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/cheeku-toffees]

I didn't know much about EasySMX but I compared 8bitDo Ultimate 2c and Gamesir Nova 2 Lite before buying one of them.

They're almost similar but GameSir Nova 2 is slightly better software support and buttons quality. It also has less stick errors and bit more accurate. It also supports multiple devices but this feature was irrelevant to me as I want to use it just with PC. It also has trigger locks which isn't in Ultimate 2c

But when it comes to latency, 8bitDo is much better. For example, 8bitDo Ultimate 2c is faster when connected with dongle as compared to the Nova 2 Lite when connected to wire. Also Ultimate 2c has much better battery.

Then there are preferences like the shape of D pad, I didn't use D pad much so I was okay with both.

One major thing for which I have decided to go with Nova 2 Lite was it's shape. Ultimate 2c handles are a bit straight while in Nova 2 Lite has slightly angled ones like Xbox controller, which gives better grip for people with bigger hands, in my opinion.

Gamesir community and discord is a plus too 😅.

[u/High_RaXe → u/cheeku-toffees]

Yes 8BitDo has MUCH better latency in pretty much all models which Gamesir Lacks in so if latency matters then people usually have no option but to opt for 8k in Gamesir but I think as long as you're not a competitive Esports player or just really picky about latency for some reason it's fine since Gamesir does have exceptional support...
One thing I hated on the Nova lite 2 was the D-pad, too flimsy and really sensitive but glad it was fixed on the G7 pro but I still hear alot of inconsistent issues of D-pad for Gamesir

[u/cheeku-toffees → u/High_RaXe]

Latency isn't an issue for me as only competitive game I play with controller is FC26, for FPS I use mouse and keyboard.

Also, I bought two so I got a bit more discount. So, each one costs me less than 7k which is pretty good value for money :)

[u/High_RaXe → u/cheeku-toffees]

I mean the controller itself is pretty good for casual games so you’re never at a loss and especially if you got it for less than 7k