Hardware & Technical Saitek X 52 vs X56 HOTAS for Elite: Dangerous?

Crank Larson

Crank Larson
Shanaeri said:
Tried an X55, while the joystick was nicer I didn't like the fact it didn't have button on the stick itself and that the throttle just wasn't as intuitive to use. Not having buttons on the stick means that you have to stop manuvering while you activate them.
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Eh? I use an X55, and it has loads of buttons on the stick... What is it you are referring to?

Having said that, I'm not very impressed with the build quality of the X55. I only use it for E: D, and the throttle adjustment (you can change the damping) is awful (you can have either really loose, or almost impossible to move - there is no in-between!). I also had to dismantle and grease the flight stick to stop it creaking and jerking (not very good for smooth flight, that). When using the twist of the flight stick, the whole stick flexes slightly which is also a minor irritation.
 

Shanaeri

Shanaeri
purplepomegranite said:
Eh? I use an X55, and it has loads of buttons on the stick... What is it you are referring to?

Having said that, I'm not very impressed with the build quality of the X55. I only use it for E: D, and the throttle adjustment (you can change the damping) is awful (you can have either really loose, or almost impossible to move - there is no in-between!). I also had to dismantle and grease the flight stick to stop it creaking and jerking (not very good for smooth flight, that). When using the twist of the flight stick, the whole stick flexes slightly which is also a minor irritation.
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If you look at the X52, it has a set of 3 buttons (with 6 functions, 3X up, 3X down) at the bottom of the stick. I use them for things like landing gear, shield cells, heat sinks and stuff like that. Since I can change colors of them I have red for stuff that affects the ship in a big way (gear up/down, shield cells), Yellow for stuff that has less of an effect(heat sinks etc) and green for no affect at all. Such as next fire group/reset HMD etc.

The X55 and warthog I tried didn't have any meaning I had to take my hand off the joystick to activate them. Now I could have used my left hand, but somehow that seemed less intituive to me
 

Nagual

Nagual
I count myself as lucky. I managed to grab a secondhand x52 on ebay during kickstarter for a princely sum of 35 pounds. Still going strong. If I hadn't had read so many bad reviews of more recent x52s I'd have said go for it, but now I'd recommend the Thrustmaster range even the Flight X at 35 quid is good.
 

Crank Larson

Crank Larson
Shanaeri said:
If you look at the X52, it has a set of 3 buttons (with 6 functions, 3X up, 3X down) at the bottom of the stick. I use them for things like landing gear, shield cells, heat sinks and stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok. So on the X55 these are all on the throttle stick. I never used an X52, so am used to having all the switch controls on the left. Once you get used to it, you can reach all the switches without looking or removing your hand from the throttle.
 

siberia

S
Had many joysticks over the years, used a X52 when they first can out for many years, eventually replaced it when it died with a X52 Pro that again lasted several years until just before Christmas 2016, now have a X56 only issue I have had is the throttle button ghosting solved by connecting to USB3.
 

SlackR

Banned
SlackR
Very interested to see which one you go for... like I said though, Amazon will replace items, no questions asked so I don't think it is the gamble that it has been made out to be :)
 

CMDR IPL Victim

C
Own the Saitek X52 Pro since ED launch. It failed around August of 2016 after a long series of faults and glitches finally made it impossible to use. In my case, the little mouse nipple thing shorted out resulting in a constant 'up' signal to the mouse. All. The. Time. Wouldn't have been bad if I could have disabled the stupid thing in the settings since I never found it useful in the first place. But regardless of disabling it in the configuration, the input was still being recorded and acted upon by the OS, so it made the computer unusable.

In any case, I used the X52 Pro for a few years, removed the rubber throttle stop when it came loose, constantly adjusted the ever increasing deadzones and so on until the mouse issue above caused me to scrap the whole thing.

I now use a Warthog Hotas with pedals. That is a pricey solution. For about the same cost as an X52 Pro, however, you can get the Thrustmaster F16000M FCS (Stick and throttle) plus the pedals. Or just go with the FCS kit for less than the cost of the basic X52 (non-pro). Much better build quality and reputation vs. the Saitek/Madcatz kit.
 

Aute

Aute
Bought x52 pro around the end of 2015, after about year of use there started some problems with "d" button, it would occasionally not register button presses..I opened it up and managed to move microswitch slightly closer to the button itself, which pretty much solved the problem this far. (Still it feels like the microswitch itself has worn off and I am not sure how long it will last like this)

My thoughts about it, its comfortable to use with great button placement and what really pushed me towards buying it was ability to twist it for jaw, I'm not big fan of pedals.

It's plastics feel quite cheap though and it's certainly way too overpriced considering the build quality. If you can afford money for it, maybe it is a good idea to spend a bit more and get Thrustmaster Warthog along with pedals, I would avoid mad cat/saitek products personally just because of reliability issues and their price policy.
 

Hooplah

Hooplah
Replaced an X-55 after 3 years with a broken yaw spring. Two months into my X-56 and it is working just fine. I use it both for ED and X-Plane so it gets a workout...with no profiles needed on either. Initially there is too much grease on the throttle making it "stick" when idle but it's broken in now. I love the two additional analog sticks versus the X-55 that makes for some great thruster abilities as well as smooth camera moves. The X-56 has more controls than any other HOTAS on the market and works very well with ED. The quality could still be an issue so I would suggest getting an extended warranty just in case.

UPDATE: After 81 days the Saitek X-56 X and Y axis (roll & pitch) died. Starting the warranty process. I guess we cannot rely on Logitech/Saitek to resolve the reliability issues. Using a Warthog joystick and an X-55 throttle for the moment but having a HARD time without the joystick yaw now programmed to another control. I cannot even land smoothly much less go into combat. Frustrating. Flying an Adder while I practice. I have the pedals so we'll see...
 
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MrFailfactory

MrFailfactory
I have used both an X-52 and an X-56. I have one of the unicorn X-52's, because I got it early in its life cycle, and it sits here as my backup. It worked quite well, and if you look at the controls in your ship, you might find that they look very, very similar.

I will tell you this about the X-56; I would not use anything else to play this game, but you need to go in with the understanding that you might have to get a few of them (and mix and match throttle/stick pieces) to get one that works reliably. The reasons have been mentioned above, and I would also add that you should have a powered USB hub (like $20) for it as well, to prevent any ghosting issues. Go through Amazon, and if you are fortunate, you will get one that has a more recent manufacture date. I will also tell you that you will have to convince Amazon to send you more than one replacement.

One other thing to mention; I don't know whose hand they used to model the size of the stick and placement of the buttons, but that person clearly did not have small hands. Be aware that if you do have average/small hands (finger/thumb length in particular), you will have to adjust your hand position for some things.

Despite the issues, if this one breaks, it will be replaced with another X-56. It's that good. Once I got it pieced together, and the powered USB hub, I have had zero issues other than a slight yaw drift, which is easily handled by adjusting the dead zone in the Elite options. The thumbstick thruster controls are something you won't want to live without, once you have used them.

My opinion on the matter.

Riôt
 

Insane4un

I
The thing is X52 is the best for Elite in ergonomical terms, but it is not for long. After 8 mounths or 1 year you have to repair it anyway. I whould like to have something like Warthog in quality, but also same as X52 pro in terms of ergonomic. The thing is.. Such thing just not exist in shop. The only way is to upgrade X52 pro for better quality. Exactly what i did.
 
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wrmiller

W
My x52 pro is almost 10 years old. No mods, no problems. Pre-Mad Cats I believe.

I just can find a better stick for this game.
 

Underhook

U
I have the X56
I bought it because it has a mini joystick on the throttle which I use for verticle/horizontal thrust. The design is perfect for ED.
The X68 is great but has 2 major flaws
1) Its designed for somebody with hands the size of the incredible hulk
2) Build quality is crap. The twist yoke snapped after 3 months. Even though the warrantee had just expired they fixed it anyway. However it really was a fix and not a replacement... the yoke is now a little off centre and I had to create a dead zone for the twist axis.

I have an ASUS maximus VIII Ranger MB on my PC. It has 2 USB3 ports on the back and they power the X56 just fine
 
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Rankaze

Rankaze
I have the X-56. Mine has been great. Throttle is a touch sticky if you don't use it for a while, but it eases up nicely after the first couple of minutes. Haven't had any quality issues with it so far. I know lots of others have, so maybe I've just been lucky, but this is my favorite stick I've owned (and I have a Warthog, too). And as both a racer and a combat pilot, I just adore the strafing sticks.

I'd use the Warthog for a more serious flight sim, maybe. But for Elite: Dangerous, the X-56 is pretty much perfect.
 
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Mole HD

Mole HD
I have an X52 pro which I've used from new for around 6 months. I'm overall very impressed with both it's build quality and it's accuracy, it's one of the Logitech ones as opposed to MadCatz. A mate of mine had the X56...didn't like it as he upgraded from his X52, he found it a bit too big for his small hands is all.

I'm kinda half wishing I had swapped, as much as I love the X52 pro...if only for the split throttle which would be handy in IL2 when flying multi engine stuff.

*Sigh*. I'll probably save a few pennies and buy an X56 when my wife isn't looking or find someone who just plain doesn't like his X56 and wants to part-X...
 
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dognosh

dognosh
dognosh said:
X52 Pro user for 12 years, new X55 sat in box gathering dust(backup use only, in case).
Click to expand...

After reading other X52 owners post here, I realised I forgot to mention that the age of my X52 Pro makes it one of the unicorn sticks.(pre madkatz)
 
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