Saitek X-52/55 Alternatives?

TheNameIsJambo

T
What are you guys using for universe traversal, bounty hunting, murdering and hauling just now? :D I'm using a 360 pad + keyboard bindings, it's not ideal and I want an upgrade - An Xmas present for me, from me, if you will.

I've been totally underwhelmed by the reviews of the X-52 and X-55, and a lot of known issues are severely off-putting. A lot of people seem happy with theirs, but a lot of people have had a lot of issues.

I really wish there was a store near me which stocked any of the most popular HOTAS devices. I'm just tempted to grab an X-52; the ED favourite, which is apparently very comfortable to use and is the most obvious choice or the X-55 Rhino, just because the throttle looks incrediballs, plus it's a newer joystick/model overall. Best of all - they come with out of the box functionality and come as a 'package'.

Worryingly, some people have said that the X-55 joystick feels cheaper than its predecessor! :( Plus various other little niggles that are well known in regards to these sticks - EG, the X-52 may need a magnet modification if you feel it's not accurate enough and the X-55 needs post-purchase lubrication around the joint. Plus various quality issues just after months of usage. Disheartening stuff.

On the flip-side of Saitek - I'm tempted to grab a CH Pro Throttle (From SCAN, boo! *Shudder*) and a Thrustmaster T.16000M. The CH throttle has the main advantage of having the separate analogue stick which would come in handy for lateral thrusting and the T.16000m reportedly has superior accuracy to that of the X-55 or the X-52 w/ extra magnets. The only real complaint I've heard about the T.16000m is that it feels 'cheap'; I'm not surprised for about £40, and the buttons aren't that great to use (Squishy). But I've heard zero reports of poor functionality or poor ergonomics! (y)

The setup wouldn't look the greatest, especially when compared to the visceral military looks of the X-55 or the space-age design of the X-52... But I'm the kind of guy who wears a Helly Hansen workwear jacket as opposed to something flashy from a High Street retailer. Practicality vs Aesthetics.

Anyone here had experience with the T.16000m and/or the CH Pro Throttle? I'm already sold on the CH Throttle, since it's manufactured by a company who specialise in industrial controllers. I'd love a full CH setup - my only issue there is, I don't want pedals!


Any thoughts are appreciated!


- CMDR Jambo McAllister
 
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Conestoga

Conestoga
The T.16000m is the Millenium Falcon of joysticks. It looks cheap, doesn't cost much, but when it comes to function... well, you know the rest. It may seem strange using a $40 joystick with a $110 throttle, but once you use one, there's no going back.

It doesn't have as many buttons as some joysticks, but the CH Pro Throttle has extra. And some of the buttons will be on the "wrong" side since its ambidextrous, and the little throttle nub is also useless, but who cares? It's not like you paid extra for them. The only drawback is its really, really bright and not-turn-offable green LED.
 

Steve50

Steve50
I can't really give you any alternatives, I went from kb/m to an xbox 360 controller and then to an X-52 and I really love it, I've been playing Elite on this stick since I got it in April. I can totally recommend it.
 

Phosphero

P
I'm currently using a t-16000 and pro throttle - no issues at all. i dropped the stick the other day though, and some of the buttons on the base broke - not that I used them anyways. Plus side is that it's a cheap stick, so i could replace it if I wanted
 
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Kramster

Kramster
I use the Logitech extreme 3D pro which is fully adjustable (sensitivity etc) via it's software.
It is quite a stiff stick but performs pretty well
It has more 'on stick' buttons than the T16000 but is not quite as precise....not really a massive difference
.
Instead of a throttle unit I use a tartarus, was using a Logitech G13 but the cat spilled my coffee on it :(
Both of them are great and have all the programmable/macro goodness (The G13 has the better stick/thumbpad)
.
The G13 is probably the better buy over the tartarus and is better value than a throttle...they both have many more gaming uses
 
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aRtFuL

A
x52 has a lot of good alternatives (X Flight HOTAS, T16000M, etc)

x55 unfortunately has only 1 legit alternative, and that's Warthog. However Warthog is double the price of x55...
 

TheNameIsJambo

T
Thanking you kindly for all of your input - I now have more food for thought! :)

Like I said, I'm not an enthusiast - And ED is probably the only space/flight sim I own, to my knowledge. My Steam library is literally overflowing with games - There are probably some in there where a joystick would come in handy!

I originally did say in my post that one thing that was mentioned as was utterly useless on the T.16000m was the 'throttle', but since I'd be buying a throttle that would become moot anyway! Thanks for reaffirming my suspicions in regards to the stick :) it costs £10 more than the Thrustmaster HOTAS X for the joystick alone, so it has to be semi-decent - I'm just interested in the sensors it uses, really. I'm in Scotland mate. The CH Throttle costs £100.. Which is around $150.00 [depending on exchange rate!]
I don't quite trust any other stick which uses pots apart from CH/Apem gear. I work with maritime [vessel] control systems and, worryingly, I've seen countless amounts of potentiometers fail, all because they're low quality [Chinese] garbage.. But companies insist on using these because: 1) They're cheap. Although, once they're replaced with Japanese/Ceramic pots, then there aren't any issues - Normally, for several years. But I have absolutely no doubts that a gaming peripheral manufacturer will use the cheapest components possible in order to cut costs.​

I've seen a few folks mention the Thrustmaster HOTAS X as a gateway into the dangerous and expensive World of Joysticks. I've not heard many complaints in regards to using it either, apart from one single point - It feels cheap. But then again, it is cheap! I mean, £30-£40 for a full on HOTAS, it's a bargain! But by the looks of things, it does the job very well for the price. The only drawback is that it's a single device, and there's that little cable which goes between the devices. That might be slightly limiting in where you can place these peripherals on a desk. I think if I did buy it, I'd end up upgrading it when I felt like it was time to evolve.. Or if it lasted longer than 12 months, I'd be lucky! I'm heavy handed, with everything. I may as well spend a little extra, it is Christmas after all!

I've seen the prices of some of those hardcore-diehard-enthusiast grade joysticks with metal gimbals. Terrifying costs.. The TM Warthog even has plastic gimbals, so.. Really, you're not getting that much for your money, when you could spend a similar amount, maybe a little more, and get a real joystick. But again, I'm not quite an 'Enthusiast Grade' nutcase but more of a 'Dedicated Gamer'. Therefore, I kinda just want what would work best and won't break down after 6-12 months of use. I do just want to buy the X52 Pro - So I've got a tried and tested model, which the game is predominantly based on, and there are several fixes for the known issues. But then again, I usually like to buy The Best, which is where the CH Pro Throttle comes in. I would like to try the T.16000m for a trial period, but most people seem happy.

I seen that PC World did have the X52 in stock for £99.. Presumably, these were available before ED! ;) But that in itself is a bloody bargain. I'd buy that and slap more neodymium magnets onto the existing ones. The question I do have in regards to the X52 - How do you control lateral/vertical thrust? Hat switch on the joystick?

I've not owned a joystick since.. Flight Sim 19/20-Something-or-other. A very long time ago. It got binned, after it broke. But that was a cheap-and-cheerful model. I just never replaced it and ended up using a mouse and keyboard! Not owned one since. All I remember was that it was black.. Or dark grey. I'm not sure!

I've never really even given a second thought to Logitech. My keyboard and mouse [and pretty much every keyboard and mouse I've ever owned] have been from Logitech. I might nip into PC World and try some of those instore [no doubt they'll have them, mainstream device and such].


Oh, and +1 Rep to everyone, Merry Christmas! ;)
 
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lakofsth

lakofsth
Controllers I have used for E : D

- M+K. M OK, but K sucks for axes.
- Xbox controller. This was OK for beta but lack of a throttle axis and lateral control - and bad ergonomics which reawoke RSI - persuaded me to try HOTAS.
- X-55. In theory a great controller, but QC seems to be non-existent. I returned my sample which had the traditional sticky twist axis, some faulty buttons on the throttle, and inconsistent/variable friction on the throttle.
- CH Fighterstick, Pedals, Throttle: This would be great if the pedals were not so loud. I returned the pedals and stick. I miss the stick but needed twist so now I have final configuration:
- CH Throttle and Thrustmaster T16000m. The green light will soon be killed with a wirecutter, the base buttons are useless, the stick buttons are inadequate. But, it's cheap, has Z axis on stick and the resolution and consistency of response of the XY axes is best of all I have tried above. CH throttle has enough buttons to make up for this, especially when one button is programmed as shift. Could even use the 3-mode capability but hasn't been necessary (and I prefer non-modal controls). CH ministick is the best solution I've found for lateral control, after tweaking deadzone in the CH utility.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

bitstorm said:
Have a look at the Cobra M5 for a main stick, mine cost £42, I suspect it may be superior to the T16000M.
Click to expand...

Does it have twist axis? Not obvious from manufacturer's site. - OK, found it in the manual... I think!

"3. Turn the stick to the right or to the left horizontally. The red strip in the “Yaw” block will
decrease or increase."

Can you recommend a supplier for EU (Finland)?
 
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Ray Watkinson

R
TheNameIsJambo said:
Thanking you kindly for all of your input - I now have more food for thought! :)

Like I said, I'm not an enthusiast - And ED is probably the only space/flight sim I own, to my knowledge. My Steam library is literally overflowing with games - There are probably some in there where a joystick would come in handy!

I originally did say in my post that one thing that was mentioned as was utterly useless on the T.16000m was the 'throttle', but since I'd be buying a throttle that would become moot anyway! Thanks for reaffirming my suspicions in regards to the stick :) it costs £10 more than the Thrustmaster HOTAS X for the joystick alone, so it has to be semi-decent - I'm just interested in the sensors it uses, really. I'm in Scotland mate. The CH Throttle costs £100.. Which is around $150.00 [depending on exchange rate!]
I don't quite trust any other stick which uses pots apart from CH/Apem gear. I work with maritime [vessel] control systems and, worryingly, I've seen countless amounts of potentiometers fail, all because they're low quality [Chinese] garbage.. But companies insist on using these because: 1) They're cheap. Although, once they're replaced with Japanese/Ceramic pots, then there aren't any issues - Normally, for several years. But I have absolutely no doubts that a gaming peripheral manufacturer will use the cheapest components possible in order to cut costs.​

I've seen a few folks mention the Thrustmaster HOTAS X as a gateway into the dangerous and expensive World of Joysticks. I've not heard many complaints in regards to using it either, apart from one single point - It feels cheap. But then again, it is cheap! I mean, £30-£40 for a full on HOTAS, it's a bargain! But by the looks of things, it does the job very well for the price. The only drawback is that it's a single device, and there's that little cable which goes between the devices. That might be slightly limiting in where you can place these peripherals on a desk. I think if I did buy it, I'd end up upgrading it when I felt like it was time to evolve.. Or if it lasted longer than 12 months, I'd be lucky! I'm heavy handed, with everything. I may as well spend a little extra, it is Christmas after all!

I've seen the prices of some of those hardcore-diehard-enthusiast grade joysticks with metal gimbals. Terrifying costs.. The TM Warthog even has plastic gimbals, so.. Really, you're not getting that much for your money, when you could spend a similar amount, maybe a little more, and get a real joystick. But again, I'm not quite an 'Enthusiast Grade' nutcase but more of a 'Dedicated Gamer'. Therefore, I kinda just want what would work best and won't break down after 6-12 months of use. I do just want to buy the X52 Pro - So I've got a tried and tested model, which the game is predominantly based on, and there are several fixes for the known issues. But then again, I usually like to buy The Best, which is where the CH Pro Throttle comes in. I would like to try the T.16000m for a trial period, but most people seem happy.

I seen that PC World did have the X52 in stock for £99.. Presumably, these were available before ED! ;) But that in itself is a bloody bargain. I'd buy that and slap more neodymium magnets onto the existing ones. The question I do have in regards to the X52 - How do you control lateral/vertical thrust? Hat switch on the joystick?

I've not owned a joystick since.. Flight Sim 19/20-Something-or-other. A very long time ago. It got binned, after it broke. But that was a cheap-and-cheerful model. I just never replaced it and ended up using a mouse and keyboard! Not owned one since. All I remember was that it was black.. Or dark grey. I'm not sure!

I've never really even given a second thought to Logitech. My keyboard and mouse [and pretty much every keyboard and mouse I've ever owned] have been from Logitech. I might nip into PC World and try some of those instore [no doubt they'll have them, mainstream device and such].


Oh, and +1 Rep to everyone, Merry Christmas! ;)
Click to expand...

X-55 is the way to go....apart from an installation issue (due to a thick user) I've had no problems at all....MC&HNY (to all)
 

Khamelion

K
I use the Thrustmaster HOTAS X setup, ED recognises the stick, cheap as chips, has just the right amount of buttons you can bind actions to without it getting to complicated, for £35 - £40 you cannot go wrong.
 

SpacialKatana

SpacialKatana
Haven't time to read all the thread now (xmas shopping ) but does anyone use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro? Is it any good for this game? I'm currently using my XBone controller and that works quite well, just thinking about an alternative.

Cheers.
 

Kharos

K
I'm really liking the Fly 5, tried the game with Keyb + M but it didn't feel right so popped out to the pc world (yeah yeah I know) and it had the fly 5 there. Plugged that in and ED recognised straight off the bat and it feels a lot better to play with.

After a few days playing with the fly 5 the button placement works really well and the stick itself is plasticy but still feels solid to work with.
 

tslytsly

tslytsly
I've been using my trusty Logitch Extreme Pro 3D with 360 controller in my left hand.
Left stick on the 360 is thrusters and right is throttle and headlook.

It's quite good, lots of buttons and analogue axises (I think that's the wrong word! :))

I'm tempted by the T.16000M for a lefthand stick though....
 

rote1

rote1
The Logitech G940 is an interesting alternative. It comes with pedals, dual throttle and enough buttons and coolies for ED. It also has FF and you can define the joystick resistance in the software from limp to "I need to go to the gym before I can move it".
While the hardware is pretty nice and I love the stick, there are some software issues but workarounds exists for most of them and personally, I could not wish for a better setup
 

Knightshark

Knightshark
I ordered my x-55 two weeks ago and really cannot complain about the quality. There were obviously problems with the first charges from the first half of 2014, but they got fixed (also due to the extreme increase in demand). If you order from a trustworthy reseller like amazon or mad catz directly (they are giving it away with a free headset atm, i got it from there), you can eliminate any risk, just send it back. The thing with friction on the throttle: I noticed this too, but it goes away if you move your throttle quickly forth and back a few times. After 3 days using the x55 everything is very smooth and nice. Does not feel cheap at all and does not make any unnerving sounds.
 
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