to 3400 MHz. RAM speed makes nearly no difference in games though, you'll see a 1-2fps boost from 1600 to 3400 MHz at best.

Absolutely. It's one hell of a graphics card.

They do get slightly worse performance than other cards, but my 970 can still nearly max out the game @1080p 60fps.

 

also the maximum capability of my CPU allegedly.

 

Most motherboards support up to 2133 since it's the maximum DDR3 spec. Some older boards might support only 1866 or 1600, with the first DDR3 boards supporting only up to 1333.
Some of the very first boards with DDR3 support (actually DDR2/DDR3 hybrids) were 1066 only, as that was the original DDR3 clock speed (as well as the top DDR2 spec). I have no idea if you could actually run DDR2 and DDR3 together, never had one of those boards so I never got a chance to try.

DDR4 base speed is 2133, same as top DDR3 spec. Current top DDR4 speed is (I think) 2800, although it should be higher in some time (as with DDR3 there are higher frequencies, but they are considered OC and not supported by all boards).

 

Do you have career plans that include this knowledge bank? Good on ya m8 (that is the most American compliment I can give you)

 

Probably. Either something with PCs, or programming. Building high-end PCs would be one hell of a job.
I'm from the UK, not American btw.

 

I know this, but I am American, thus the instant I start talking slang I'ma chump.

 

i'm still not sure i believe that, no offense