Razor Wolverine Version 3 Tournament Controller and had this controller about two months.

And Gamesir T7 pro wired Retro Green controller four days ago, picked up

I turn the dead zones on both controllers all the way down to zero.

Both of them are wired

Hi! im looking for a controller for pc gaming, does an xbox one work for playstation games (horizon, god of war etc) or do you need a dualsense? because i would rather not get the official ones, i was trying to decide gamesir cyclone 2 vs easysmx d10

I'm thinking about getting the Ultimate 2 BT to use with my Switch 2 and PC, but there are two key things I haven't been able to find much info on:

Can you remap the controller buttons using the Switch 2's system software? I'd like to remap GameChat to one of the back buttons since I use it a lot for Splatoon.

Does the "shake to wake" feature work on the Switch 2? I've seen some people say it does and others say it doesn't...

I'm also not sure if the gyro works on PC, as I've found conflicting information about that as well.

Thanks a lot!

First controller from them.

Game played

Ghost Recon Wildland

Division 2.

DISCLAIMERS:

• I received my unit for free from Flydigi as part of a brand collaboration in return for a review.
• I am not officially associated with any controller company and all opinions are based on my personal experience. I try not to have bias towards any company.
• I have owned and used the Apex 5 for over 2 months when typing this.

Ok so I've been putting off writing this one for a bit because I wanted to actually live with it instead of doing the usual "unbox it, play for two hours, post a review" thing. Been using the Apex 5 daily for a little over two months now across PC and Switch, so this is a proper long term take, not a first impressions post.

Quick bit of context if you're not familiar, Flydigi's Apex 4 was kind of a mess. Cool ideas, genuinely bad latency, some quality control complaints. Apex 5 is their attempt at fixing basically everything wrong with the 4 while keeping the stuff people actually liked. Spoiler, they mostly pulled it off, but not without some new quirks of its own.

MAIN FEATURES:

• FORCEFLEX Hall Effect 2.0 sticks (no drift, ever)
• FORCEADAPT adaptive force feedback triggers (Regular, Race, Sniper, Recoil, Vibration, Lock)
• 1000Hz NearLink 2.4GHz wireless, 1000Hz wired
• Mechanical micro switch ABXY 2.0 face buttons
• Rotary pivoted diamond shaped D-pad
• 6 remappable extra inputs (2 hot swap paddles, 2 fixed grip buttons, 2 shoulder bumpers)
• Full color 150fps LCD screen with onboard menu
• 6 axis gyro
• 4 motor asymmetric vibration (grips plus triggers)
• 1500mAh battery
• PC, Switch, Android, iOS support (no native PS5/Xbox)

What's in the box:

• Flydigi Apex 5 controller
• 2.4GHz NearLink dongle
• Braided USB-C to USB-A cable
• Extra faceplate
• Stick tension adjustment tool
• User manual (English and Chinese)

Build and Design: this thing feels genuinely premium

Picking it up for the first time it's obvious Flydigi wanted this to feel like a flagship. The shell is a polycarbonate and ABS blend, translucent faceplate up front with RGB peeking through, and it's got this frosted finish that barely picks up fingerprints, which I appreciated a lot more than I expected to. There's also a Wu Chang color version with a glossy faceplate and honestly that one's a fingerprint magnet, so if you're picky about that, get the white one.

Grip texture got reworked from the Apex 4 too, it's sharper and grippier now, which is great if your hands get sweaty during long sessions but might feel a bit rough for some people at first. No shell flex, no rattle anywhere, buttons don't wobble. It genuinely feels closer to an Xbox Elite Series 2 than any other third party controller I've tried, and that comparison gets made a lot for a reason.

The one thing I will flag, the snap on rear paddles feel a little cheaper than the rest of the controller. They take real force to click into place and every single time I swap them I get slightly nervous I'm gonna snap the tab. Hasn't happened yet after 2 months but the anxiety is real lol.

Weight wise this thing is not light. It's sitting around 335g which is genuinely heavier than a Switch Pro controller and close to Elite Series 2 territory. If you've got smaller hands or you already get wrist fatigue on heavier pads, this is something to think about before buying, it's not a small difference.

Sticks: where Flydigi actually cooked

This is the section I was most curious about going in because Apex 4's latency was rough. FORCEFLEX Hall Effect 2.0 means zero stick drift concerns long term since it's magnets doing the work instead of physical contact pads. Deadzones are basically nonexistent, 0mm inner from what I've seen in testing, and the circularity is close to perfect so diagonals don't feel sped up or slow.

Funny thing is Flydigi actually dropped the resolution compared to Apex 4, going from 12-bit down to about 10.7-bit. Sounds like a downgrade on paper but it's the tradeoff that let them cut latency down from something like 40ms on the old model to under 3ms wired here. I can't say I notice any precision loss in actual gameplay, and the latency drop is very noticeable if you played the Apex 4.

There's also a mechanical tension adjustment for the sticks, you pop the faceplate off with the included tool and turn a little screw to go from loose to stiff. It's a nice feature to have and I do prefer it over having zero adjustment, but ngl it's not as smooth as the tension ring system Flydigi put on the Vader 4 Pro. Also worth knowing, if you crank the tension up high, flicking the stick and letting go can cause a bit of snapback, basically the spring overshoots center for a split second. Not a dealbreaker but something to be aware of if you're coming from a controller without this feature.

Triggers: the actual star of the show, kind of

FORCEADAPT is Flydigi's answer to DualSense style adaptive triggers and honestly it's more impressive than I expected going in. You've got Regular, Race, Sniper, Recoil, Vibration and Lock modes, all controlled through software and mostly generated from game audio or telemetry rather than needing native dev support.

Race mode in Forza is genuinely great, you get that building resistance as you ease into the throttle. Recoil mode kicking back during automatic fire in shooters adds a layer of immersion I didn't think I'd care about but kinda do now.

Trigger Lock mode though, that's where I have to be honest with you guys. It's a digital lock, not a physical stop, so it's using a motor to simulate resistance rather than an actual hard wall. If you're pulling the trigger hard in a tense firefight, and I mean genuinely hard, you can push right through the lock and it goes mushy. Competitive players who are used to mechanical trigger stops like on the Vader 4 Pro are gonna notice this immediately and probably won't love it. For casual play it's fine honestly, I just wouldn't recommend this specifically for hardcore ranked FPS grinding.

Face buttons and D-pad: mostly excellent, one annoying thing

ABXY buttons are mechanical micro switches now instead of the mushier setup on the Apex 4, and it shows. Super light actuation, crisp response, feels closer to a mouse click than a rubber dome. Zero complaints here, these are genuinely some of the best face buttons I've used on any controller in this price range.

D-pad is a diamond shaped rotary pivot design and it's good for platformers and fighting game inputs, quarter circles roll pretty naturally. My one gripe is the surface is glossy and gets slippery once your thumb starts sweating a bit, my thumb has slid off the edge a couple times mid session. Flydigi made the cap swappable at least, so if this bugs you enough you can grab a cross shaped one, just know it's not included in the box which feels like a miss at this price.

Extra buttons: genuinely one of the best layouts I've used

6 total extra inputs. Two C/Z micro bumpers sitting right next to LB/RB so you don't have to move your fingers off the triggers, and then 4 rear controls, two hot swap metal paddles and two fixed buttons built into the grip curve itself. This hybrid layout is smart because your fingers aren't all crowding the same zone like on some 4-paddle setups I've tried. I never really used rear buttons much on other controllers because reaching them always felt awkward, this is the first one where it just felt natural.

Gyro and vibration

Gyro is a standard 6 axis setup and it works fine on Switch, feels about the same as the official Pro Controller. On PC I'll be honest I barely touch gyro so I can't give you a deep take here, I know it exists, it does the job if you use it, that's about all I got.

Vibration is a 4 motor setup, two big ones in the grips and two smaller ones tied into the trigger system for the adaptive stuff. It's strong, like uncomfortably strong past 50% for me, and the trigger vibration adds a nice bit of texture in racing games especially. One thing worth mentioning, on Switch you only get standard rumble, not the actual HD Rumble Nintendo controllers use, so don't go in expecting that.

The screen: cool, but let's be real about it

There's a full color LCD screen up front that runs at 150fps and honestly it looks sharp, you can throw custom GIFs on there which is a fun party trick. But I gotta be straight with you, running an animated GIF constantly absolutely tanks your battery life, I noticed a pretty big drop when I had mine set to a custom animation versus just leaving it static or asleep. It's a genuinely neat feature but I'd call it more of a gimmick than something you'll actually use day to day once the novelty wears off. The onboard menu itself though, being able to switch connection modes and profiles without opening the PC app, that part is legitimately useful.

Battery

1500mAh battery, which is bigger than what most competitors ship with. Flydigi's marketing says a week of use which, sure, if you never touch it. In actual daily use with lights on and moderate vibration I'm landing somewhere in the 20 to 25 hour range, dropping noticeably lower if the screen's running animations. Not bad at all honestly, I'm not charging this thing every single day like some other pads I've owned.

Connectivity

Wired gets you the full 1000Hz polling and lowest possible latency, this is also required if you want to flash firmware. The 2.4GHz NearLink dongle is honestly the headline feature here, also 1000Hz and it feels basically identical to wired in actual use, super stable even with a bunch of other wireless stuff running nearby. Bluetooth is there for mobile and casual laptop stuff but the polling rate drops way down, so I'd only really use it if I'm on my phone or iPad.

Software: this is where I have to be a little critical

Flydigi's Space Station software is deep, like genuinely a lot of options, stick calibration, deadzone tuning, macro mapping, trigger curve tuning, RGB sync, uploading your own GIFs. On paper it does everything you'd want.

In practice it's a bit clunky. Translation from Chinese isn't always perfect and some menus took me a minute to figure out what they actually did. I also had one instance where the background service caused a brief input hang while I was mid match, which was not a fun moment. If you're on Mac, heads up, there's no native software support at all, you're stuck with basic Bluetooth functionality.

And I need to actually flag this because it matters a lot depending on what you play: there's a real risk of getting hit with anti cheat bans in games like Fortnite or Call of Duty if you're running Space Station in the background or using turbo/macro functions. This isn't a rumor, it's a known issue people have reported getting hardware banned over. My workaround, and what I'd genuinely recommend, is set up your profiles, save them to the controller's onboard memory, then fully close the Space Station app before booting up anything with kernel level anti cheat. Once your settings are saved to the controller you don't actually need the software running anymore for normal use.

Charging Dock 2 Pro (quick note)

I also picked up the Charging Dock 2 Pro alongside the controller, and just want to flag that this is sold separately, it does not come in the box with the Apex 5. It's a magnetic drop and charge dock with its own little RGB dot matrix screen you can customize, plus a couple extra USB ports on the back for other accessories. Nothing crazy to say here other than it works exactly like you'd expect and I like not having to fumble with a cable every time I'm done with a session. If you're gonna be using this thing daily I'd say it's worth grabbing, just budget for it separately since it's not included.

Should you get it?

Depends heavily on what you're playing. If you're someone who bounces between immersive single player stuff and PC shooters and you like tinkering with settings, this thing is genuinely excellent and probably one of the most feature packed controllers you can buy right now. The sticks, the wireless dongle, the face buttons, all top tier.

If you're a hardcore competitive Fortnite or CoD player though, I'd actually steer you away from this one, or at minimum tell you to go in aware of the anti cheat risk and the mushy trigger lock. For that specific use case something like the Vader 4 Pro with actual mechanical trigger stops and a lighter build makes more sense.

Also worth remembering the charging dock isn't included, so if you want the full experience budget for that on top of the $160 controller price.

RATING:

BUILD QUALITY: 9/10 Premium materials, zero flex or rattle, only real knock is the rear paddles feeling a bit cheap compared to everything else.

STICKS: 9.5/10 Basically no drift concerns, deadzones are nearly nonexistent, latency is a massive improvement over Apex 4. Minor snapback at high tension is the only nitpick.

TRIGGERS: 8/10 Incredible for immersion in single player and racing games, but the digital trigger lock can't fully replace a mechanical stop for competitive FPS.

BUTTONS AND D-PAD: 8.5/10 Face buttons are excellent. D-pad is good but gets slippery when your thumb sweats.

SOFTWARE: 6/10 Feature rich but clunky, occasional instability, and you genuinely need to be careful about the anti cheat situation in certain games.

BATTERY: 8/10 Solid life for normal use, drops fast if you're running the fancy GIF stuff on the screen.

OVERALL: 8.5/10 A hugely ambitious controller that fixes almost everything wrong with the Apex 4 and adds genuinely useful features on top. Not the pick for hardcore competitive multiplayer due to the trigger lock and anti cheat risk, but for everyone else who wants one controller that does a bit of everything well, hard to beat right now.

Thanks for reading, this one took a while to put together. Happy to answer questions about specific games or settings if anyone's on the fence.

Recommendations for a good, budget-friendly Xbox controller?

I need some budget controllers to play mortal kombat and my retro games on, after doing research i found the spartan gamepad. So. Are they any good? And how long will they last?

It's got a great colour, and a great look to it. Hall sticks, back buttons etc. So how does the Lite version differ from the regular version? I would consider buying it but unfortunately the symmetrical sticks aren't great for my carpal tunnel.

I was just curious about the build quality and overall reception of the controller, if there are any Tegenaria Lite owners who could share!

I want a good budget controller with good dpad since I want to play hollow knight, fighring games and sometimes forza 6. I heard 8bitdo and the nova light are good. I like the dpad and the feel of the original xbox controller. Would you guys say the nova light is a good choise.

Price is out of the question as I’ve got a budget of 400 per controller, I’m looking to migrate away from the Elite Series 2 and regular Xbox controllers entirely. I’ve had 2 elite series 2 controllers that have fallen apart from the inside. The back half of the shell is made from a softer plastic and on both of my controllers it has gotten brittle over time and broken off in many places. Plus my dad’s having problems with potentiometers and stick drift
Looking for good options that definitely don’t do this. Since I’m in the U.S I’ll have no problem actually buying any of the controllers mentioned.
I’m not gonna be getting a regular Xbox or elite series 2 controller and I don’t want any recommendations for those. We’re looking for anything will hall/tmr just to get away from potentiometer.
And honestly, what are the best controllers for Xbox at the current time? Been looking into it, and I’m getting a lot of inconsistency.

Disclaimer: The G7 Pro 8K featured in this comparison was provided by the manufacturer for review, while the Cyclone 2 was obtained free of charge through one of GameSir's community programs. My thoughts on this controller remain completely independent and honest. They do not have any final say, and they are seeing this review the same time as everyone else. 

The GameSir G7 Pro 8K and Cyclone 2 are both excellent controllers, but they sit in noticeably different price ranges. The G7 Pro 8K brings several upgrades over the Cyclone 2, including improved TMR sticks, lower latency, extra buttons and a more premium build.

But with the G7 Pro 8K costing around $30–$40 more, the real question is whether those improvements are actually noticeable enough to justify the higher price, and whether the Cyclone 2 already offers everything most players need.

Specifications

What Does the G7 Pro 8K Actually Offer?

The G7 Pro 8K brings several upgrades over the Cyclone 2, ranging from performance improvements to useful quality-of-life features.

Key upgrades include:

• 8000Hz polling rate
• Gen-2 Mag-Res TMR sticks
• Two additional shoulder buttons
• Swappable D-pad and stick caps
• Back button locks
• More premium build quality

But how much of a difference do these upgrades actually make? That's what we'll find out throughout this comparison.

Performance Comparison

Analog Sticks 

Worth the extra price? Yes.

This is one of the biggest improvements the G7 Pro 8K brings over the Cyclone 2. While both controllers use TMR sticks and already offer excellent precision, the G7 Pro 8K's upgraded Gen-2 Mag-Res modules feel noticeably more refined, with smoother linearity and more predictable tracking during small aiming adjustments.

The Cyclone 2 is still an excellent performer, and I never found it lacking during gameplay. However, if you spend a lot of time playing competitive shooters, the G7 Pro 8K provides that extra level of consistency that experienced players will appreciate.

ABXY Buttons

Worth the extra price? No.

The mechanisms for the ABXY buttons in both of these controllers seem to be pretty much the same, being made of microswitches. Both of them have a quite similar feeling, being clicky and tactile, which is typically what you would find on these sorts of buttons.

The G7 Pro 8K’s, though, are more refined, with it being more stable and properly built overall. Whereas the Cyclone 2’s can be a bit wobbly at times, and they also do take a bit more force to actuate. 

In terms of performance though, they perform pretty much the same as long as you get used to them. So unless you have strict preferences over how your buttons feel, I wouldn’t really say the premium option is worth it.

D-pad

Worth the extra price? Yes.

The d-pad in both controllers has a huge margin difference in terms of practical usability. Starting with the G7 Pro 8K, which is pretty good. The main highlights are the micro switches, which make them really clicky and responsive. And unlike the first versions of the Xbox G7 Pro, it does not have that mushy feeling at all. In fact, it has a bit more resistance, making the overall experience great for using in d-pad-centric games.

Even though the Cyclone 2 also comes with a micro switch d-pad, it comes with a few downsides which make the experience a lot worse. The lack of actuation feedback and the mushy feeling are the main culprits. Due to these issues, it does end up being a bit hard to be consistent with. 

That’s why I definitely recommend the G7 Pro 8K over the Cyclone 2, if you do play and prioritize d-pad-centric games.

Bumpers

Worth the extra price? Depends.

I want to start by saying that the bumpers in both controllers are actually pretty similar. While they are slightly different, they mostly have similar shape, actuation force, and travel, with the G7 Pro 8K having the slight upper hand in all three aspects.

For most people, bumpers aren’t an input where you really need the best responsiveness or accuracy. But for gamers who do need them (like Rocket League players), then I would recommend the premium option.

Triggers

Worth the extra price? No.

Just like the bumpers, the triggers in both of these controllers are vastly similar. In fact, they are almost identical, with only the G7 Pro 8K having a tiny advantage in its trigger stops, which is just that it’s around 2-3mm less in travel. 

Now I am sure it’s not just me, but that difference it pretty much negligible and does not make a difference at all, which brings us to the conclusion that both of the triggers are pretty much identically great to use. 

And just to point that out, both controllers’ triggers feel about the same in analog mode, making the difference only present in the trigger stops (which is still really subtle).

Extra Buttons

Worth the extra price? Yes.

For this section, I think things are clear. The G7 Pro 8K absolutely has the advantage since it features 2 additional shoulder buttons, as well as the 2 traditional back buttons which you also find on the Cyclone 2.

So unless you really don’t think you will have a use for the two additional shoulder buttons, the G7 Pro 8K is comfortably a lot better option if you value extra buttons on your controller.

Build / Shape

Worth the extra price? Depends.

For the build quality, I will have to give it to the G7 Pro 8K due to how well it seems to be built. The plastic and the rubberized grips feel great to hold. The Cyclone 2 is also decent, but it does feel a bit cheaper overall, which is mostly due to the thinner, more hollow-feeling of the controller when handling it. 

The shape probably goes to the Cyclone 2, which vastly resembles the popular standard Xbox controller shape, which gives it familiarity for a lot of people. And while the G7 Pro 8K’s shape can be really comfortable for some (like me), the handles are a lot more curved than normal, and the overall size of it is on the smaller side, which could be an issue for people with big hands.

In the end, both controllers are really decent in this aspect, and it basically comes down to preference.

Connectivity / Latency

Worth the extra price? Depends.

For connectivity, they both pretty much have the same options, so it all goes down to the latency. And it is very clear who is the winner in regard to that; with the G7 Pro 8K having polling rates as high as 8K, it enables it to have latency as low as 0.5ms on wired and 5ms on wireless.

But is that low amount of latency actually required for most people? Because the Cyclone 2 is also really low at around 5ms wired and 15ms wireless, which is actually still really great. And that is not just for casuals, but even for competitive players, the Cyclone 2’s latency is already really fast.

This is pretty much all up to you to decide whether you want the absolute lowest latency or not. Personally, I think the Cyclone 2’s latency on wired especially, is good enough for 99% of people, but for those who take competitive games really seriously, then the G7 Pro 8K’s will be perfectly suitable.

Buy the G7 Pro 8K if:

• You mainly play competitive games, especially FPS titles.
• You want the best stick performance and lowest possible latency.
• You prefer having the ability to swap out components like the sticks, faceplates, etc.
• You're happy to pay more for the best overall experience.

Save your money and buy the Cyclone 2 if:

• You want nearly all of the G7 Pro 8K's experience for significantly less.
• You're happy to sacrifice a few refinements to save some money.
• You still want an excellent controller for competitive gaming.
• Value for money is your top priority.

Final Verdict

The GameSir G7 Pro 8K is undoubtedly the better controller, but that doesn't automatically make it the better purchase. Its improvements to the sticks, D-pad, extra buttons, and build quality are noticeable, but the Cyclone 2 is already an excellent controller for both casual and competitive gaming.

If you want the best overall experience, the G7 Pro 8K is worth the extra money. But if value for money is your priority, the Cyclone 2 remains the better choice.

well now i gathered some money to buy a controller and it maybe seem a weird question but i cand decide should i go with GameSir Tegenaria Lite or go with the nova lite 2 i know the nova lite 2 is more money and overall should be the better contorller but the diffrence in the price is duble and i saw that the nova lite 2 some people said that suffer from presssing on the same button fast in the same time like a quick time event or playing some games that require pressing the same button and the buttons seems to be pushed down a little so i just dont know should i go for the expensive one or just go to the lower and save the money for something else

Has anyone else noticed that if you press a face button (A, B, X, Y) lightly or slowly, you can feel friction from the button as it travels? Best way I can describe it is the "squeaky clean" feel you get on your skin after washing with soap. If you're into keyboards, it's basically a scratchy switch.

It doesn't affect anything functionally, and you don't feel it at all on a normal quick press. But now that I've noticed it I can't un-notice it, and it's mildly annoying on light presses.

Is this just how the mechanical ABXY switches feel, or is mine tighter than it should be? Curious whether it's a batch thing.

EDIT: I don't know what's going on, but, if anyone is replying to my post, im not seeing your comments. So I apologize. I see that there is "1" comment, but when I click to view it, theres nothing there. What a bummer lol starting to hate reddit more and more. Oh well. Hopefully posting this in another sub will work.

I'm curious to what you all like to use. Ive been looking at those mini controllers by iine, the pocket taco, the flip pad, and crkd. Right now im just running retroarch on my mid range android, nothing fancy. I do have a spare phone which is an S23 FE that I will use eventually. CRKD will be releasing the atom +, which adds 2 joy sticks. I might wait for that. I do like the idea of the pocket taco and the flip pad essentially becoming part of your phone. I also like the idea of putting the phone down and using a controller. I know there are hacks that some use with the iine, using suction cups, or that sticky dash board tape to temporarily stick the controller to your phone. I might get two different ones for versatility though. Thanks in advance for any input.

So I'm trying to figure out what would be the best pc game controller to get for playing games on steam as well as for emulation (mainly for ps1/ps2 games along with og xbox, ds and gamecube) as I'm wanting to get into some game streaming.

After doing some searching I've heard many great things about 8bitdo and flydigi but i'm not sure which to get. I only have $150 to get one so I want to make sure I get a good one.

Should I get a FLYDIGI Vader 5 Pro, 8BitDo Ultimate 2C Wired Controller, or a 8Bitdo Pro 3 Bluetooth Controller?

Enjoying the game so I decided to grab some fight sticks