Saitek X52 Pro Flight System Controller

I am a long time flight sim enthusiast. I used to be the type who would always look for a better joystick on the market; that is until one day I purchased myself an X52 joystick from Saitek. This joystick was excellent, and it lasted me several great years of flying and fighting in combat sims. Recently however, I started to want an upgrade because my old x52 was beginning to wear after 7 years of use. I finally bit the bullet and purchased the x52 pro. First impressions: My first impression out of the box was that the joystick was exactly the same as the X52... I thought this was strange. I then pulled all the packaging away and realized that this x52 pro was a whole new world compared to the regular x52. Further inspection: Upon further inspection of the joystick I found that the same features that made the x52 great were still there; You had the toggle switches on the joystick along with the famous pinkie button and the protected fire button up top. Along with that you also had the multiple POV hats on the joystick. I really enjoyed the new button texture of the toggle switches, it gave me a better ability to feel the switch as I was attempting to use it. The biggest improvement I noticed among everything else was the increased spring tension of the joystick. No longer would I have to worry about my joystick floating about when I wasn't touching it. The throttle still had its many great features including the thumb stick for the mouse as well as the button that acts as a mouse button. The throttle Quad: Moving onto the throttle quadrant I noticed the same great shape and layout that the old x52 had, however I started to notice several difference. The first difference I noticed is that they removed the three buttons below the mini screen and replaced them with two buttons that are also scroll wheels; this gave the ability to have two extra axi's of control on the throttle quadrant. Moving on I also noticed that they made the slider sensitivity greater, that way you could move the thing with much more precision. As I continued to look at the details I also noticed that the throttle part of it had a much stronger tension to it, which is nice for when you want to find that sweet spot in your fighter; Saitek also kept the tension adjuster on the throttle for those of us who don't like the extra tension. Most of all, I really enjoyed the new texture they have on the potentiometers on the throttle; instead of the normal rubber grips from the old x52 they now have a more easily gripped plastic ridge feel to them. Now if my finger tips get sweaty during combat I can be guaranteed that my fingers will not slip off of my potentiometers. I think the best feature of the throttle is that they have added lights to the part of the throttle that tells you the throttle position. This way you can see the numbers. More of a minor detail of the throttle is that they have added a stopwatch basically into the screen display part. There is a start/stop button along with a reset button. I still do not see a benefit of this feature but it has limited use in my combat sims. I can now time my flights to and from a target for example. The joystick: The joystick held all of its details from the x52. Different textures give the x52 pro a better look than its predecessor. The mode selector wheel still exists in the same great location, although it no longer has the old rubber grips. You can still adjust the lower part of the joystick up and down for your hand size to give you a better grip of the joystick. Overall the most noticeable difference is the spring tension. It is much greater which gives you much better accuracy in your sims. Overall construction: Overall the construction of the joystick has stayed the same with the layout of the buttons and the style of the joystick; however, the joystick has gained many new parts made out of a harder plastic and even some metal parts for better durability. I see no problems with my joystick breaking on me unless I was to throw it against the wall. Minor details: Among the more minor details of the joystick we have the new color of the lights. Honestly I find the green lights to be very attractive to the joystick, however, the sheer brightness of the new lights causes some distraction while I am trying to use the joystick. There is also the addition of the protected button on the joystick having two different light colors for which mode its in. If it is protected it is a green color while if it is unprotected it turns red. That is nice to have, just in case you forget that you have unprotected the button. Overall score: Personally, I enjoy all details of the x52 pro; most of all I enjoy the new spring tension as it gives me greater flying accuracy in my sims. The joystick has a real sturdy feel to it. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars if possible, but since I cant I will give it 5 stars instead.

I purchased the X52 Pro at the beginning of my DCS A-10C Warthog obsession (WARNING: AVOID THIS IF YOU WANT TO HAVE ANY SORT OF SOCIAL LIFE) as I needed a decent HOTAS but wasn’t ready to drop $500 on the Thrustmaster (at this point). There are a lot of mixed reviews of the X52 Pro, so I wanted to give my 2 cents. Build Quality: The X52 Pro is overall a well built Hotas. The rubberized finish has a great hand feel and makes me feel like I’m an actual pilot. The switches all work well and give you a nice positive feedback. The action of the stick and throttle is very smooth, and is adjustable on the throttle side. It is a little light, so I recommend using the enclosed suction cups. Buttons: This thing has buttons like whoa. Obviously, when compared to the Thrustmaster it is a little lacking as the Thrustmaster throttle has the actual labeled switches as they appear in the A-10C. This being said, you can map this bad boy however you please. If you are playing DCS A-10C, I recommend looking up a map made by a user named JackBauer, as it is a near perfect mapping Software / Drivers: So, the downloaded driver from Saitek’s website is totally broken (in my experience). With is loaded, the stick WOULD not center, no matter what setting I changed anywhere. What I did was to uninstall that driver, and allow Windows 7 to find a default driver, which worked perfectly. The Madcat profile editing software works fine and is totally necessary. Overall: This stick is a good option if you are getting your feet wet in DCS or FSX or ROF or COD or XPlane, or whatever. The price point is attractive, and you get a product which is totally worth the money. My plan is to spend the entire summer indoors mastering the A-10C, avoiding all social contact, except with my friend who will also be playing DCS with me, and who I will only speak to over Teamspeak. At that point, I might upgrade to the Thrustmaster, but who knows.

I bought this for use with Elite Dangerous. In one word INSANITY!. This is the coolest thing I have ever owned!!!!! PROS: 1. Unparalleled level of flight control and accuracy!!! I was using a game pad for Elite Dangerous prior to this and it was barley usable, cumbersome at best. I was always bumping into things. However using the x52 Pro I have more control than I ever felt was possible! It's insane! I really feel like I am piloting something. I can zoom thru the tightest spaces with full confidence, and I own dogfights now. With the x52 I am in full control! 2. Very Sturdy High Quality Construction. This feels like a real piece of equipment and not a toy. I am very impressed with the design and quality of the materials used. 3. Fully Customizable. At first I could not easily press all the buttons on the Flight Stick, a quick twist of the screw adjuster and I was able to adjust the base to fit my hand size. I can now easily reach all the buttons without having to remove my hands. You can also customize the colors of each button from Green, Red and Amber. 4. Tons of VERY WELL PLACED Buttons! It can seem a little overwhelming at first but you will quickly appreciate the intelligent placement and amount of buttons, switches, hats, and sliders this thing has. The throttle has a built in mouse stick. One can use to access all the in-game menus and functions (minus chat) without ever needing to use my mouse of keyboard. The joystick on the throttle is very useful for vertical and horizontal thrusters. CONS: 1. The LCD screen on the throttle is cool, but not very usable. At least I have not found much of a use for it other than to display the time. CONCLUSION: I would recommend this to anyone who is serious about flight simulation. This is literally the coolest part of my gaming rig. I recommend using 3 displays with Nvidia Physx Surround, and a Tracker IR for a fully immersive experience!

Provengo da un Saitek X55 che mi ha parecchio deluso per la scarsa qualità costruttiva, al contrario di quello devo dire che l'X52 Pro è stata una sorpresa dal primo giorno. Innanzitutto, pur essendo in plastica, la sensazione dell'insieme è di solidità, le plastiche combaciano perfettamente e alcuni particolari in metallo lo rendono più rifinito e piacevole a vedersi. I pulsanti non sono moltissimi ma tutti comodi da raggiungere, in particolare il minijoystick sulla manetta, veramente comodissimo da azionare. Il joystick è perfetto e molto preciso e fluido nell'azionamento, la manetta invece ha due "step" che ad alcuni può dare fastidio, io la trovo una soluzione utile, serve comunque un po' di pratica. Nota stonata, il peso: è troppo leggero, soprattutto il throttle, fortunatamente si può fissare con due viti ad un supporto stabile per risolvere la cosa, oppure affidarsi alle ventose fornite (da me lasciate prontamente nella scatola). Il display digitale è utile solo per controllare l'orario, se come me usate Elite Dangerous... sicuramente con flight simulator ha qualche funzione più utile. L'illuminazione dell'HOTAS è bella da vedersi ma si può regolare o disattivare con il software apposito, che è ben fatto e facile da usare. Ottima la possibilità di regolare il joystick per chi ha mani più piccole, le mie sono un po' grandi e ci vanno larghe; meno utile il blocco meccanico dello yaw, se si usano i pedali meglio disattivare il comando via software. Insomma, un valido acquisto, a quel prezzo attualmente non c'è nulla di meglio.

This is a solid flight controller with a ton of features. I've had mine for over a year, and had no problems with it. I paid roughly two hundred plus tax, which might seem like a lot for what is essentially just a video game controller, but flight sims are a pretty small niche in the gaming market, so the controllers tend to be pricey. Plus, there's quite a bit more circuitry and switches in one of these things than your typical game pad. The X52 is actually one of the most economical HOTAS controllers available. Any other controller in this class will cost you nearly twice as much, if not more. Saitek may not be a major name brand like Logitech, but in fact, they've been making pc accessories for years. Their products are not flashy or gimmicky. They're functional, reliable and affordable. The X52 is a prime example.

tengo la mano pequeña y ancha, y el poder ajustarlo me va ideal. Los modelos reales tienen en cuenta el guante del piloto y son gigantes. Jugue al Elite Dangerous y la verdad es que el jeugo viene preparado y configurarlo me fue facilisimo... espero que saquen mas juegos en los que pueda aprovecharlo

Elite : Dangerous m'aura coûté cher. Ce n'est pas grave, le plaisir est au rendez-vous. Commençons par ce qui fait mal : le prix sur Amazon. Vous pouvez trouver ce joystick de luxe à 20-30€ de moins ailleurs mais vous paierez le port. De plus le prix Amazon a un peu baissé, il était proche des 200€ jusque là. Concernant le HOTAS (Hands on Throttle And Stick = tout contrôler sans lâcher les commandes) : - précis, le calibrage n'est pas vraiment nécessaire - course très longue sur le manche, surtout le pitch. Faut s'y habituer mais ce n'est pas un défaut - CD d'installation des pilotes et du logiciel. C'est aimable de nous le fournir mais la version n'est pas à jour. Installez celui du site Saitek (Mad Katz) - Éclairage "arbre de noël" à 3 couleurs, paramétrable en couleurs (sauf le hat de tête et le chapeau chinois sur le joy) et intensité - parfois un peu compliqué, pensez par exemple à désactiver l'embrayage (Clutch) sur la manette des Gaz pour Elite - Durable : ressorts de qualité. Tout revient en place même après un dogfight éprouvant - Programmable à outrance. Bien sûr ça va prendre du temps... - contrôle des propulseurs verticaux et latéraux avec un champignon assez proche des manettes PS/XBox. Un peu rigide peut-être mais précis. Petit reproche : l'écran de la manette des gaz est un peu inutile à mon sens. J'aurais préféré avoir plus de Toggles à cet emplacement, comme sur le Warthog ou le Rhino. Idem pour moi il manque au moins un bouton sur le throttle, juste à côté de la molette sous l'index (d'ailleurs cette molette est bien utile et bien placée). Malgré les deux gâchettes et les boutons de tir (dont un sera a priori mobilisé par le verrouillage/déverrouillage du hat de tête), il manque un bouton de tir au pouce sur le côté gauche du manche. Il me semble que ça aurait été très faisable. Mais ce sont des pinaillages. Entre le design merveilleux et la souplesse et la précision des commandes, ce HOTAS sorti il y a plus de 10 ans reste excellent et vaut même de débourser 200€.

Ok, ich habe mir nun diesen rufgefährdeten HOTAS Saitek X52 Pro zugelegt [folgend X52 genannt]. Dieser ist für mein Budget und meinen Ansprüchen Ideal. Jedoch; nach all den negativen Rezessionen bzgl. der Treiber- und USB3.0-Problemen hatte ich richtige Bedenken und dennoch wollte ich es auf eigener Faust versuchen. Gerade über neuwertige PCs ist hier viel zu viel zu lesen, dass es massive Probleme geben soll! Kann ich nicht bestätigen und werde kurz drauf eingehen wie mein Stand ist und was ich gemacht habe. Mein System hat einen Highend-Stand: - Mainboard: MSI Z97 Gaming 5 - CPU: Intel 4790 - Grafik: nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB - OS: Windows 8.1 64bit >> Windows 10 64bit - Sonstige angeschlossene Peripherie: -- Tastatur: Logitech G19s -- Maus: Logitech G600 Kurzer Verlauf: - Gerät ausgepackt, begutachtet und die Treiber & Software von der Saitek-Seite runter geladen. meine Auswahl: >> Selecting from : Pro Flight range >> Selected product: X52 Pro >> Selected OS: Windows 8.1/8/7 and Vista 64 bit Ich habe NICHT die beiliegende CD verwendet, da ich ohnehin davon ausgehe, dass dort lediglich veraltete Treiber und Software zu finden sind! - Treiber installieren (Als Admin ausführen) - X52 zusammengesteckt und nach Aufforderung in ein USB-2.0 Port des Mainboards gesteckt. Installation wurde fortgesetzt - Der X52 leuchtete auf, wurde sofort erkannt und ich konnte anschließend mit Feedback die Tasten, Regler und die Beleuchtung testen und justieren - PC neu gestartet (X52 steckte drin, keine Probleme) - Software installieren (Als Admin ausführen) - sicherheitshalber habe ich den PC neu gestartet (X52 steckte drin, immer noch keine Probleme) - Software gestartet: der X52 wurde auch hier sofort erkannt Die Software ist von der Funktionsweise in Ordnung, sieht jedoch ein wenig retro aus. Visual kann man die Tasten direkt via MouseHover identifizieren, anklicken und eine Funktion zu zuweisen. Die alternative Grid-Ansicht finde ich noch sehr unübersichtlich. Ein Probeflug habe ich in ED hinter mir (nicht vergessen in der Steuerung den X52 ein zu stellen und zu speichern!) Das Erlebnis ist Atemberauben - gerade dann, wenn man noch nie zuvor einen HOTAS benutzt hat oder jenes gar sehr lange her ist. Die Anschlagpunkte und Reaktionen sind ausgezeichnet und die Tasten sprechen ohne Sorgen an. Ein bisschen rumprobieren bringt die einzelnen Tastenfunktionen ans Tageslicht, die ich jedoch noch umstellen werde. Mein X52 macht keine störenden Geräusche beim Regler und Stick. Mein PC macht lediglich Probleme, wenn ich den X52 während des laufenden Betriebs raus ziehe. (Die Maus setzt aus und lässt sich nicht wiederherstellen) Somit ist man gezwungen den X52 immer drin stecken zu lassen, wenn der einmal angeschlossen ist. An sonsten nur bei Bedarf einstecken und erst im ausgeschalteten Zustand wieder abziehen. USB3 Support / AHCI Modus sind nicht deaktiviert. Warum auch? Schließlich steckt der X52 an einem USB2.0-Anschluss und hat damit dann nichts zu tun. Stick und Regler liegen prima in der Hand (ich habe nicht zu große/kleine Hände). Besonders gefällt mir, dass man am Stick die Ablageplatte höhenverstellen kann. Für die ED Fans unter uns, die ED via Steam bezogen haben, gibt es eine Windows 10 Problemlösung, die bei mir geholfen hat. Problem: Steam-Installation; Missing vcomp110.dll / msvcp110.dll beim Start Lösung: Im Steam-common-Ordner > "steamapps\common\Elite Dangerous\_CommonRedist\vcredist" sind 2 Verzeichnisse zu finden [Setupdateien für die Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio Komponenten] - in den Ordnern 2010 und 2012 sind vcredist_x86 und vcredist_x64 zu finden - jeweils als Admin installieren - kein Neustart nötig, ED sollte nun starten vermutete Ursache: ED scheint Probleme zu haben die Visual C++ dll zu finden. Das Phänomen tritt insbesondere dann auf, wenn ED auf einem anderen Laufwerk oder einer anderen Festplatte installiert wird, als das Betriebssystem liegt. Ob das nun Glück war oder Können - Fakt ist: Der X52 Pro überzeugt und funktioniert! Dann wünsche ich allen Kämpfern, Entdeckern und Abenteurern einen guten Flug <3~