Best PC gaming headset for 2021 – CNET [CNET]

You’re likely gaming more than ever these days, so it may be time to think about upgrading your audio. After all, you probably can’t find a graphics card to spend your money on right now and you’re already spending more time on video calls, so treating yourself to a new PC gaming headset is a way to satisfy your work brain and your play brain without blowing a ton of money. 

It’s also a great way to improve your stats by blocking out background noise and giving you the means to better communicate with your gamer friends. But there are a lot of PC gaming headset options to choose from. To help narrow down the options, here are our recommendations.

Read more: The best Xbox gaming headset for 2021

Keep in mind that analog headsets with 3.5mm jacks can work on almost any device — Xbox Series X or S, PS5, Nintendo Switch and so on — in addition to Windows PCs. But you may not get the full set of features on other devices, such as surround sound, mic monitoring/sidetone and other usually software-driven capabilities. I’ve used all of these with both the PC and Xbox.

Also, if you’re a gamer looking to update other aspects of your gaming rig, be sure to check out our picks for best gaming keyboards, gaming mice, gaming laptops and other gaming essentials, like a gaming router or a fast VPN.

Read more: The best VR games for escaping to other worlds