I'm looking for a PC controller that resembles a PS4 or PS5 contoller for my wife. I plan on getting the 8bitdo ultimate, but the resemblance to a playstation controller is her main criteria for her controller. we want to be able to play PC games together with our controllers, but every controller that I see online either doesn't match the description (primarily needing symmetrical joystick layout in the center of the controller) or only costs $25 which scares me when it comes to quality and longevity. I don't want to use bluetooth for the connection because when I bluetoothed my PS5 controllers to my PC the input lag was dreadful, so I would like the controllers to be dongled to the PC. any suggestions for my wife? thanks so much.

To suit information requirements:

- No more than $200 CAD

- Canada

- PC is the platform

- Centered symmetrical joystick layout, and 2.4G dongle, hall effect joysticks would be a bonus but not needed.

- don't know the games yet, we use steam though

- playstation controllers for comparison

How is the Apex 6 for Steam Input?

I found that the Vader 5 Pro was a downgrade from the Vader 4 Pro due to things like duplicate controllers in steam, 'allow third party mapping' sporadically disabling itself requiring my to unplug and re-plug the controller, and other issues.

Is the Apex 6 better with Steam Input?

It's cause I heard some people remap button to paddles in the back for a racing game. :D

Keep in mind, this is for PC.

Budget is up to $250 USD.

I am in the United States. I can buy from major US retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, or directly from the manufacturer or another reputable US seller.

My main platform is PC, but I also regularly play on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Switch. I already have a Retro Fighters controller that I like for Switch, so I do not necessarily need one controller to replace everything. I am also willing to use Brook or another good adapter if that is the best way to use one controller across older consoles.

The features I care about most are very accurate analog sticks, the smallest practical true center deadzone, consistent centering, high useful stick resolution, good linearity, low real stick latency, good circularity without aggressive firmware smoothing or fake correction, and long term resistance to stick drift. I would strongly prefer TMR or another contactless stick technology over traditional potentiometers.

I also care a lot about quality control. I do not want to spend $150 to $250 on something that develops bumper problems, trigger problems, centering issues, wireless disconnects, firmware problems, or inconsistent stick tension a few months later.

Replaceability is also a big plus. That is one reason the DualSense Edge interests me, because the complete stick cartridges can be removed and replaced. I could potentially use prebuilt calibrated TMR Edge modules and still keep the original Sony modules as backups.

The main games I play include Destiny 2, GTA V, Call of Duty, and other shooters and action games. So stick behavior around the center, precise aiming, latency, and consistency matter more to me than having a perfectly round Gamepad Tester screenshot.

VCuda also just uploaded this comparison, which made the decision harder:

https://youtu.be/Td3UQusS48o

The controllers I am currently comparing are the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E, GameSir G7 Pro 8K Aimlabs and other G7 Pro variants, DualSense Edge with aftermarket TMR modules, a custom DualSense with TMR sticks already installed, Razer Wolverine V3 Pro or newer Wolverine models, Razer Raiju V3 Pro, and possibly SCUF Omega.

The 8BitDo Ultimate 3E especially caught my attention after VCuda's video. It has TMR sticks, a 12 bit ADC, Xbox wireless support, interchangeable stick caps, D pads and ABXY mechanisms, trigger stops, a charging dock, 2.4 GHz wireless, and a lot of customization. My concern is the QC reports I have seen involving bumpers, triggers, stick resistance, Tournament Mode, and firmware.

The GameSir G7 Pro 8K looks extremely good from the GamepadLA measurements, especially its very low latency and high TMR stick resolution. My concerns are centering consistency, firmware behavior, QC, and whether Raw Mode, Circular Mode, jitter filtering, or other processing changes the actual analog output.

The DualSense Edge plus TMR modules is probably the most interesting long term option to me because I can replace the entire stick module without soldering. I have seen K Silver JS13 Pro Plus, AKNES or HallPi V6, Battle Beaver Magneto, GuliKit, Favor Union, and Ginfull discussed for TMR conversions. If I go this route, I would prefer complete calibrated plug and play modules instead of soldering sensors myself.

For people who have actually owned these, what would you choose under $250?

I am especially interested in firsthand experience with long term centering, tiny deadzones, stick resolution, linearity, latency, stick tension consistency, firmware problems, button and bumper durability, trigger durability, wireless reliability, and anything that only became obvious after weeks or months of use.

For DualSense Edge owners using TMR, which actual TMR module would you recommend today?

For Ultimate 3E owners, have the bumpers, triggers, sticks, firmware, Tournament Mode, or wireless connection given you any problems?

For G7 Pro 8K owners, have you had centering drift, paddle failures, trigger problems, firmware issues, or strange Raw Mode behavior?

I am also considering Brook Wingman XE2 for PS3 and Switch and Wingman XB2 for Xbox 360. If anyone has actually used the DualSense Edge, Ultimate 3E, GameSir G7 Pro, or newer Razer controllers through these adapters, I would really like to know how well the sticks, analog triggers, rumble, motion controls, and latency work.

I am completely fine with buying two controllers if that gives me a better setup than trying to make one controller do everything. For example, Ultimate 3E or G7 Pro 8K as my main PC controller and DualSense Edge for PS3, Xbox 360, and possibly Switch through Brook adapters.

If you were spending your own money today and cared more about measured stick performance, low deadzones, latency, and long term reliability than marketing specs, which route would you take?

My dualshock 4 controller phantom presses the PS button without pressing (the ps button is sometimes stuck, I have to use my finger nails to get it unstuck). I've tried the small hole on the back, doesn't work. It gets to the point where it doesn't connect to my PS4 or it connects to the PS4 by itself. Need to be able to fix this somehow because its my only working controller.

I finally got this working, so I'm sharing the fix in case someone else runs into the same issue.

The problem

I have a Flydigi Vader 4 Pro connected to a Windows 11 laptop using the 2.4 GHz USB dongle. I use Flydigi Space Station 3.4.9.5 to map the extra buttons (C, Z, M1–M4) to keyboard keys, including NumPad keys.

The controller itself worked normally, and the button mappings were configured in Space Station, but pressing those buttons produced absolutely no keyboard input. I tested them in Notepad. The same controller and mappings worked on my desktop PC, so the problem appeared to be specific to the laptop.

I also tried Bluetooth, but the keyboard mappings still didn't work.

What fixed it

The Flydigi virtual keyboard and mouse drivers were not installed in Windows, even though their files were present in the Space Station installation folder.

I opened PowerShell as Administrator and ran these commands.

1. Install the virtual keyboard driver

pnputil.exe /add-driver "C:\Program Files\FlydigiSpaceStation\Service\keyfdo.inf" /install

Windows confirmed:

Driver package added successfully.
Driver package installed on device: ROOT\FEIZHI_VIRTUAL_KEYBOARD\0000

2. Install the virtual mouse driver

pnputil.exe /add-driver "C:\Program Files\FlydigiSpaceStation\Service\mousefdo.inf" /install

Windows confirmed:

Driver package added successfully.
Driver package installed on device: ROOT\FEIZHI_VIRTUAL_MOUSE\0000

Both drivers were installed successfully.

Before this, checking Windows system drivers showed that the FeizVKB and FeizVMO driver services did not exist.

The final step: restart Windows

After installing both drivers, I restarted Flydigi Space Station and tested the buttons again, but they still didn't work.

I then restarted the laptop. After the reboot, the extra buttons finally started working and correctly generated keyboard inputs.

I can now use the C, Z and M1–M4 buttons with my assigned keyboard mappings.

If your Vader 4 Pro's extra buttons don't generate keyboard inputs in Windows, even though the mappings are configured correctly:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
2. Install the virtual keyboard driver using keyfdo.inf.
3. Install the virtual mouse driver using mousefdo.inf.
4. Restart Windows. Restarting only Flydigi Space Station wasn't enough in my case.
5. Test the mapped buttons in Notepad.

Use the INF files included with your existing Flydigi Space Station installation. Don't disable Windows driver-signature enforcement or download random driver files.

Hopefully this saves someone else a few hours or days of troubleshooting!

I recently purchased the 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Wireless. Using the 8BitDo software, I’ve configured the two extra buttons on the underside PR and PL to act as clicks for the right and left thumbsticks, respectively. I’ve always found clicking the thumbsticks down a bit awkward, especially when trying to provide directional input at the same time.

Beyond those, the controller also features additional buttons: R4 and L4. I’m currently a bit stuck on what to use these for, or rather, how I should map them. I was also a bit surprised to find that the software seemingly only allows you to map existing controller buttons, rather than keyboard keys.

Aside from macros, have you found any useful ways to map these two buttons?

Playing on Windows (mostly Steam)

1. Budget: Preferably under €50; maximum €65 including delivery.

2. Country and retailers: Netherlands. I can order from Dutch retailers or EU stores that ship here, including bol, Amazon.nl and MaxGaming.

3. Platform: Windows PC. I play without Steam, so keyboard mapping must work without Steam Input.

4. Desired features: Every rear button and extra shoulder button must be independently assignable to a keyboard key, while keeping the standard controller buttons available for separate bindings. Simply duplicating A/B/X/Y isn’t sufficient. Wireless is preferred.

5. Games: Mainly MapleStory Classic, with occasional FPS games.

6. Controllers considered: I bought an 8BitDo Ultimate 2 Bluetooth but couldn’t get its extra buttons recognised independently in my setup. I’ve compared the GameSir Super Nova, Flydigi Direwolf 4 and BIGBIG WON Rainbow 2 SE. I’ve now ordered the Rainbow 2 SE because it advertises keyboard mapping and has two rear buttons plus two extra shoulder buttons.

Does the Rainbow 2 SE meet these requirements through its PC software, including over the 2.4 GHz receiver? Is there a better option within my budget?

So first of all, I'm using batocera v42 and I've got 8 controllers recently, but i'm having some issues. The only game I could play without any problems using 8 controllers at the same time was Mr. Boom. Here are some questions of mine:

* Why does mega saturn's bomberman allows 2 players in my batocera? Thera are 10 slots but 3 to 10 only allows me to put CPU or Off.

* Why does Windows games like Fling to the finish (8 players) and Alpaca ball (8 players) recoginizes only 4 controllers at the same time? What am I missing here?

* Is there any tricks or settings I should know about? I thought it was just plug and play for any game like these.

* Any tips?

DISCLAIMER: This controller was sent to me by Gamesir for free for review. All the thoughts and opinions are mine only. No scripts were provided by Gamesir. No one watched this review before its release.

TLDR; G7Pro 8K is one of the best controllers for FPS games IMO (and my personal favorite). It's also good for all other genres. D-Pad was changed and improved once more on Phantom Blade 0 Edition even compared to AIMLABS Edition.

Personally, I find this design fine, but it might have been better.

Srry for bad english and all but idk what's happening

The issue is in the video but steam also detects buttons I never pressed and when I lightly press a, steam holds it for a while

Again maybe it's because the controller is too old and stuff but it started glitching while in game and I used it for like 1-2 years now and never had anything like this before

If you need further info, I'll try to help you, i'm really bad with computer stuff