I’ve just pulled the trigger on a dock and I’m thinking it may be time to upgrade my external controller. I have a Logitech F710 which has been pretty decent for PC gaming and has worked well on Linux. I’m seeing the Xbox XS as a top recommendation. Is it worth the upgrade?
If they use it on submarines full of billionaires it’s good enough for the Steam Deck!
I would highly recommend the 8BitDo Ultimate Controller. It is around $50 and comes with a charging dock. The buttons and build quality are great. It automatically connects when taken off the dock which I find very convenient. You can use it with a usb dongle for low latency, but the most recent firmware update also enabled bluetooth support! It supports xinput and directinput, so it should work on any game with controller support on Linux and Windows.
But of course if your controller still works for you, there’s no need to upgrade! I only purchased it because my dualshock 4s were reaching the end of their life.
That looks pretty gorgeous, thank you for the tip!
I replaced my broken Logitech F710 with a PS5 Controller.
The only advantages of the PS5 controller are gyro support, saving a USB port, and USB-C charging.
I’d stick with the Logitech F710.
Having a touchpad to use as a mouse is huge
Is it one of those things that looks good on paper or is it actually useful in day to day playing?
It’s useful for navigating menus in games/apps that are designed for keyboard/mouse. I can’t say I ever use the touchpad in-game like you would the touchpads on the Steam Deck itself.
As someone with all Sony consoles… it’s good, but even first party titles barely use it. Usually it’s just used as a button, sometimes multiple (GT7 gives you turn indicators to the sides and emergency blinkers on the center, for example).
As a track pad it’s honestly a perfectly fine one. That said! PS4 and PS5 ones are very similar from the point of view of pc gaming, you get the usb port to be a type C, haptic feedback instead of the ancient rumble motors and uh what dumb name they gave to the triggers… adaptive triggers? Cool tech. So in short right now you get rumble that works different and in the future will be better as games start to use it, a better usb, and triggers that only Sony games use right now.
For comparison the Xbox Series controller have the ancient rumble motors (so in other words Steam/Sony/Nintendo are haptic, Microsoft isn’t) that every game has been using since the rumble pack/Dual Shock, it has no track pad, no motion sensor, and rumble triggers that are kinda dumb but in Forza Horizon 5 they are extremely good at making you feel the loss of grip. If you have no preference about the shape, Sony gives you the most advanced and complete hardware that will give you the full experience in titles that can use it, all for the same price. Downside, there’s a shitton of stuff in there and the triggers have a motor each, so the battery won’t last as long. Also pretty rgb lol.
I also have an 8BitDo one shaped like the Sony ones and it’s good. Simple tech, barebones, works well. Less expensive.
Right now if I could have the perfect controller it would be the PS5 one but with hall effect sticks that are touch sensitive like the Deck’s ones, plus the rear buttons. Damn near the PS5 pro controller tbh.
Thank you. I think I’m dealing with a case of Ooh Shiny!
I don’t think it’s worth swapping if the F710 is works well for you and your gaming habits :). I have always used Xbox controllers. You can’t go wrong with one if you’re feeling the upgrade!
I’ve had the Deck for 10 months now. Mostly I tend to play in handheld mode, but I do play alot in “couch mode” too. I have the following controllers at my disposal, all these work with the Deck:
- Steam Controller
- 8Bitdo NES30 Pro
- Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
- Logitech F710
The Steam Controller is a bit meh, since it only has one analog stick and no D-pad at all. It’s good for games that require mouse control, but other than that I only use it for couch multiplayer games when all other controllers are taken.
8Bitdo is good for D-pad games, so mostly emulators and couch multiplayers.
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller This is the most comfortable gamepad that I currently own. I would use it more on the couch, but usually it is paired with the Switch and it is too much of a pain to change the pairing over to the Deck.
So my most used controller on the couch is the F710. If it is currently working for you, no need to change it. I would wait for Valve to release an updated version of the Steam Controller and get that when the time is right.
The Nintendo Pro controller needs a warning: triggers are not analog, they’re normal buttons. On the Switch you don’t notice its too much because no game uses them, but otherwise it’s an important bit of information. Even something simple like Grand Theft Auto is going to be worse for it as soon as driving comes into the picture.
Fantastic, thank you!
I personally have a Gulikit Kong Pro 2 controller, and I like it. It fits well in the hand, has Hall-effect thumbsticks, and was a reasonable price compared to XBox and PS controllers.
That being said, I bought it to play Metroid Prime and have spent most of my gaming time on my desktop after finishing that. I’m currently trying to get BOTW on my Steam Deck for a second playthrough soon and will definitely be using the controller for that as well.
Xbox controllers are not bad (I have an Xbox One version), but nowadays I wouldn’t buy something without at least the gyro.
My favorite is Steam Controller, other than that PS5 one is good too.
Sony actually contributed an official driver to the kernel, and some games can take advantage of its advanced haptics (even though on PC it’s in wired mode only right now).And, if you plan to emulate stuff like Wii or Switch games, then you’ll probably want gyro to have a better experience.
