Kingston HyperX Cloud w/ ALC1150's

Hello, I'm a complete noob when it comes to audio but I've been researching some of it because I play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competitively. Having good sound and especially hearing where footsteps are coming from is extremely important. Currently I have:

- ALC1150 onboard sound from the motherboard
- A cheap *** Fatal1ty gaming headset

To be frank, the sound is bad. I've had instances where I could swear I heard someone in front of me, to only find out two seconds later he was actually behind me! This hurts my gameplay a lot and I want to upgrade. I've been looking into the Kingston HyperX Cloud gaming headset (the one they made with QPAD) as per the advice of some friends.

I've looked at some reviews including this one: (())

Skip to 5:20 as that is where he starts to talk about the sound quality. He says it didn't sound very good on an ipod, a laptop and on older motherboards, but the sound was awesome on a newer motherboard that had a 'dedicated headphone amplifier' on it. I think it has to do with the power (60 Ohm) because he says the bass sounded a lot tighter and less muddy when he plugged it into 'something that was able to power it'

As I do not know anything about this stuff and I want my upgrade to mean something, does the ALC1150 suffice in this area? Do I need a soundcard? Do I maybe even need a different headset?

I don't really want to spend more than a 100$ but I COULD spend a little more if there is no other option.

Thanks in advance!

Baris

Have you seen these reviews?
http://www.overclockers.com/premium-gaming-headset-showdown/
http://www.overclockers.com/logitec...ess-7-1-surround-sound-gaming-headset-review/

For $100, maybe this?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-list...1-1&keywords=sennheiser+pc+350&condition=used
Warehousedeals with minor imperfection and missing manual for $112 is a steal for this headset.

While the Kingston would be a decent headset, this Sennheiser would blow it out of the water.

No, I haven't. Thanks, I'll look at them.

One thing I maybe should've mentioned, it is not necessary to have 5.1 or 7.1 headsets because CS:GO does not support it, I read that it just has right and left and then a filter to destinquish between where footsteps are. It is always mentioned that the 5.1 and 7.1 settings in the CS:GO options are useless and everyone uses 2.1 or headphones anyway.

Just because one game doesn't use it doesn't mean you should toss out all those options though.

It is literally the only game I care about though.

Anyway, does the ALC1150 have a dedicated amplifier?

The ALC1150 is simply an audio codec. Amplification is done on a per-board basis.

From the product page of your motherboard:

Built-in Rear Audio Amplifier
Specially designed for gamers, GIGABYTE 9 series Ultra Durable™ motherboards utilize a high-capacity amplifier which is able to drive 600Ω loads, giving gamers a fuller range of dynamic sound with crisper details and less distortion when using high quality professional headphones.

Click to expand...

Okay thanks!

You won't go wrong with the HyperX Cloud or Cloud Core choice if you go with either, they are headphone clones of the famed Takstar Pro80 with a detachable microphone.

That said, the used Sennies posted above can be a good option as well, keeping in mind though new HyperX Cloud Core can be had new for $70 directly from Gamestop, which represents great value. Far better choice than anything Logitech, SteelSeries, Astro, or whatever other brand can offer.