Trying to make an informed HOTAS decision.

Ugleb

Ugleb
So this going to be a thread the likes of which has never been seen here before, but I need some joystick shopping advice. ;)

My last joystick was a venerable old Logitech Wingman '3-D pro extreme utterly amazing gizmo edition' (or whatever) that was a budget-end stick I bought as a teenager in the nineties and eventually got retired because PC's don't use gameport fittings anymore. Also, developers pretty much stopped making games that I'd need a joystick for. As the dark ages appear to drawing to a close and the space sim is becoming a thing again, it is time for a new flightstick! And as I'm not a teenager/student any more, I can spend a little more on it than 30 quid.

I have had my eye on the Saitek Pro Flight X-55 Rhino H.O.T.A.S. and was very encouraged by the initial reviews I was seeing. But I have also seen a lot of negative reviews about dodgy QA and defective sticks. I know that it is a new product and suspect that it may be early teething issues but I'm unsure of where to go at this point.

I like that the X-55 offers a lot of features, so many buttons in fact that I probably wouldn't need to touch the keyboard while playing ED! It is however the top end of my budget (cheapest price delivered atm I can find is £170) and I'm not sure how deal breaking the launch issues are, as bad press tends to travel further than good. So, can anyone help me out with some informed suggestions on where to go with this?

Something like the Thrustmaster Warthog is simply out of my budget, particularly as I would I have to buy pedals to go with it. Frankly it is too much for me even without the pedals so let's drop it as an option here.

Is the X-55 a good buy, and if not what would you buy instead for the same or less money? I want to get a stick and be playing ED by Christmas, so really the product needs to be out now rather than next year.
 

natte hond

natte hond
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EidLeWeise

EidLeWeise
I've heard that the 55's build quality has improved with the new batch - but I can't speak from direct experience... Regarding the 55 due to it's fixed hand rest you don't really want it if you have smallish hands, since you can't use the thumb buttons / switches comfortably whilst your wrist is on the rest.

The 52 pro I think would be my personal choice, since it is adjustable, however it feels cheap, especially considering its price and again I've heard of quality issues.

Personally I use the Thrustmaster Hotas X, which is between £30 and £40 and I really like it. However I DO need to use the keyboard and voice attack for somethings. It's a compromise but maybe combining that with a Gameboard would be a plan for something solid and reliable?

Personally my dream would be for logitech to release a hotas joystick, but I've not even heard rumors about that...

Eid
 

Cmdr Snuffler

Cmdr Snuffler
EidLeWeise said:
Personally I use the Thrustmaster Hotas X, which is between £30 and £40 and I really like it. However I DO need to use the keyboard and voice attack for somethings.
Click to expand...
Exactly the same here. Lovely stick...just lacks a few buttons and twirly things.
Voice Attack certainly helps, more so when using an OR DK2.

EidLeWeise said:
Personally my dream would be for logitech to release a hotas joystick, but I've not even heard rumors about that...
Click to expand...
You mean like this one: http://www.slashgear.com/logitech-force-feedback-flight-system-g940-announced-0245587/

Although I think you can only get them second hand now.
 
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Wolf

Wolf
I am very happy with my X-55 so far. I have no complaints about the build-quality of my unit. Still Saitek has a reputation of being a little cheaper on the materials side. My last Saitek Joystick (Cyborg Evo) ist still working flawlessly, though, after ten years!

It looks like the first batch of X-55s was not QA'ed correctly with lose buttons or similar. Yet later buyers, like myself, seem much happier with the product. ;)

I find the X-55 has great value for money.
I believe the Warthog and CH products to be of better quality (don't have them), yet they also cost more.
 

ddrooster

D
Personally I use the Thrustmaster Hotas X, which is between £30 and £40 and I really like it. However I DO need to use the keyboard and voice attack for somethings

same as here every thing can be set up easily and buttons assigned as you like with voice attack its the best option ive used so far the keyboard and mouse are hard work so is the game pad

im currently trying to make a custom mount and extend the center cable so it will attach to the arms of my chair
 

thafred

thafred
Hi,
I had the same dilemma as you. My main stick for starting Elite has been the Logitech 3d Extreme pro (USB) wich worked very well but it was missing alot of buttons to fly without keyboard.

Trying to spend under 200 EUR for a Hotas left me with X52 non pro as my only choice and I disliked alot about that stick (mainly the cheap plastic contruction and LED feuerwerk..didn´t try flying it but precision is said to be so-so). I would have prefered the full CH setup but lack of twist rudder was a no-go for me. (absolutely no room under my desk for pedals, also pricey)

My almost perfect solution was buying the CH Pro throttle and a Thrustmaster 16000 and using them together. Precision of the T16000 is way above the logitech and it´s very cheap to replace should something brake (seems sturdy tho, albeit a little light in the base) the Pro throttle i´m completely in love with.
Best feature for me besides all the buttons is the little joystick on the throttle wich works wonders for the ships horizontal/vertical thrusters.

On the T16000 I only use the 4 buttons on the stick and the 4-way hat switch, everything else is mapped out on the CH pro throttle and I still have 4 buttons unmapped.

Total cost for me was 150€ .. hard to beat as far as Hotas setups go.

The green light on the T16000s base is pretty anoying if you fly in a completely dark room but I mostly avoid that kind of eye strain.
 

Ugleb

Ugleb
natte hond said:
you might want to dig trough this tread.

http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24483&highlight=x55pro

edit ; http://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=10967&highlight=sticks
even better tread.

I suggest you do some forum searched before posting new treads.
(no unfriendly intend here).
I have the 52pro , think that's the best choice.
it has better looks and works great others say durability is better as well.
I have no comparison on it dough.
Click to expand...

Thanks, hadn't seen that thread.

Wolf said:
It looks like the first batch of X-55s was not QA'ed correctly with lose buttons or similar. Yet later buyers, like myself, seem much happier with the product.
Click to expand...

I have been getting that impression but it is hard to guage. Certainly the professional reviews I'm reading are overwhelmingly positive but then they all probably received well-tested sticks direct from Saitek. ;)
 

Cmdr Snuffler

Cmdr Snuffler
Ugleb said:
I have been getting that impression but it is hard to guage. Certainly the professional reviews I'm reading are overwhelmingly positive but then they all probably received well-tested sticks direct from Saitek. ;)
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I'm just using my cheap stick until ED is finally released. Then I will get an x55. Hopefully all issues will be well and truly ironed out by then.
 

cmdr awesome

cmdr awesome
http://www.box.co.uk/products/cat/Gaming~B~PC+Accessories~B~Flight+Simulation

X52 is £90
X52 Pro is £170
X55 is £190
Warthog is £250

I think the best options are at the extreme ends of that range. The basic X52 is well regarded and does the job. The Pro is nearly double for a marginal gain. Once you're looking at the 55, then the Warthog is a better choice as it isn't much more and is much better built.

I'm using a warthog without pedals - yaw works fairly well on the slew control nipple that is on the front of the throttle.

The Warthog is widely reported as being £300-£350, and if that were true I'd agree that the X55 is a reasonable choice.
 

CrispyBacon

C
EidLeWeise said:
I've heard that the 55's build quality has improved with the new batch - but I can't speak from direct experience... Regarding the 55 due to it's fixed hand rest you don't really want it if you have smallish hands, since you can't use the thumb buttons / switches comfortably whilst your wrist is on the rest.



Eid
Click to expand...

Just a tip: You can place a small 'shim' on top of the handrest if it's too low for small hands. I did this when I was a wee lad :)

Also, shop around... I just ordered the X55 for $199 Canadian dollars off amazon.ca That's 111 british currency things ....
Seems like your prices are way off.
 
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Ugleb

Ugleb
CrispyBacon said:
Also, shop around... I just ordered the X55 for $199 Canadian dollars off amazon.ca That's 111 british currency things ....
Seems like your prices are way off.
Click to expand...

I just gave it a go, got an error message telling me that they won't deliver to my (UK) address. Which is a shame as at that price sounded very nice! ;)
 

Noxia

N
cmdr awesome said:
http://www.box.co.uk/products/cat/Gaming~B~PC+Accessories~B~Flight+Simulation

X52 is £90
X52 Pro is £170
X55 is £190
Warthog is £250

I think the best options are at the extreme ends of that range. The basic X52 is well regarded and does the job. The Pro is nearly double for a marginal gain. Once you're looking at the 55, then the Warthog is a better choice as it isn't much more and is much better built.

I'm using a warthog without pedals - yaw works fairly well on the slew control nipple that is on the front of the throttle.

The Warthog is widely reported as being £300-£350, and if that were true I'd agree that the X55 is a reasonable choice.
Click to expand...

Your prices are way out. I go the X55 for £140, the X52 Pro is about £105-120 thus nowhere near double the price of the X52.
I appreciate that is from the one site.
 
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Bird Man

Bird Man
You might want to look into VKB products if you can get your hands on them. They have some super-expensive specialty gear but they also have a base stick (the Cobra) that costs about $50 US. The person who designed it also designed a throttle under a different brand (gametrix). You can buy the two of them together for under $100 on some sites.

Be warned though that they are harder to find and that not speaking Russian might cause some difficulty if you have any problems with them. That being said, to me, this stick and throttle are like a less expensive Russian version of the X-52 (I actually prefer the design).

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

http://www.3ona51.com/blog/2013/03/gametrix-engine-control-system-review/

http://www.es-gaming.ru/shop/CID_246.html
 
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Ref Minor

Ref Minor
I researched for a while and decided to go for the X-52 pro, however it was out of stock everywhere and my back order was delayed 3 times and beta was coming fast when I saw the x-55 in stock for £170 so I jumped on it. I am glad I got it, I no longer miss the extra money and I have a stick with more buttons and toggles than I can use. I know what people are saying about the size of the stick, I have normal sized hands and the very top hat and button are a stretch. The build quality seems good and does a good job.
 
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