News

Jun 09, 2025

The best $22 I’ve ever spent on my gaming PC

When you think about cheap accessories or devices for your PC setup, you're probably thinking about headphone stands, cable management trays, wireless chargers, desk pads, or wristrests. The cheapest

When you think about cheap accessories or devices for your PC setup, you're probably thinking about headphone stands, cable management trays, wireless chargers, desk pads, or wristrests. The cheapest addition that I ever made to my desk setup, however, was a budget soundbar from Redragon that cost me only $22. I switched from PC speakers to a soundbar around a year ago, and never looked back.

This soundbar isn't breaking any bass or sound quality records at this price, but I managed to get rid of my speaker clutter and give my desk a new look without sacrificing audio quality — all for less than the price of a power bank.

Upgrade your desk setup without going too crazy, thanks to these affordable accessories

Before buying the Redragon GS560 soundbar, I used my old Creative speakers for 7 years. The 2.1-channel setup was great for my needs — casual gaming, watching videos, listening to music — but one of the speakers suddenly died one fine day. Even before that happened, the jumble of cables behind my desk due to the subwoofer and the individual speakers was an eyesore. Now, I'm extremely frugal when it comes to discretionary purchases, but I knew I had to finally replace my ancient speakers.

When I came across the inexpensive Redragon soundbar on Amazon, I was skeptical at first, but after watching a few YouTube videos covering the device, I decided to go for it. The best thing about the soundbar is that it's only about half the length of my monitor, and I need to route just a single cable from the soundbar to the PC (which later splits into audio out and USB for the RGB).

The compact footprint of the soundbar meant my desk was much less cluttered than before, and the mess of cables under my desk was slightly more manageable. You might be wondering about the sound quality, considering the compact size of the soundbar. That's what I'm coming to.

It may be time to move on from traditional speakers for your PC

Naturally, with a cheap and compact soundbar, audio quality can be a question mark. Now, many of you might be using hundreds of dollars' worth of audio equipment on your PC, but I didn't need all of that. My only requirement was a budget replacement for my speakers that didn't take too much space, and wasn't terrible for the price. For more immersive audio, I already had the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Razer Barracuda X. Needless to say, the Redragon soundbar fulfilled all my expectations.

The 2.0-channel configuration of the GS560 wasn't going to create any surround sound experience, but what it did successfully was output enough volume with decent clarity. Whether it was YouTube, Spotify, or a browser game, the soundbar never felt lacking. In a nutshell, the device did what I needed it to at the cheapest price possible. Remember, this thing costs less than $25 in my region — it's hard to have any major complaints in that range.

It also has a touch toggle for the RGB dial and light bar, and it doesn't turn off automatically. For now, I'm satisfied enough that I don't think I'll switch to something else for another year, at least. And even after that, I might upgrade to a better soundbar, not an elaborate set of 2.1 or 5.1-channel speakers.

The Redragon GS560 soundbar is a pocket-friendly 2.0-channel soundbar for your PC, which comes with 4W of total power. It can deliver a solid audio experience in this price range, and features touch controls for the RGB lighting. The GS560 saves desk space and reduces cable clutter.

These audio upgrades can take your gaming PC experience from meh to marvelous

Eliminating cable clutter was one thing, but the soundbar also enhanced the esthetics of my PC setup. The white colorway fits in nicely with my setup, complementing my white desk and PC. The design of the soundbar is sleek and minimalist — no aggressive lines or "gamer" elements. I keep the RGB turned off most of the time, and I wish the volume dial light could also be turned off, but that's a minor gripe.

Considering my keyboard, mouse, and headset are wireless, I would love to eliminate even the one cable on the soundbar, but for now, I can live with that. For now, I'm happy with how the soundbar fits nicely under my monitor and doesn't stand out much.

PC speakers offer an immersive headset-free experience. But is it time to switch to a soundbar for your PC?

Often, the most budget products can make the biggest difference to your PC setup. For instance, a cheap Wi-Fi card on a motherboard without Wi-Fi, a budget air cooler to replace an incapable stock cooler, aftermarket thermal paste, and an extra RAM stick can deliver returns disproportionate to their price. Something like that happened to me when I switched to an inexpensive soundbar — I got rid of my erstwhile cable clutter, enhanced my PC's esthetics, and didn't sacrifice the audio quality without spending more than $25.

We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.

Your comment has not been saved

This thread is open for discussion.

Be the first to post your thoughts.

With great power comes great responsibility

A step-by-step guide to get you started with the Android Debug Bridge tool.

Despite many having great things to say about Doom: The Dark Ages, it seems that Xbox Game Pass may have hurt its sales upon release.

How does this self-hosted alternative stack up?

The Steam Deck's sequel won't revolutionize the industry in the same way the original did.

What on earth is a character map, anyway?