If you’re a gamer who’s into Xbox, PlayStation, or both, and are even planning to get your hands on the new PS5 or Xbox Series X, chances are you want to get the best experience possible. This requires loading up on some great PS5 accessories, including the best HDMI 2.1 compatible cables you can find to support higher resolution, more bandwidth (up to 48Gbps), faster refresh rates, and even dynamic HDR.
Best for flexibility
ANNNWZZD 8K HDMI 2.1 Cable – 10-Foot
Staff pick
This 10-foot cable (other sizes available) has been bend-tested up to 10,000 times without seeing any reduction in flexibility. It’s finished in bright red, making it easy to see behind the TV, and has a high-purity copper conductor and triple-shielded layer with nylon braided jacket for extra durability.
$15 at Amazon
Brand name clout
Monster Ultra High-Speed 8K HDMI Cable – 4-Foot
Monster was known for manufacturing audio/video cables long before the company made headphones, speakers, and other devices. These cables come at a premium but you get the brand name prestige, along with features like Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) for supporting most audio formats and uncompressed, lossless multichannel audio for the most immersive gaming experiences.
$35 at Amazon
Lifetime replacement
BIFALE HDMI 2.1 Cable – 6-foot
This cable comes with a lifetime replacement warranty and includes all of the features you’d expect to support enhanced gaming, including eARC, variable refresh rate (VRR), quick frame transport, and more. Plus, it’s the most affordable cable on the list.
$13 at Amazon
Connect two consoles
Basesailor HDMI Cable – 10-Foot (2-Pack)
Get two 10-foot cables in this package (other sizes available from 3.3-16.5 feet) so you can connect multiple gaming consoles and other devices to different HDMI inputs on your TV instead of having to swap back and forth when you go from PS5 to Nintendo Switch. They include gold-plated connectors, three-layer copper shielding to minimize signal interference, and a nylon-braided jacket.
$29 at Amazon
Extra-long
ALLEASA HDMI 2.1 Cable – 16-Foot
While many of the cables on this list come in other sizes as well, this is one of the few that you can get in a super long 16-foot length for connecting in hard-to-get places or running the cable against the wall to a console far from the TV. The sheath is made from ultra-durable PVC and nylon braid with a life of 15,000 bends.
$28 at Amazon
Dynamic details
Monoprice Ultra 8K Dynamic View Series HDMI 2.1 Cable – 6-Foot
Get better contrast, brightness, and detail in every frame using this cable that features DynamicView, which supports Dynamic HDR. It also supports eARC for enhanced audio.
$14 at Amazon
$14 at Walmart
Why HDMI 2.1?
You probably upgraded to a 4K TV from HD before 4K movies, video games, and TV series were released, or you even had a 4K source in the home, like a 4K set-top box or top-tier streaming service subscription. In the same way, you might also buy an 8K TV even if there isn’t any 8K content available yet. It’s never a bad idea to future-proof your investments if you can afford it.
The best HDMI 2.1 cables offer support for higher resolutions up to 10K and bandwidth up to 48Gbps, along with faster refresh rates. All of these features are critical for gaming, especially when playing intense, fast-action or first-person-shooter (FPS) games where every millisecond counts. You can’t have any lag, inaccurate colors on screen, or missing details. Making sure every component in the set-up is top-notch can make the difference between a big win and an embarrassing loss.
While most of these cables come in various lengths, for most, a standard 10-foot cable length will do. You’ll find this with the ANNNWZZD 8K HDMI 2.1 Cable, which is super-strong, flexible for fitting it in tough-to-reach spots with little room, and comes in a cool color that makes it easy to spot among a sea of other cables.
If, for whatever reason, you need to situate the gaming console farther away from the TV or receiver and thus need to run a really long cable along the side of the wall, consider an option like the 16-foot ALLEASA HDMI 2.1 Cable, which leaves plenty of room to roam.
Finally, if you have more than one console and want to easily flip back and forth between playing Spider-Man: Miles Morales on the PS5 and Call of Duty on the Xbox, grab the Basesailor HDMI 2.1 Cable two-pack, which includes two 10-foot cables for plugging in more than one device.
