Hardware & Technical New Saitek HOTAS incoming, the X-56

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE

CMDR MAIN SEQUENCE
Pro-Flight-X-56-Rhino-for-PC-01.jpg


http://www.saitek.com/uk/prod/x56.html

Looks rather nice. Hope they improve on the reliability issues of the X55.

Up on amazon US for 249USD. No UK price as yet.
 

rincewindcymru

rincewindcymru
Mmm, shiny! It'll probably be the same in £s as in Dollars. We do tend to pay a premium here in the UK. Might pick one up when I'm on my holidays :)
 

Shanaeri

Shanaeri
Looks very cool. I do wonder if the internals are significantly different to the X55 or is it an X-55 with new lights and colours? I'm thinking specifically of the wires under tension of the throttle which seems to be a point of failure with the X-55.
 

CMDR Reaper

CMDR Reaper
[video=youtube;s4urwK7iGhs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4urwK7iGhs[/video]

If they have fixed all the friction problems that the x-55 had especially with jaw then i might buy one

It also looks like the stick is a bit shorter, which is nice since I always have problems reaching the top buttons on my x-55 rhino.
 

Anyd Tellock

A
It looks good apart from the OTT blue. It hurts my eyes to look at it.

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It's actually cheaper than the x55 on Amazon. Not sure if that's good cause it's affordable or bad because it will be held together by hot glue and bubblegum!
 

Dozer.k.a.o.

D
the analog extra joysticks are really an improvement and good thing for Elite, also i love The light color system.

I just hope it has better build quality and , well, they could have made a different and futuristic design not just the same as x55.
 

Ulfar

U
It looks nice, hopefully they can get the drivers right and release up to date ones when operating systems update. My x-52 hasn's been fully functional ever and I have used it for XP, Win7 32, Win 7 64, Win 10 64.
 

DaveB

DaveB
Ulfar said:
It looks nice, hopefully they can get the drivers right and release up to date ones when operating systems update. My x-52 hasn's been fully functional ever and I have used it for XP, Win7 32, Win 7 64, Win 10 64.
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What's been stopping you from having it fully functional? I've used mine on the same list of windows versions and it's been fully functional throughout. On the upside though, if you were using it on XP you've almost certainly got a pre-madcatz version so are unlikely to experience the same hardware build issues that have been more recently reported.

On topic for the thread, I like the look of the X56, and the addition of multiple analog ministicks is perhaps their best update over the X55 - but the one thing I don;t like about the X55/56 compared to the X52 is the position of the mode selector. That dial on the base of the throttle just seems so much clunkier compared to having it nice and convenient to the thumb on the stick. Maybe because I've always made extensive use of the sticks three modes it's a bigger deal for me - I not only use them as shift states to customize controls for a particular situation but I also typically have enter/exit macros for each mode too.

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Toumal said:
Hall effect sensors? Anyone know?
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Yes. The last ones in the X series to use pots were the X35/X36. The X65F was an anomaly, it used force sensing on the stick, so the stick didn't actually move. Other than that, all the X-series have been hall effect. That's why the "magnet mod" is so popular for the X52s.
 
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Monk

Monk
Oh this looks great...and I could see on the video that he is using twist for yaw!

This has got everything I want on it! An analog stick under each thumb?...be still my beating heart <3

Really hoping the build quality has improved and is more consistent.

I'd been holding out on buying the CH Throttle for cost and mainly b/c it didn't quite give me all the options I want.

Can't wait to see the price...if I'm not allowed to buy a Rift, hopefully this will be my compromise!

EDIT: just checked amazon...$250 USD...a bit steep, but not crazy. Oh...and it releases May 30...not long now!
 
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avow555

avow555
This does look promising, hopefully build quality has been addressed as this has prevented me buying a new HOTAS over the last year. Not entirely enamoured with the colour scheme it looks a bit garish but as long as it's functional I can live with it ☺

Looks like the X55/X52/X52pro still up on the Saitek web site.
 
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Henkka77

Henkka77
Have heard too much negatives about Saitek products so, pass.

Very happy with my $60 HOTAS Thrustmaster T-Flight and after 800 hours still works like a charm. Can you do that, Saitek? ;)
 

Monk

Monk
avow555 said:
This does look promising, hopefully build quality has been addressed as this has prevented me buying a new HOTAS over the last year. Not entirely enamoured with the colour scheme it looks a bit garish but as long as it's functional I can live with it ☺

Looks like the X55/X52/X52pro still up on the Saitek web site.
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I would guess the X52 will remain in production after the release of the X56.

At almost twice the cost of an X52, the X56 occupies a different price point.

Rather, I think it is the X55 Rhino (which, IIRC, hasn't sold all that well) that will be discontinued.

In fact...just tried to go to the X55 product page and it redirects to X56...so, there you go
 

Faybs

Faybs
Looks interesting. My own X55 is pretty much fine after a year and a bit, aside from the need to use a powered USB hub, so I'm cautiously optimistic. I just hope the thumbstick on the joystick can be pressed as a secondary fire button, else I'm going to have to unlearn that bit of muscle memory.
 

avow555

avow555
Monk said:
I would guess the X52 will remain in production after the release of the X56.

At almost twice the cost of an X52, the X56 occupies a different price point.

Rather, I think it is the X55 Rhino (which, IIRC, hasn't sold all that well) that will be discontinued.

In fact...just tried to go to the X55 product page and it redirects to X56...so, there you go
Click to expand...

It's kind of strange the X52 is still being produced and the X65f and X55 are gone/going. I hope the new stick has much better quality control than we have recently seen.
 

Monk

Monk
n4p0l3on said:
Sp they took out the thumb button on the stick? What button would I use for 2nd group trigger then???
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Maybe the intent is to use the left index finger on the throttle? This would free up your thumbs for 100% working on thrusters.

Just a guess, tho
 
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