I bought the x52 a week ago and I only have two problems, how much I payed for it, and the software.
Lets start with the throttle. It has a rather useless LCD display. This display is only functional if you set up a "profile" using the saitek software. If you elect not to use the saitek software then the display is nothing more than a 2 time zone clock and stop watch. Even with the “profiles†the display only tells you what each button does. Yep thats all it is, a clock and button function display.
The throttle includes a mouse emulator. A nice feature but a little hard to use when the throttle is not at or near full throttle due to the angle. The mouse feature is not easy to use in heavy combat situation because its not fast/accurate enough but its great for something slower like MS Flight Sim 2004.
The throttle has two rotational knobs and one slider PERFECT for trim settings. The problem is that they are NOT buttons but rather another three more joystick axes. If the simulator does not have the ability to map these to the trim/feature you want then they are useless. Microsoft Flight Sim's do not have the ability to map all of the trim directions to the knobs. So something like rudder trim (used frequently with choppers) is not mappable while useless features like never used engine commands can be mapped to an axes. This is a problem with the simulators and don't expect all the the features to work exactly the way you hope.
The throttle only has 2 buttons, and 8 way view hat when used without the “profile software†the mouse buttons, scroll wheel and the “infoâ€are useless because they are not reported to the game as buttons. I think they can be remapped in the “profile†software.
The second part of the system is the Stick. It has a double trigger button, pinky button and 4 thumb buttons along with 2 hat switches. These buttons all work as expected but the â€ؚnd†button is covered with a safety flip up cover. This cover is kind of annoying to me but some people might enjoy it. The stick also has 3 toggle switches that are reported to the game as 6 different buttons (3 up and 3 down)
The stick itself has a nice smooth motion and has the same centering system I have seen on other non-force feedback sticks from saitek. I really like the motion but one thing it lacks is a tension setting on the spring but this is not a problem for me
The stick has a rudder twist and a lock feature that prevents this rudder twist from working. However the lock does not prevent ALL rudder twist and seems like it might break if twisted hard enough.
The stick also has one more knob thats labeled “Mode.†I think the purpose of this knob is to remap all the sticks & throttles functions to triple the number of functions this system can handle. The problem is that I have not figured out how to use this nor do I really need to because I already have more buttons that I need.
Both the stick an throttle have nice blue LED's that are dimmable via the driver. Its even possible to turn off the lights with the dimmer if wanted. This is a VERY nice feature and I hope Saitek is smart enough to include this in all future products (hint hint). I like the lights but at night they can be bright without the dimmer function. The lights are powered off the USB cable and do not require another power cable (something I detested about my force feedback) Overall both the stick and throttle have a nice appearance, they look a little like 'old school' sticks with nice modern lines and colours. The sticks also have many ways to me mounted, they have notches for screws or suction cups, holes through the base for nails and rubber feet for gravity. The bases are large and heavy enough I have not had any problem with just the rubber feet on a desktop.
The reason this stick only gets 4 stars is the software. Perhaps its just me but for some reason I hate this software. First of all it adds another icon to my already overcrowded sys-tray. This program always comes up on startup and can't be removed from the startup routines without uninstalling the program or some other more complex process. The icon can be removed until the next reboot by “exiting.â€
The “profile editor†is also not my favorite program. First the program tends to crash a lot while editing the profiles. The program is designed to allow the user to map any keyboard or mouse command to a joystick control. This is a time consuming process and the “profiles†that can be downloaded for free make no sense in the way they are mapped. The only reason I see to use the profile editor is if you want to use the mode switch or have the functions of each button show up on the LCD display.
It is NOT possible to edit the text that shows up on the throttles without setting up a profile and without mapping the buttons to to a keyboard or mouse command. This means that mapping the functions/buttons in a game is possible but having the text show up on the throttle will not work without a profile and mapping all the controls in this program.
I also found a little bug, I don't know if its hardware, software or me, it might not even be a bug but a feature. If I use the pinky switch and the trigger or vice versa it locks the last pushed button (pinky or trigger) on until that button is pushed again.
Overall the system is very nice when it comes to hardware but the software is bad bad bad. The LCD is just a clock and stopwatch and if you want to go to the trouble of setting up a profile the LCD will only show the function of each button. The stick is only as good as the game its playing and this is its biggest problem.
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