Saitek X52 Pro

I was thinking of getting a joy stick since i am back in to elite. But i have a few questions about the Saitek X52 Pro. 1 one would it remove my key board and mouse? Like i would never even need to use a button on my keyboard and mouse. All the buttons on the joy stick would let me play elite like Open galactic map, landing gear, FSD, etc. 2 would it be easy to use in galactic map like looking around and searching for stars? 3 Does it have a big learning curve or should it just take a second for my to learn how to use the joy stick? 4 I heard there some new X55 joy stick coming out. Will that be a better one to get then the X52?
 

1 one would it remove my key board and mouse? Like i would never even need to use a button on my keyboard and mouse.

Yes

2 would it be easy to use in galactic map like looking around and searching for stars?

it's possible but i find it a pita so use my mouse in the map

3 Does it have a big learning curve or should it just take a second for my to learn how to use the joy stick?

depends, some people take to it like a duck to water. Some not so much

4 I heard there some new X55 joy stick coming out. Will that be a better one to get then the X52?

Possibly.
 
If you're very, very lucky then the stick will last six months before it starts falling apart. Saitek's quality control is utterly craptastic.

I must be lucky then.

but then again you don't find happy customers praising products on forums.

It's a little like doing a search for a new ISP, you'll find thousands of complaints for lets say BT.
for those thousands of unhappy customers how many millions are over the moon with the service?

crap analogy but the best one that comes to mind right now :)
 
Do a search , there area so many bad customer server reports on MadCatz, I can't speak to the x52 but I have the x55 and had thier mouse.. both failed multiple times and the customer support , while friendly, was terrible

Madcatz - consumer be warned and buy knowing your product will probably fail and cost you $20+ to ship it back to them, then wait 2 months + to receive a replacement

I have the x55, stick stopped being recognized by USB. Shipped back for repairs, under warranty (at my expense) 2 weeks later told, I am due a replacement but they are out of stock and wont get any in until some time in January. They said I am pretty much SOL. This is the 4 time I had a MADCatz product fail while under warranted. My suggestion, don't buy MadCatz under any circumstance. Great designs terrible implementation and customer service.

Mad Catz X55 x-55 mean time to failure 6 months

Mad catz - needs a new CEO that will revamp production.

x-55 just sad

<update>

So the tech just told me that it will the stick will not be in (shipped) until February and there is no plans to do anything to make me a happy customer, pretty much just suck it up. So my stick is broken and I will be with out it for more than 2 months. MadCatz is a pretty bad company, I would say.

Only a fool would bye their products after reading any of the customer support issues. I am surprised that Star Citizen would have anything to do with a company that is known for its poor quality control and customer support. Makes me wonder about Chris Roberts, why wouldn't this be a major concern to him?


just do a search :
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/comments/3vfrwc/how_do_you_feel_about_saitekmadcatz_and_the_sc/
 
Whilst an x52 Pro is a nice "beginners" HOTAS (many would suggest saving up more cash and going for higher end kit) and there are certainly quality issues with some of them, it's great fun to use and makes the game very enjoyable.

Purely anecdotal of course, but all three of mine still work (given some nudging)
 
I've had the X52 Pro since december last year when ED Launched and i've had nothing but trouble with it, I've had to open it up on many occasions to fix a problem, it would be a great Hotas if the build quality was good as it's got enough bindable buttons and wheels that you will ever need, unfortunately it is craptastic as stated by OfftheRails. mine is now on it's last legs it responds poorly and the throttle will not zero so the ship is constantly moving forwards or backwards this is a real pain when trying to land and now driving on planets too. when you move the throttle quadrant it activates or disables units or fire groups if you've bound any to the buttons on the throttle (you'll be shooting at a ship and all of a sudden you are scanning them with a discovery scanner I have to unplug and plug the X52 pro back in to rectify this every time.
I'm not sure if the build quality has improved from Saitek/MadCatz as I know there was a huge demand for flight sticks last year and they were hard to buy and they could have rushed out batches to fill the demand and didn't bother with quality control.
If the The Trustmaster Warthog had rotating Yaw stick I would be buying that as the build quality is the best I don't really want to fork out for extra rudder pedals. X52 Pro is overpriced for the quality and reliability but looks good.
If anyone knows of a better replacement I would love to know too. good luck anyone got anything good to say about the X55?
 
I have a 7 year old x52pro and it is working fine after many 100s of hours use!

On every Saitek/ MadCatz thread on the forum somebody (or several somebodys) make this statement. I do not doubt you, but your HOTAS was built before MadCatz bought Saitek. The quality issues started afterwards. So unfortunately not helpful for people looking to buy today.

I have a MadCatz built X52 and lots of issues....
 
It's got everything you need for Elite, especially if you bind one of the buttons as a function button to enable button combos. I've had mine since closed beta in august last year, BUT the build quality is just absolute crap! Mine's got problems with its mini thumbstick causing twitches, the flip switch is busted and it gets stuck. Spend more on something decent tbh
 
I recently bought an X-52 Pro to replace my Thrustmaster HOTAS X. I used it for a couple of hours before putting it back in the box and selling it on ebay. The X-52 is widely used but it did not appeal to me at all. I find the build quality and functionality of the cheaper Thrustmaster HOTAS to be superior (wish it had a second hat on the stick, though).
 
If the The Trustmaster Warthog had rotating Yaw stick I would be buying that as the build quality is the best I don't really want to fork out for extra rudder pedals.

I thought I'd miss rudders with the Warthog, but the longer I play... the more OK I am with just mapping Yaw to a hat. Given than Yaw doesn't have a big part to play in Elite, it works out well (for me). I've got the $$ to get rudders, but just can't take myself over the "buy it" line... it just doesn't seem THAT important, compared to what the Warthog does on it's own.
 
Last edited:
I like my x52 pro. Had it just over a year. Great to use. However, aside from having to remove the detent in the throttle as it got stuck, and the throttle lights fading during use (that's down to the cable routing inside and how it shifts about) the 8-way throttle hat won't go right when at full throttle (it's fine at 0 throttle). Lots of little issues with the throttle. The joystick is fine.
 
The Saitek x52 is the best hotas in terms of price/quality IMO. I have to say it offers alot of cool features and looks futuristic in addition.
However, it comes with annoying downsides for example that some buttons do not always work when they are pressed (you have to press the right way with a little strenght) and you nneed to accept that the software is poor and has bugs for example that it sometimes lights uo the info panel or that the axis do not work as they should.

Still, these bugs are nothing of importance and can be overcome with a lttle tolerance.

Good things are for example the awesome smooth feelng, custmizeable buttns via the prorammmnng software and it can basically replace the mouse thanks to the mouse hat and button on the side of the throttle plus the scroll on the back.

One thing tho. Yu will not ne 100% happy with it but there are simply no other products in this price range onn the market.
 
I switched from a logitech extreme 3d to a x52 pro, and wow I wish had done that earlier. This game is so much better playing with a hotas, specially the throttle hat gives you now basicly a 2nd joystick for your directional thrusters, wich you can control with just the movement of your indexfinger. Also the stick itself is supersmooth.
 
Sounds like there are quality issues with x52 pro, but I bought mine for the release of ED and it's been faultless after 100's of hours of use.
 
I was fondling an X52 in the shop yesterday considering an upgrade from my TM HOTAS X. However, the lack of a physical deadzone on the throttle kind of puts me off.

In addition, hearing about the quality issues makes me a little skeptical. My HOTAS X has survived over a year of abuse, and no problems yet. If it died tomorrow i'd consider it had done its duty and go out and buy a new one.
 
Back
Top Bottom