Gaming Headsets

Hear the game, talk to your team

A gaming headset is a pair of over-ear headphones with a microphone on an arm in front of your mouth. It does three things a laptop's speakers cannot: it keeps the sound to you, it makes the direction of a sound easier to tell, and it lets you talk to the people you play with without the laptop's own microphone picking up the keyboard and fan. The headsets here are made to be worn for hours, with padded cups and an adjustable band, and many have a microphone that folds up, swivels away or comes off.

Wired with a 3.5mm plug

Many headsets here use the small round 3.5mm plug. Most laptops that still have a headphone socket have a single combined socket that carries the sound to your ears and the microphone back to the laptop, and a headset made for it has one plug with an extra ring on it, so the one plug does both jobs. These headsets also list consoles and phones, so one headset can serve several things. If your laptop has no headphone socket, add one with a USB sound card.

Wireless: the USB dongle and Bluetooth

Several headsets here are tri-mode: a small USB dongle, Bluetooth, or a cable. The dongle is the one to use for games. To the laptop it looks like a USB headset, so the sound stays good and the link is quick. Bluetooth is handy for a phone, but when an app opens the microphone, most Bluetooth headsets switch to a hands-free mode made for phone calls, and the sound in your ears becomes mono and noticeably duller. That is how older Bluetooth audio works, not a fault. The makers give the battery life on each product page.

Surround sound and the microphone

Some headsets here offer virtual 7.1 or spatial sound settings, which process the sound so footsteps and other cues seem to come from around you. Look for a microphone described as noise-cancelling if you play in a noisy room, and one that mutes or swings out of the way when you only want to listen.

Questions people ask about gaming headsets

Why does my wireless headset sound worse when I talk?

On Bluetooth, turning on the microphone switches most headsets to the hands-free mode. Use the USB dongle instead, or a wired connection.

How loud is too loud?

NHS hearing services advise no more than 60 per cent of a device's maximum volume for longer listening, with breaks.

Can I use a gaming headset for work calls?

Yes. For calls alone, a lighter headset from headsets with a microphone may suit better.

More to look at

• Headsets with a microphone
• USB sound cards
• USB microphones
• PC controllers
• Gaming mice
• For gamers
• Guide: Microphones and headsets for calls and recording
• Guide: Gaming on a laptop: the mice, keyboards, controllers and cooling that help