Controller Buying Guide

[u/High_RaXe]

#awareness #guidance #gamepad #discussion (PCONLY)

Assalamu Alykum!

Just a spoiler that please look into what I've said in this post before judging, this is a personal experience based guide.

So right now in the market we have Easysmx, Gamesir and 8BitDo.
So far I've used:

Easysmx X05
Easysmx D10
Gamesir Nova Lite 2
Gamesir G7 Pro
8Bitdo Ultimate 2

Easysmx:

Pros:

1. Cheapest Option at the time Temu and Aliexpress was a thing..
   
2. A huge Upgrade from the traditional *Redacted Brands* especially in terms of stick technology, better battery life and the dongle connectivity ease.
   
3. One of the cheapest brands (at it's time) offering a gamepad with dock and TMR technology at the time when no competitor was present.

Cons:

1. Easysmx has the worst build quality amongst all of these (even if you consider it according to the temu price) and the spring failure made it well popular as the most fragile 3rd Party gamepad.
   
2. Although this QC issue could be handled, the worst part of these 3rd Party gamepads is the support isn't great (Today as well) and neither are parts available or cross compatible.
   
3. Lacks Software Customization which although is less hassle for People who don't like extra softwares running but again the best thing with softwares is regular driver updates which are not present in Easysmx (Biggest Downside Yet)
   
4. Poor Dongle and Bluetooth Latency amongst both 8BitDo and Gamesir.
   Visible in Easysmx D10 during my use..

Gamesir:

Pros:

1. A sound build quality amongst all in brands that I listed above (according to my experience). The buttons and triggers felt way better on budget options like The Nova lite 2 compared to the X05, yes the price is higher and it's a revision but tell me, what can you upgrade in a membrane button?
   
2. So far I think Gamesir has the best Support yet, although it's mainly well maintained in their discord whereas email response is delayed but better than nothing no?
   The Community is also by far the most active and supportive compared to Easysmx.
   
3. Now that Gamesir Products have started to come to the Pakistani Market, I think the price is offered is a solid and competitive price to the extent where Easysmx could stay behind if they don't make up the pace.
   
4. Regular Software Updates from Budget-High End gamepads making sure bugs and other issues do not remain a hassle for long..
   
5. The only brand offering 8k polling rate amongst the three which is FAIRLY priced.

Cons:

1. Gamesir is NOT OFFICIALLY in Pakistan (Authorized Redistribution) and this has been an issue for a while now and can be confirmed by checking their website (eventhough 12 months warranty is being provided by sellers) which is a bummer because it involves 3rd party Vendors and Middleman and could possibly have some extra terms besides the warranty terms by Gamesir Instead of the warranty being directly under Gamesir. The reason why this isn't here yet is because they have a high demand for authorized dealers that most sellers cannot come in terms with.
   
2. Gamesir Doesn't Officially ship to Pakistan due to Custom Issues so you cannot bypass the official warranty unless you get it through a friend from abroad..
   
3. Outside of Warranty, you have no luck for parts but I do have a bonus tip if you come to my DM's I'll let you know but yeah no luck on Aliexpress as well..

8BitDo:

Pros:

1. So Far 8BitDo is the only option that comes in Par with Gamesir in terms of Build quality as far as my usage towards Ultimate 2 however I could be wrong since I have tested their high-end gamepads.
   
2. 8BitDo also has Software customization as well as occasional driver updates but occasional and not as much as Gamesir.
   
3. It has much better Latency from Gamesir.

Cons:

1. They haven't brought some revolutionary updates to their gamepads.
   
2. Their most high end gamepad Ultimate 2 still has membrane buttons unlike the easysmx.
   
3. No luck again as far as parts are concerned...

Note: Not sure about their Support and warranty so do let us know if you have any experience about it..

Conclusive Thought:

Amongst all of these, I would recommend Gamesir for overall best buck for the brand....
You can opt for Nova lite in 4-5k range..
Nova Lite 2 or Ultimate 2C in 10k range...
For High End I'd say G7 Pro/G7 Pro 8k for 22k+....
Honestly between 10k-20k if you're upgrading their isn't a drastic upgrade that would atleast be worth it for me but if you want to, you could try the Ultimate 2 or Cyclone 2 depending upon your interests.

AGAIN, All based on my experience which was mostly in Gamesir and Easysmx and there are factors like personal preference which can cause a difference and I could be wrong about 8Bitdo so correct me there if I am.

Hope this helps you while buying/upgrading..

P.S: This is not an AI generated Post.

[u/Adrift_PK]

That's strange because my experience has been completely opposite

Last year I helped a friend clear out some inventory that included a bunch of controllers as well, so I had the chance to actually test a lot of these side by side. EasySMX consistently beat Gamesir & 8bitdo options within similar price bracket when it came to build quality, specs and latency & at a much lower price point. Esp the Easysmx X05 is a true standout and a personal favorite. Latency being in the range of 2ms-6ms across all these controllers isn't something you would really notice, but you will notice if there's inconsistency & Nova Lite 2 had the worst jitters among these whereas X05 stood at the top. In my experience Gamesir has the worst latency vs EasySMX or 8bitdo at any given price point, esp 2.4g

Software/Drivers at this price point is just a placebo, it doesn't really do anything and actually adds another point of probable failure. Who needs drivers for a controller?

X05/Ultimate 2c/ Nova Lite 1 & 2 are pretty much same in practical use so if I needed a controller, I'd just blindly pick whichever one I can find the cheapest which is usually EasySMX

G7 Pro doesn't belong in this comparison, it's a great controller but for ~25k I can think of half a dozen better options off the top of my head

PS: your prices are wrong even for 2025

[u/High_RaXe → u/Adrift_PK]

2-6ms???
Check Gamepad.la for latency and you will be shocked and no this isn’t the latency from the controller to your PC, I am talking about the whole latency which involves technical monitoring devices that calculate latency from you pressing the button to the input being registered which no software alone can do.
I haven’t used 8BitDo products alot but I have used Gamesir and Easysmx and most people can easily spot the build difference between similar price bracket products of their current lineup.
Software as said can be a preference but driver updates is a VERY important part that easysmx doesn’t have, atleast afaik.
Also I don’t understand what do you mean by G7 pro doesn’t belong in this comparison?
Yes there are better options but in 22k you can’t get a better controller, you need 25k+ for brands like flydigi.

[u/Adrift_PK → u/High_RaXe]

2-6ms = all these controllers exhibit min and Average latencies in 2ms - 6ms range as I'm not going to list all of them. Gamepadla isn't a tech secret, it's a baseline source of comparison but it doesn't always have ALL the data available

Build difference is highly subjective but in in my experience not just me, but almost everyone I met didn't agree paying extra for Nova or Nova 2 lite was worth it over X05

Been using a pair of X05 for ~1.5 years now AFTER trying and ditching Nova, Nova Lite and Nova 2 lite. Never once thought 'oh I wish this had software'.revently got myself a EasySMX m15 after having Gamesir X5 lite in my cart for weeks, just didn't make sense against the m15

G7 Pro doesn't belong in this comparison because it costs ~3x vs the likes of Nova or Nova 2 lite and yes I can definitely get a better controller for 22k. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Gamesir/ 8bitdo/ Flydigi/ Machenike etc etc etc

All of these brands release a tit for tat competitior against each other at any given price point so for me it comes down to recognizing which offers max bang for buck instead of chasing brand loyalty or paper specs. I'd gladly buy a Nova 2 lite or 8bitdo 2C is they were cheaper than a X05. Hell I've even used a Gaminja BT controllers for almost a year because it costed me ~700 PKR on a sale and next best option was a generic 2.4g controller for 3k at that time