Overall and FV
Although in a way it feels like Creative is “returning” to the market with the SB Inferno, in reality the Fatal1ty Gaming Headset never left the market. They just have more competition these days with everyone and their mom making gaming headsets for people on a budget. Logitech and Steel Series’ idea of a budget gaming headset is a little different than Creative though (Steel Series is nearly double). The SB Inferno comes in cheaper than both of their entry level headsets.
As for the headset, the updated styling really helps bring it up to the 2010’s while still keeping enough of the original to be able to tell what it is. Considering the exterior design is still very similar to the original I expect the SB Inferno to be able to take a beating, but only time will tell on that one for sure. I do have my worries about the material they used on the padding, if anything is going to wear out it will be that.
What about its performance? Well comfort wise it stands up to the competition when it comes to on ear headsets. Over ear designs will still be a little more comfortable in my book, but they take up valuable space when packing for LANs. The only other thing you should keep in mind if you are looking at the SB Inferno, the design looks like a closed earcup design but in my testing it performed like an open earcup design. What that means is everyone in the office could hear everything I was listing to, but I could also hear everything in the office. You can carry on a conversation with the headset on, but if you plan on turning up your music or having a private conversation, you will have problems. All in all, the SB Inferno is far from perfect, but at this price point it does what you need it to do. If you are like Phantoml0rd and throw your headset when raging in game or if you are on a tight budget the SB Inferno gets you good gaming performance from a brand you and most likely your parents have known forever.