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This seems to have done the trick, I guess I had some weird shit going on. Thanks!

I've had this graphical problem for a few weeks, it's really starting to get annoying especially on certain jump maps. Water appears black and I can't see through it. I tried messing with a few variables in my maxframes that dealt with water, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Anyone have any suggestions?

So in order for my mic to pick up my voice, I need to turn it all the way up AND boost it as well. When I talk through mumble, it sounds pretty good. My voice is clear, and there is no background noise. However, when I try streaming with OBS, the background noise that comes with the mic boost is incredibly loud. Why is there such a difference? Is there any way to eliminate this background noise within OBS, maybe through the use of an external program or plugin or something?

Sorry, forgot to mention I already have fine headphones. Sennheiser HD558's. Just need a mic to complement them.

#8 No, built-in audio, which is probably the reason. But I'd rather get a desktop mic than just upgrade the sound card, since I'm not really a huge fan of the clip-on mic much anymore.

I've had a Zalman clip-on mic for ages, and I think it's really time for something new. I don't know if it's my type of voice or my hardware, but the voice quality I get with it is absolutely atrocious. Never knowing whether or not your teammates understand you in mumble is incredibly frustrating.

Thoughts? I'd rather have a desktop usb mic, not a clip-on mic like the modmic (especially since I don't want to deal with the apparent wait times of the modmic). I've heard good things about the Blue Snowball, but I'm not sure about spending $60 on it.

I also have a very loud keyboard (IBM Model M), so anything that can deal with that and still provide excellent voice quality would be perfect.

Just build a pc with dual monitors, and I guess I'm not quite used to it. I have a pretty high sensitivity and I flick a lot, so I've been clicking out of the tf2 window and onto my second monitor (I play tf2 in windowed). Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Would playing in full screen fix it?

From what I remember when I used tf2mate, the crosshair switcher script was outdated and seemed to be missing certain configs. I'd highly recommend downloading the actual broesel crosshair switcher here:
http://code.google.com/p/broesels-crosshair-switcher/

As for your spy script, here's mine modified. It removes viewmodels when you shoot your gun (and also automatically when you take the gun out), then puts them back if you cloak or switch weapons:

echo "spy settings loaded"

exec clear

exec crosshairswitcher/switcher; spy

bind "mouse1" "+spyshoot"
bind "mouse2" "+spywatch"

alias +spyshoot "+attack;r_drawviewmodel 0;spec_next"
alias -spyshoot "-attack"
alias +spywatch "+attack2;r_drawviewmodel 1;spec_prev"
alias -spywatch "-attack2"

^In spy.cfg

//SPY
alias spy_primary         "medium; pink; dot; r_drawviewmodel 0; bind "mouse1" "+spyshoot""
alias spy_secondary       "medium; pink; dot; r_drawviewmodel 1; bind "mouse1" "+attack""
alias spy_melee           "medium; pink; dot; r_drawviewmodel 1; bind "mouse1" "+attack""

^In crosshairswitcher/settings.cfg

Again, this script is only applicable to Broesel's crosshair switcher, since it uses aliases created in configs elsewhere.

Top 5 (in best -> least order):
District 9
Pan's Labyrinth
Children of Men
Sin City
No Country for Old Men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz4ib8d59sg
Completely worth the 15 minute watch. Absolutely hilarious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dl5w7w7g2s

Well really the only reason I don't play more games than TF2 is because it doesn't really seem like I can with my current computer. Once I build one that can handle it I do plan on branching out and playing games that have been in my steam inventory forever, I don't think they'd be super intensive though.

Oblivionage, with your build, would a second monitor be possible?

Also, how much fps could I expect with something like this or Kirito's build? If there's a potential for drops, what could I upgrade to improve that?

I'll definitely take a look, thanks. I'm not sure about what I could actually use though, since I seem to remember hearing that certain hardware won't work with certain CPUs, or something of that nature.

Why do you say that? Is it price, or would the video card not be able to handle it? What if the second monitor was fairly cheap?

And I appreciate the parts list, I'll definitely look into that.

So I've finally decided to do a significant upgrade to my current setup, which can run tf2 at about ~20 fps during a firefight. I've done a little research, but not enough to know what hardware to get over others, or how to mix and match properly.

Some things I'm looking for specifically:
-Dual monitor setup. This is definitely the most important thing I want for my build, considering I'll be using it for a lot of engineering programs as well.
-High refresh monitor, if it fits the budget. I've heard a little and it seems like the Asus 144hz monitor is pretty good, and apparently cheaper than the BenQ 120hz ones. Any downside to that/is it a good choice?
-Pretty much enough computer power to actually utilize the refresh rate increase. I really want to experience playing a game where I can actually have constant high fps all the time.
-8gb or more of RAM. Every computer I've used has always only had 2gb, and it's getting pretty frustrating to have programs constantly freezing and crashing.
-Hard drive with 1tb space. Not really interested in an SSD at this point.
-Case really isn't a priority at all, I just want the cheapest I can get that suffices and fits all the parts.
-Already have a good keyboard, mouse, and headphones.

The million-dollar question - is such a build possible for my budget? I'd like to keep it at around $1000, though I could go over just a teeny bit. Any help is appreciated, from individual part suggestions to vendors.

Again, I'm not an expert with hardware, just have a cursory knowledge from surfing around and seeing the benefits of building a pc yourself.

Dexter
Arrested Development