Lets talk about some of the best PlayStation 5 accessories you can buy right now.
Some of these you’ve probably seen before, like the controllers and docks, but there are a few here you might not have heard of.
So if you’re wanting to upgrade your PS5 setup or improve your whole ownership experience, hopefully today’s blog helps.
Plates
Right, let’s start with the plates. So the PS5 comes with these white covers on the side, but they are actually removable and replaceable. That means with very little effort you can slide them off and choose another colour instead, completely transforming the look.
Now since launch you have been able to buy third party plates from Amazon or dbrand, but last year Sony announced their own official covers. They were the Midnight Black and Cosmic Red, but we’ll see more later this year.
Removing the old plates is just a case of holding the top corner and sliding down and out at the same time. First up these are the Cosmic red plates. These really pop!
Then there are midnight black plates, which is my go to choice and what I’ve been using since they launched a few months ago.
If you don’t like the official colours, Dbrand also has their own design, where they’ve got these vents on the side and a more rounded shape.
Stickers
While we’re talking about customising it, here are 3 other small things you can add to the PS5 to change its look.
You might have noticed the centrepiece is normally glossy, which although it looks nice, it usually attracts dust and fingerprints pretty easily. The answer to that? Wrap it with a matte black vinyl from dbrand. There are cheaper versions on Amazon, but it basically just sticks over the top leaving holes for the buttons.
Next are some weird looking stickers. These are used to cover up the LEDs on the front of the PS5 to change its colour. By default the lights on the PS5 are blue when it boots up, then they turn white once it’s on. Now if you add these little stickers you can have the LEDs appear to be any colour you’d like. Blue, Red, Orange, or even black them out completely. I’ve opted for the blue LEDs.
Ok, so if you’re using the official Sony plates you’ll have a PlayStation logo cut out on the side. If you pop the cover off you can see there’s a small PS logo indent too. You can add a choice of stickers, which come in a selection of colours, you can stick them on this little cut out on the inside of the console.
Now when you put the plates back on you’ll get a pop of colour through the logo. It’s only a subtle change but it’s cheap.
SSD
Next up, storage. We know the internal storage on the PS5 isn’t great. With around 667GB of usable space it means it’ll fill up pretty quickly. Especially with the new PS Plus tiers we’re getting this year, there’s a good chance you might download even more games.
Now there’s two, no actually 3, solutions to this. One, just delete any games you’ve finished playing or redownload them. Two, plug an external drive in, which lets you store but not play PS5 games. Or three, install an M.2 drive in the internal slot.
If you’re opting for the external drive, I’d go for the Sandisk Extreme SSD. These come in sizes from 500GB to 4TB, and will let you store your PS5 games on it. You can’t play them off the drive though, you’d need to transfer them back to the PS5’s internal storage when you do want to play them.
The easiest option, but a little more expensive, is utilising the internal SSD bay which Sony unlocked last year. This will let you fit any compatible M.2 drive, just by removing the side cover, removing the metal plate and inserting it. It takes a few minutes to install and instantly adds up to 4TB of storage. It will also let you store and play your PS5 games straight from it, so there’s no need for an external drive too.
If you’re going down the internal SSD route, I’d recommend either the SN850 from Western Digital or the MP600 Pro LPX from Corsair. Those are the two I’ve used and have been great so far.
Controllers
I’m not sure about you, but you can never have too many controllers. Adding extra controllers to your setup is one of the easiest and most convenient things to do. Whether you’re gaming for hours every day, you play local co-op games or you just forget to charge it, having at least one extra controller will be useful.
So we’ve got the white controller, pretty standard, but there’s now a huge selection of controllers to choose from. We’ve got the official colours including Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Galactic Purple, Nova Pink and Starlight Blue. Then if you want to create something totally unique there’s places like ColorWare.
Then there’s the new SCUF controllers. Now I’ve been trying for months to get one, like since they announced it last year. Hopefully I’ll get my hands on one soon, but I keep missing the drops. I’ve got and used the Xbox Series X one, so I can recommend that, but I haven’t used the PS5 version so can’t recommend it yet.
Now if you ever want to take your PS5 controller with you, or just keep it safe, you can buy hard shell carry cases. This fits the DualSense controller and looks pretty neat. It’s similar to the case the Xbox Elite controller comes with.
Docks
Following on from the controllers, you’ll always want to charge them. The PS5 does come with one USB C charging cable, but any extra controller you buy doesn’t. I’m using the official PS5 charging dock, which means I’ve always got two controllers ready to go.
This is painted black, but the official one comes in white.
Next are these wooden controller stands from GeekMadeDesigns. I have three of these now, where they are always displaying controllers in my room. They have a few different designs and styles. They fit the DualSense perfectly and look awesome. Solid wood, rubber feet and really well made. If you want to display your controllers in your setup I’d definitely recommend picking one of these up.
Another idea if you don’t want to buy a dock or holder, is to use these clips instead. So a little mount clips onto the side of the PS5 and lets you hang your controller. This is perfect if you’re limited on space and you don’t want to have the controller on your desk. There are a few places that sell them including Amazon and Glistco.
Headsets
If you’re playing any FPS games or online multiplayer you’re going to want to use a headset.
The obvious choice is to go for the Sony Pulse 3Ds, these come in black or white, and they match the PS5’s design and theme. I have them, I’ve used them and they are definitely worth the price.
But if you can spend a little more I’d recommend the SteelSeries Arctis 7P or 7P+. They are a far better headset, longer battery life, comfier and I think look nicer. The only downside of the 7P over the 7P+ is the lack of USB-C port, so go for the 7P+.
I still have my eyes on the Astro A50s, as I sold the last pair before I got the PS5, but the HDMI splitter and lack of HDMI 2.1 support is still putting me off. I can’t use an optical out on my monitor so I can’t use it, but if you can, definitely go for the A50s.
So you’ve got your headset, now you need somewhere to store them.
I hang mine either on my shelf over here, or on one of these headset stands. I’ve got two now, a Grovemade one which sits on my desk. This is solid and will fit pretty much any headset. The link below gets you 10% off with code SPAWNPOIINT
Or if you wanted something with PlayStation branding or icons on it, there’s this GeekMadeDesigns one. This is also made from wood but with a metal bracket in the middle.
And another idea for storing or mounting your headset, just like with the controllers, you can use little clips. These attach to the side of the PS5 which keeps them off your desk and it’s a cheap but clean alternative.
Misc
Here’s a little bonus accessory I wanted to show you, these wooden PlayStation icons. If you want something totally unique and different to what you can buy in the shops, I’d recommend picking these up. I have two sets now, one under my TV and one on my desk setup. I don’t get any commission for shouting them out, but GeekMadeDesigns are a family run business who make awesome wooden accessories.