Shiny New Headsets Make Computer Cry

friznit · Post by **friznit** » January 30th, 2007, 15:24

Having got sick of crap 10 quid headphones and being complained at on TS/Vent for deafening people, I splashed out (rather too much - may have been drunk) on some very shiny looking Razor Barracuda headphones. They plug into my existing soundcard via the normal 5.1 jack plugs (Front, Rear, Ctr/Sub, Mic) and have a USB plug presumably for power. They all work funkily until my machine spontaneously reboots itself, which is does randomly every 10 - 15 minutes. The only other things I have powered off the 4 mainboard USB slots are mouse, keyboard and USB memory stick. No drivers installed for any of it.

Heat? Power? General randomness?

Why would a little extra draw from a USB port cause a reboot? I'll check which mobo it is when I get back.

Post by **FatherJack** » January 30th, 2007, 15:35

Power maybe, or driver conflict. Possibly loose connection where the USB ports solder on to the motherboard.

Mics of this size don't ordinarily need power, and while headphones can be powered, there's little need for it and they should be loud enough driven by the headphone jack.

Given this, it seems the USB connection is either (unnecesarily) for power, or some fancy random "I've detected you're headset aren't I clever"-type software that's perhaps present in some games rather than a driver. Also unnecessary most likely.

Run it without plugging the USB in and see, otherwise pick up a phone/gameboy/satnav charger that's basically a 13A plug with a powered USB socket on it and power it from there.

spoodie · Post by **spoodie** » January 30th, 2007, 15:36

Slightly off-topic: I'd like to know how well those surround sound headphones work. I can't have 5.1 speakers so a decent headphone solution would be great.

Post by **FatherJack** » January 30th, 2007, 15:39

spoodie wrote:Slightly off-topic: I'd like to know how well those surround sound headphones work. I can't have 5.1 speakers so a decent headphone solution would be great.

You have to keep you head completely still or you'd ruin the effect. No good if you use a head dobber.

Post by **Dog Pants** » January 30th, 2007, 15:40

I've got a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones and I can't honestly tell any difference. They feel quite nice, if a little heavy, though and I've never had any complaints about the mic quality. It's possible I've not plugged all the right cables into the right holes though...

friznit · Post by **friznit** » January 30th, 2007, 17:05

I'm settling for extraordinarily crap soundcard jack plug autodetection fuck up aren't I clever but fuck with your settings personally. I really should buy a decent soundcard one of these days. Anyway, I'll try a different USB port and see if that works.