For PC gamers, the gear we use to play can provide a tangible edge in our games. Although much noise is made about backlit keyboards boasting gamer oriented layouts and fancy mice with odd shapes, the most important considerations for gaming are still the guts of the gaming machine, a comfortable desk layout, a good monitor and a quality sound reproduction device. While most gamers understand the need for a capable system and a quality monitor, they don't often appreciate that last bit about sound.

Any old speaker will provide the most basic audio cues, but you'll need something better if you want a real competitive edge. To that end, we're going to give you some tips on what to look for in a gaming headphone or headset, then show you several examples of what's available in a mini-review round-up. We didn't just grab the nearest gaming headsets in reach either. Our round-up includes gaming headsets using a variety of signal input and sound output methods to get you started on your headphone/headset hunt. We also threw in some standard analog headphones for comparison and contrast...