You need it as soon as you ask for 4K at 120Hz. Both consoles can output it, but the mode only appears if the cable carries the full 48Gbps. Anker's 1.8m HDMI 2.1 cable is R299 and is rated for it.
Whether a 48Gbps HDMI cable is necessary for a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X depends entirely on what you actually plan to do with the console, since both machines are perfectly happy running on an older cable if you never ask them for their fastest mode.
You need it as soon as you ask for 4K at 120Hz. Both consoles can output that mode, but it only appears if the cable carries the full 48Gbps. Anker's 1.8m HDMI 2.1 cable is R299 and is rated for it.
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X both include HDMI 2.1 output hardware, capable of 4K at 120Hz as well as an adaptive refresh feature and an automatic low-lag game setting, none of which existed on the previous console generation at all. None of that capability reaches the screen without a cable from the comprehensive cable range that can actually carry it, which is the entire reason this question comes up in the first place: the hardware inside the box has moved ahead of whatever cable might already be plugged into the television.
If your television is fixed at 4K 60Hz, or you have no plan to play anything at a higher frame rate than that, an existing HDMI 2.0 cable continues to work exactly as it always has. The console does not force the higher mode on you; it simply offers it as an option when the rest of the chain supports it, and quietly runs at 60Hz otherwise without any error or warning.
The moment a properly rated cable connects the console to a display that also accepts 120Hz, the option appears in the console's own video settings without any further setup required on the cable side. Our gaming monitor range is worth checking if the display side of that equation is still an open question, since not every panel marketed as 4K also supports the higher refresh rate. For a desk setup where the cable stays visible, a sleeved lead carries the identical 48Gbps rating with a tidier look.
Check your specific console's included accessories, as bundled cables have varied. Confirming the cable's own rating rather than assuming it matches the console's own capability is worth doing either way.
No. It simply runs at whatever mode the cable and display both support, without any penalty to performance beyond not offering the higher refresh rate option.
No. Individual games have to include a 120Hz mode of their own, and not every title does, so the console's own capability and a specific game's support are two separate things to check.
No. A single 48Gbps-rated HDMI cable works identically with either console, so one properly rated lead per television input is all that is needed regardless of which brand it feeds.
Ready to unlock what your console can actually do? Confirm your television supports 120Hz, then match the cable to the full 48Gbps figure.
Check your specific console's included accessories, as bundled cables have varied. Confirming the cable's own rating rather than assuming it matches the console's own capability is worth doing either way.
No. It simply runs at whatever mode the cable and display both support, without any penalty to performance beyond not offering the higher refresh rate option.
No. Individual games have to include a 120Hz mode of their own, and not every title does, so the console's own capability and a specific game's support are two separate things to check.
No. A single 48Gbps-rated HDMI cable works identically with either console, so one properly rated lead per television input is all that is needed regardless of which brand it feeds.
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