EDIT: SOLVED! I'm just going to use a "Plug-and-Play" microphone (the Samson Go Mic in my case). No need for extra hardware, easy to use, good quality, only $30!
I know this exact question was already posted here but that post doesn't really answer my questions very well. So, I'm trying to find a cheap microphone to connect to a PC, just for voice recording. Nothing fancy, just a cheap mic that sounds better than the microphone on a camera.
I looked up a nice microphone with good (video) reviews (Neewer NW-800), and found out that there's something called a "Phantom Power Supply" that's bundled with the microphone (which you can also optionally leave out). I did some research and I guess the microphone requires the Phantom Power Supply in order to function well (as in boost the noise).
However, in my further searches for a phantom power supply and what it does and such, I discovered that there are lots of things that are connected to the microphone and hooking it up to a PC, Audio Interfaces and USB Sound Cards and cables and such. It's just so confusing and mind-jumbling.
As far as I can see, getting anything worth buying will drive up the budget (EXCLUDING the microphone price!) to over $100 or even $200. My question is: Is that really necessary when I'm just trying to record my voice for tutorials and such? Do I really need a $160 audio interface? I'm trying to make the entire budget for the microphone under $60, and the existence of an "Audio Interface" just kills it.
Do I even need an Audio Interface? Can I just buy the Phantom Power bundled with the microphone, and use that with my PC without problems? But most importantly: Can someone please recommend an Audio Interface (if needed) that's low-price and doesn't, you know, totally suck to the point that it's worse than a camera's built-in microphone? (For reference, this is the Phantom Power:)
EDIT: Oh boy. I just found out that microphones (this one, at least) won't work very well without a "preamplifier" (preamp). Do I need that one as well??
The world of Audio Recording is such a confusing, high-budget place; I'd like to just buy a microphone and plug it in to the PC, but obviously that doesn't really work.. If this doesn't work out and I have to spend hundreds of dollars in order to buy a microphone/power supply/interface that actually works well, I guess I'll just have to stick to using the camera microphone and removing the noise with Audacity.
Thanks for reading, I hope this will work out well!