Saitek X55 or Thrustmaster Warthog

[mr.john_doe]

Hello,

 

what would you recommend. The X55 or the Warthog? It seems that the button- and switch count is almost similiar.

When I want to buy one of them what would you recommend. Are the warthog worth the additional costs?

 

Regards

[tommytank]

A bit more info will help get the best advice:-

 

• 
  
• Do you fly fixed-wing or Heli's
   
  
• Do you have rudder pedals already
   
  
• What are you upgrading from
  

I've had an X52pro for some time, I'm just about to unbox a Warthog but you seem to get a lot more for your money with an X55 (Rhino).

 

I'd say rudder pedals are more important than great stick/throttle, especially for Heli's.

 

Warthog is more dedicated to the A10c than the Rhino - I've struggled to use the rotaries effectively on the X-52 in DCS, and I think the Rhino has similar.

 

The Rhino also lacks the two stage trigger that the X52 and Warthog offers.

[Cyb0rg]

The warthog is made of metal.

[AegisFX]

I owned the x55 for a week. I found the throttle to be bulkier than my current warthog. It Made extensive use of rorotaries, but I honestly didn't have a use for most of them. What I needed we're switches and buttons.

 

The various switches of the warthog throttle let me start up my fc3 aircraft. The many rotaries and fewer buttons and switches did not. I also never make any use of controller programming, so the different modes were useless too.

[Whiplash]

I had two X52's one standard and one pro. I got the pro after my standard broke because I was too cheap to buy a warthog (this was before the x55 was released and there weren't a lot of other options I liked). Iam mostly interested in WWII flighters and so I never had a need to mess with the key programming software that came with the X52. Then I started messing around with Falcon and some of the other modules on DCS (Blackshark, Huey, etc). I quickly found the programming software that came with the X52 to be extremely buggy. So much so that I figured it was time to upgrade to either a warthog or X55. I read some reviews and no surprise they pointed me to the warthog. The hard part is deciding if its worth over twice the price. The only thing I can say to that is if I would have decided to just buy the warthog out right before purchasing both X52's I would be still using it to this day and I wouldn't have wasted the ~$325 on useless crap! I have never played with the x55 but it does have mixed reviews. Even if its is a major improvement over the X52 I still think that you are better off with a warthog if you plan on playing flight sims for a long time. I'm sure the x55 is a decent stick but if you are serious about flight sims I don't think you would regret spending the extra money on the warthog.

 

FYI I just sold my used X52 pro for $80+shipping on ebay and it was slightly damaged. Not sure if that helps or not.

[7rooper]

I own the X-55 and even though is behaving well I will be replacing it with the Warthog very soon. I need a HOTAS that looks like a real one for the cockpit I'm building and for the availability of more hats and switches. I wish I had bought it instead of the X-55...

[Boris]

The only reason I'd get the X55 is if I really couldn't afford a Warthog.

[golani79]

I think it depends on how much money you can or are willing to spend and if you already own rudder pedals.

If you don´t have rudder pedals then be aware that the Warthog doesn´t have a twist axis.

 

The X55 is my first HOTAS and so far I like it - though it´s made of plastic I think the processing of the stick and throttle is quite ok.

Not sure if you can get a HOTAS system which is obviously better for about the same price.

 

It has quite a few buttons / switches and rotaries which come in very handy. If you use the saitek software you can also use 3 different modes and the stick has an adjustable spring system.

So you can choose from different grades of stiffness - I like to use strong springs for fixed wings and weaker ones for helos.

[Gladman]

Only reason I'd get a Warthog is because I'm compensating for something.

 

Jab aside, I've had TM gear before and I don't see the value. They break as easy as any other, check out some of the current problems people are having on the forum. I think they look good but on the inside, its all just cheap plastic no matter what you buy.

 

That being said, if somebody comes out with a Hornet HOTAS, I'll buy it no matter the brand.

 

Dale

Edited November 8, 2014 by Gladman