Which Joystick do you currently own/plan on getting?

  • Black Widow

    Votes: 47 1.5%
  • Saitek AV8R-03

    Votes: 8 0.2%
  • Saitek F.L.Y. 5

    Votes: 93 2.9%
  • Saitek X52

    Votes: 381 11.9%
  • Saitek X52 Pro

    Votes: 653 20.4%
  • Saitek X55

    Votes: 455 14.2%
  • Saitek X65

    Votes: 45 1.4%
  • Thrustmaster T.Flight Hotas X

    Votes: 654 20.4%
  • Thrustmaster Warthog

    Votes: 364 11.4%
  • Logitech G940

    Votes: 52 1.6%
  • Other ... (Leave details on the comments)

    Votes: 690 21.5%

  • Total voters
    3,205
  • Poll closed .
Hi all do you think Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Flight Stick without throttle could work ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaste...&qid=1415883670&sr=1-22&keywords=Thrustmaster

I am thinking also about SAITEK PRO FLIGHT X55 RHINO
http://www.astrongameclub.gr/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=3474

The thing is that I am not sure if I can handle 2 pieces at the same time. My previous Joystick is Saitek 3d Force Feedback but the company doesn't provide the drivers for Windows 7 and 8. So there is no support.
 
Hey Guys,

Do You have any idea how I can repair built-in button in Scroll wheel on my throttle in Saitek x52 pro? Also one pov hat button on throttle has some problem - it works but it is loose - there is no resistance when I push it. Any ideas or manuals:)?? I will be probably also force to clean the metal "ring" under the joystick but I'm not sure how to properly do this.
 
Last edited:
I'd be using the X52 pro, but that thing is a pain in the behind to get working on newer systems.

It's not caused by saitek's drivers though. At least, for me it was related to the Intel USB 3 monitoring service which is part of Intel's driver set. Once that thing was running, I couldn't even use ANY usb (2.0 or 3.0) device if the saitek was plugged-in (without having installed any driver or other software from saitek). The real pain was that usb mouse and keyboard also stopped responding right at the windows login screen. Pretty annoying ;)
 
Hi all do you think Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Flight Stick without throttle could work ?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrustmaste...&qid=1415883670&sr=1-22&keywords=Thrustmaster

I am thinking also about SAITEK PRO FLIGHT X55 RHINO
http://www.astrongameclub.gr/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=3474

The thing is that I am not sure if I can handle 2 pieces at the same time. My previous Joystick is Saitek 3d Force Feedback but the company doesn't provide the drivers for Windows 7 and 8. So there is no support.



If you are not handicapped I don't see problems handling two pieces at the same time. After all, humans usually come with two hands. (-: (your other hand will have to control some input device - be it only a keyboard - anyway.

The warthog stick seems to be a good product, however it only has two axes. In my opinion that is too few. Especially if you want to use it as your only controller.

I will also order the X55 soon. Especially to see how well it fits a CH throttle. I want as many axes and buttons as I can get.

I will report my experiences with it when I get it, however that might take some weeks.
 
Last edited:
what about the cobra defnder? who is using it? seems to be the more luxurous and better built T16000:(and only ~10$ more expensive)

http://eng.defender-global.com/products/game/gamepad/cobra-m5-usb/

I have bought the Cobra to use with ED.

It has sturdy and heavy base. However the stick itself has a much cheaper and lighter feeling. It also is very light to operate - which I like. The buttons and hats on the stick are very hard to press, so that you have to counter hold the stick for that.
However - and I think this is the terminal flaw - the stick wiggles around the center quite heavily, something you do not experience in the T.16000 for example. I sent it back because of that.

My next stop will be the X55

I made a video reviewing the cobra m5 joystick, albeit German. But you can clearly see the wiggling and how hard the buttons are to press.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLyOepOfNkmHGOhgmW4ahzNtvMXJRJHMKo&v=cTh1VhTP_L4
 
Last edited:
Buy a USB 2.0 hub connect it to your USB 3.0, or a USB 2.0 card (USB 2.0 hardware is cheap now), this should help, this way you dont have to disable USB3.0 completly like some did....

bought hub - TICK :)

My guess is you're running an Intel board with native USB3 (Z87 or Z97chipset?) .... I had the exact same issue.

Uninstall the Intel USB 3.0 eXtensible Host Controller Driver and everything will work with the joystick. You may need to tweak your BIOS settings (like turning of xHCI handoff to disabled) for the USB3 to work as USB2.

The downside is that you will lose USB3 to get the x52 Pro to work. I've heard that Saitek 6.x drivers can be used instead of uninstalling USB3 drivers but I have yet to find a download for it.

Done that - TICK :)

I'd be using the X52 pro, but that thing is a pain in the behind to get working on newer systems.
..snip..
A pain in the .... sooooo right - TICK :)


Thank you everyone who has responded to my plea for help ^^^

This week I have ‘enjoyed?’ trying to get a X52 pro to work with USB3 on my system.
To cut a very very long story short I’ve discovered Intel’s xHCI (eXtensible Host Controller Driver) is the problem.

Solution;(s)
Option 1: Disable Intel’s xHCI in your BIOS (f8) to make the X52 pro function, the caveat of this is that all devices will become USB2!
Option 2: Buy a ‘Powered’ USB2 device like the ‘Unitek 3+1 Port High performance Hub’ (Maplin £20) and plug the X52 pro in and then into a USB3 port and experiment with the lovely Madcatz/Saitek drivers. The most joy can be obtained from: 6.2.2.0 from 15/2/2008 after some registry entries deleting/tweaking ! VID_06A3


Looks like the X52 ‘PRO’ has some problems with Intel’s USB 3.0. indeed

I am happily running my NONPRO X52 on Win7 with 7.0.34.109 - 30/7/2014 drivers having given up the will to live with the 'pro' !

I sincerely wish Frontier the best of luck in writing the software to make a Saitek X52 Pro work on a Mac when it’s version of Elite Dangerous comes out in 3-4 months.
EFi is all I’ve got to say :eek:
 
force feedback is supposed to give a realistic feel when flying flight simulator aircraft, of the none fly by wire type, like a spitfire or tigermoth for example. In the real world the greater the airspeed the greater the load on the stick when manouvering, one of the symtoms of an approaching stall is the controls going slack. However I fly aircraft in the real and virtual worlds, and unless they have made vast improvements in force feedback joysticks since I tried one, the feel is wrong, which is worse than no feel at all. The point is as spaceships would no doubt have power operated controls force feedback is not needed.
 
Problem

Hi
Only downloaded the beta the other day & ive only just registered on here so im not allowed to use the search function yet, but im having a lot of problems with the sensitivity of my X55 Rhino. Any suggestions would be much appreciated as would a good profile. :eek:
 
CH Products Fighterstick and Pro Throttle vs Saitek X52

I am writing this post because their might be some people out there who at some point, like me, find themselves owning an X-52 but wanting a new HOTAS.
Right now I have a CH Products Fighterstick and their Pro Throttle and I must say this is definitely the best HOTAS setup I have had so far.

I used to fly with an X52 and an X32 before that and these are fine sticks if you want a HOTAS for under 200 euros.
However Saitek is not really known for their production quality and in my case they only lasted a few years before they started to break down and had to be replaced. Centering became sloppy, fine controls around the center became more difficult, the mouse stick stopped working quickly and never had much precision to begin with. After about 6 months of not using it the plastic started to degrade and become sticky.

For me one thing that's both a good and a bad thing about the Saitek sticks is the twist rudder. It's great because you don't need rudder pedals, keeping the cost down and for me bolting rudder pedals down into my living room floor wasn't an option (they move around a lot you know).
The bad thing I found is that twisting the stick makes it hard to maintain fine control on the x- and y-axis when lining up your shots simply because your hand rotates around your wrist, not the center of the stick. (pedals ARE better...)

I decided to go for CH products stick and throttle (~300 euros) because they are more durable, I expect these to last a long time becoming the cheaper option over time.
The other great thing is that the Pro Throttle comes with a very good analogue thumb stick and for me it is perfect for rudder/yaw control. This way I have better control over pitch and roll AND I don't need separate rudder pedals, the thumb stick is brilliant for that.
Some drawbacks: The Pro throttle is a slider and because of that can sometimes slide on your desk, Saitek's rotating throttles don't have this problem.
The Fighterstick is quite large if you have small hands. Mine are average and it works fine, though I do have to move my hand up to press button 2.
The Fighterstick has two centering springs and this makes the axis transition very pronounced, however I found this not to be a problem in E : D since the ships behave like aircraft and roll and pitch are two very different things. This could be problematic in other games if you want to bind yaw and pitch to your X- and Y-axis (turrets in space).

Below is the profile I am currently using, it has had a few months of fine tuning and works pretty well.
I hope this post is of use to some of you.

CH Products Fighterstick and Pro Throttle controls
X4OV9YS.jpg
 
Last edited:
Greetings all!

Have downloaded the beta and spent some time dusting off the old joystick, which I'm now struggling to get configured to best advantage. It's a Saitek Cyborg 3D Force that I bought ages ago for Flight Sim. Any helpful suggestions on configuration would be appreciated.

As far as Elite goes, I go way back to the Spectrum incarnation and have played every version since. Can't believe how fantastic it's looking these days! Looking forward to getting stuck in once again - the adrenaline was already flowing copiously as soon as I disengaged the docking clamps! :eek:
 
Also using the CH Hotas rig (Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, Pro Pedals)

I'd put lateral/vertical thrust on ministick instead of yaw. It's extremely useful to have L/V thrust on analog axes instead of discrete buttons.
 
I have a full CH HOTAS setup with combatstick but just ordered a thrustmaster T.16000m for southpaw control to substitute the pro throttle. The tricky part is configuring the axis controls on both sticks and the pedals.
 
I've recently completed my full CH HOTAS and have been playing around with my controls. This is how I've configured my stick and throttle:

gGGgtUN.jpg

LjpDZmT.jpg

I have redundant power distributor controls on the stick and throttle for when one of my thumbs is busy and I still need to configure power. I haven't used the throttle's POV hat at all and I can't think of any controls that I may need or want there.
 
Last edited:
Great info. Still to decide on what stick to get when I order my new rig early next year.

I've only had the CH Fighterstick + CH Pro Pedals for a little while, but I'm very satisfied with them. The CH Fighterstick is sprung very lightly and the range of motion is quite large. This combination makes it very easy to accurately track moving targets.
 
Back
Top Bottom