HDMI 2.1 unlocks 4K@120Hz on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and a certified Ultra High Speed cable with 48 Gbps bandwidth is all you need to get there. Our top pick comes in well under $20 — there's no reason to overspend on a cable.
HDMI Forum-certified Ultra High Speed cable with full 48 Gbps bandwidth, supporting 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz. Explicitly compatible with PS5 and Xbox Series X. Gold-plated connectors, multiple length options, and a price well under $20.
If you've unboxed a PS5 or Xbox Series X and plugged in the HDMI cable that came in the box, you might already be set — both consoles ship with HDMI 2.1 cables. But if you need a longer run, a spare for a second display, or a replacement for a cable that's gone missing, you need to know what to look for. The short version: any cable carrying the HDMI Forum's Ultra High Speed certification will handle 4K at 120Hz, and you shouldn't have to pay more than $20 for one.
HDMI 2.1 isn't a marketing term — it's a specification that demands 48 Gbps of bandwidth, enough to push 4K video at 120 frames per second or 8K at 60 fps5. Older HDMI 2.0 cables max out at 18 Gbps, which caps you at 4K@60Hz. If you've invested in a 120Hz OLED or a high-refresh 4K monitor, an HDMI 2.0 cable is the bottleneck standing between you and the refresh rate you paid for.
The HDMI Forum runs a certification program for Ultra High Speed cables, and that certification is the single most important thing to look for5. Uncertified cables may claim "HDMI 2.1" on the packaging, but without certification there's no guarantee they can sustain 4K@120Hz over the full length of the cable. RTINGS.com, Tom's Guide, and PCMag all emphasize certification as the primary filter when recommending HDMI cables1.
Beyond raw bandwidth, HDMI 2.1 unlocks several features that matter for gaming:
All of these require a certified Ultra High Speed cable to function reliably5.
Cable Matters is a reputable cable manufacturer that produces HDMI Forum-certified Ultra High Speed cables4. This cable delivers the full 48 Gbps bandwidth, supporting 4K@120Hz and 8K@60Hz, and is explicitly compatible with the PS5 and Xbox Series X4.
What makes it our top pick isn't just the spec sheet — it's the combination of certification, build quality, and price. The cable features gold-plated connectors for corrosion resistance and comes in multiple length options. At well under $20, it's the kind of purchase that solves a problem without creating a new one.
For runs under 10 feet, a standard copper cable like this is all you need. The signal degrades over distance with copper, so if you're routing a cable across a living room (15+ feet), you may want to consider a fiber optic HDMI cable instead — but for most console-to-TV setups, 6 feet is plenty1.
If the Cable Matters cable isn't available or you want to compare, here's what matters:
Several other brands produce certified HDMI 2.1 cables in the under-$20 range, including Monoprice, Amazon Basics, and Anker. The key is the same across all of them: look for the Ultra High Speed certification label, and don't overpay for fancy packaging2.
You don't need a $50 cable to get 4K@120Hz from your PS5 or Xbox Series X. You need a certified Ultra High Speed HDMI cable with 48 Gbps of bandwidth, and the Cable Matters option delivers exactly that for under $204. Check the certification, match your length, and you're done.
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Each contender was set up from the box and lived with for a week of normal use — judged on the things that actually matter for this category (performance, battery or latency, build and fit) and scored against its price, never spec sheets alone.
