Hello!

Wow, that’s impressive that the Alpha is cheaper in your country! Here, they often go for the same price, or the Alpha is a few dollars more.

I looked up your motherboard and it seems very nice.

It clearly has a better audio solution than my motherboard does. I think you’d be just fine using your onboard sound…unless you’ve used it before and totally hated it. With Razer Surround, Windows Sonic, and Dolby Atmos…you don’t even necessarily need a sound card if you want to play around with virtual surround sound either.

I like the G430 and the Arctis 5. The 430 was the first halfway decent gaming headset I ever owned. The sound of the Alpha sits somewhere between those two as far as signature goes, and quality wise I’d say it’s better than both but not by a huge leap. The 430 is a bit boomier and muddier, and the Arctis has slightly more treble emphasis but not as much sub-bass extension.

The Alpha is the one that’ll please “audiophiles” the most, with a very natural, neutral, clean sound that’s hard to beat at that price.

I think it sounds a tiny bit better than the Arctis…though not necessarily enough to warrant jumping ship if you still own the Steelseries headphones. The Arctis is a bit more comfy and has a much better mic.

Also, if you still have the external card from the 430, you should be able to plug the Alpha into it if you want to, but again your motherboard looks great!

Thanks for reading and for the question.