26/03/2026 4:10 pm
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So I finally managed to snag a Series X from the Best Buy down the street after saving up for what feels like forever. It looks great on my desk but it’s basically just the bare bones console and one controller right now. I’m trying to figure out what else I actually need to get the most out of it without blowing another $500 on day one. My budget for extras is around $150 maybe stretching to $200 if it’s really worth it.
I did a bit of searching online and everyone keeps talking about those expansion cards for more storage. I saw the Seagate one and the Western Digital one but man they are pricey. I have an old 2TB external hard drive from my PC and some people say you can use that but others say it wont actually play the new games and only stores them? It’s kind of confusing if it’s worth the headache of moving files back and forth or if I should just bite the bullet on the card now.
Then there’s the whole battery situation which is honestly annoying coming from a Playstation where you just plug it in. I saw the official play and charge kit but then I keep reading that those die pretty fast and I should just get Eneloop rechargeable batteries instead. Is that really better? Seems like a pain to keep swapping them out but I dont want to be buying packs of Duracells every week either.
I’ve got a decent Vizio soundbar but I’m thinking a headset might be necessary since I play a lot at night and the walls in my apartment are paper thin. I looked at the official Xbox wireless headset and it seems alright for the price but then people say the SteelSeries 7x is way better but it costs more.
Im mostly gonna be diving into Starfield and some Forza for the next few months so I want to make sure I’m set up right. What would you guys consider the absolute must-have accessories I should pick up this week?
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26/03/2026 4:55 pm
I unfortunately wasted cash on the Xbox Play & Charge Kit USB-C before it died. Grab these:
- IKEA LADDA 2450mAh AA Batteries
- HyperX CloudX Wired Gaming Headset They're solid. Worth it.
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26/03/2026 4:10 pm
Congrats on the Series X! I've had mine for about a year now and you definitely want to be careful with how you spend that first 200 bucks. I learned the hard way with my last console that overspending on storage you dont actually need yet can really bite you. Honestly, dont rush into those expansion cards. I eventually picked up the Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X/S 1TB NVMe and while its fast, its a massive chunk of your budget right now. I would suggest sticking with your old 2TB drive for a bit. I use an old drive for my non-optimized games and just move the heavy hitters like Starfield to the internal SSD when I am actually playing them. It takes maybe ten minutes to transfer, which is way better than being broke on day one. For the controller, please be careful with those internal battery packs. My official play and charge kit basically stopped holding a charge after barely four months. It was such a headache being constantly tethered to a cable. I switched to the Panasonic Eneloop Rechargeable AA Batteries 4-Pack with Charger and honestly never looked back. They are much more reliable for long-term use and you always have a fresh pair ready to swap in. Since you mentioned thin walls, I would consider the Xbox Wireless Headset. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7X Wireless is amazing but itll eat your whole budget. The official one is solid and handles the spatial audio for Forza really well without waking the neighbors. Just make sure to keep the firmware updated so you dont run into sync issues like I did when I first got mine...
