New HOTAS 3 choices - But which one?

[Sent2Strike]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post to this forum. I recently bought DCS A-10C Warthog on the steam sale for $26. Unfortunately I don't have a hotas system to get the most out of it. I thought I was going to be able to use my old Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback pro with it, but my Asus Rampage Extreme III doesn't support the connection.

 

The three Hotas systems i'm trying to decide between are the following:

 

1) ThrustMaster T-Flight Hotas X - Amazon $75 aud inc postage

2) Saitek x52 Pro - $225 aud bought locally at Harvey Norman

3) ThrustMaster Warthog Hotas - $589 including postage bought from PCCaseGear.com

 

My dilemma is I haven't played many flight simulators for a long time. I used to play a lot of Wing Commander, Tie Fighter, Decent and also Ace Combat. So i'm not really sure if I can stomach the $589 price tag, when i'm not even sure I will get a lot of use out of it. I tried playing A-10C with a Razor gamepad and it was frustrating to say the least.

 

Is the x52 Pro a lot better than the T-Flight?

 

Is the x52 Pro easy to configure for a noob? (still learning all the jargon and terminology)

 

Is the Warthog Hotas worth me eating 2 minute noodles for month just to play this game?

 

Does the Warthog Hotas work well with more casual flight sims?

 

Thank you for reading all this and for helping me to decide :thumbup:

[hassata]

Is the Warthog Hotas worth me eating 2 minute noodles for month just to play this game?

 

Yes.

 

 

(Provided you see yourself really getting into this and other hardcore sims (DCS: Fast Mover) in the medium (at least) term).

[MTFDarkEagle]

WARTHOG!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ilikepie]

the hog hotas will make the noodles taste good.........

[Cali]

I'd try something cheaper then the warthog first if I were you. Get the X52 and see how that goes, you can always sale it and buy the warthog if you get into the game. If not you'll only be out $225 instead of $589, but then again $225 is a good amount of money too. Hope you get use out of whichever you buy.

[Pyroflash]

If this is your first stick, I'd suggest the X52 Pro. If, on the other hand, you are sure about wanting to play seriously, it may be time to make a serious investment into a higher quality stick.

 

Writing the warthog off as the only high quality stick on the market is a pretty bad idea though. There are a few sticks of higher than average (X52) quality available, and going with these choices might save you a bit of money. Basically this boils down to a used Cougar, an X65F from Saitek, or Logitech's G940.

 

Personally, I own the X65F. I liked the idea of a force sensing stick, and the $400 price tag let me pick up a pair of Saitek's combat rudder pedals as well for the same price as buying a warthog. It will also provide you with more than enough hat switches for the HOTAS controls in cockpit, which believe me, will come in handy. I started playing A-10C with my X52 Pro, and when i switched to the X65F, I immediately saw a jump in my performance from not having to let go of the controls to hunt around on the keyboard, or mess around with any of the control modes (It has them available, but so far I haven't played any game or sim that warrants the use of any more buttons or hats than the stick and throttle already have available).

[Total]

First off, you will need rudder pedals if you get the Warthog, so takc on another $100-$150 depending on what you get.

 

As far as the Saitek goes, save a little more money and get the regular X-52. It has all the same buttons and exis as the Pro, just not as spiffy looking and doesn't have the MFD that you'llnever look at anyway: http://www.amazon.com/Saitek-X52-Flight-Control-System/dp/B00030GSJY

 

If you want more hats and switches without the Warthog pricetag, then I'd suggest the CH Products Fighterstick, Pro Throttle, and Pro Pedals. Right now, there's a special on Amazon for $277 for all three. About $50 cheaper than normal. The pedals are always a good resale item.

 

http://www.amazon.com/CH-Products-Combatstick-Programmable-Functions/dp/B00006B84W/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1333441104&sr=1-3

 

There's good profiles for both A-10C and Blackshark that can be downloaded from this forum.

[Sent2Strike]

Thanks for all the advice and replies guys! The 3 Hotas i posted are not only based on price but also availability. Unfortunately CH products are quite expensive in Australia and also hard to find, particularly the throttles.

 

I do see myself getting immersed in this game, I absolutely love car simulators and this is probably the next evolution. I use my steering wheel at least a couple of times a week. Perhaps this will be my next over used peripheral.

 

I think i will go with Pyro's suggestion and get the X52 Pro and the foot pedals. Then if I get totally addicted, sell it on ebay and get the Warthog Hotas.

My only concern about the x52 over the Warthog is how hard is it to configure, but I believe there are downloadable profiles.

 

After looking into Tracking IR, flight 'simming' looks like a very expensive hobby:doh:

[MTFDarkEagle]

Yep, it can be very expensive. Though you can make it as expensive as you want. The X52 is a good HOTAS to start with. The X52 was in fact my first true HOTAS. But the Warthog is in a totally different league.

[Pyroflash]

Thanks for all the advice and replies guys! The 3 Hotas i posted are not only based on price but also availability. Unfortunately CH products are quite expensive in Australia and also hard to find, particularly the throttles.

 

I do see myself getting immersed in this game, I absolutely love car simulators and this is probably the next evolution. I use my steering wheel at least a couple of times a week. Perhaps this will be my next over used peripheral.

 

I think i will go with Pyro's suggestion and get the X52 Pro and the foot pedals. Then if I get totally addicted, sell it on ebay and get the Warthog Hotas.

My only concern about the x52 over the Warthog is how hard is it to configure, but I believe there are downloadable profiles.

 

After looking into Tracking IR, flight 'simming' looks like a very expensive hobby:doh:

Literally the ONLY thing that I found hard about configuring the X52 Pro when I used it was remembering all of the different modes that you have to switch through. And don't listen to the naysayers, the regular X52 is NOT the same an an X52 Pro. The construction quality of the pro might as well speak for itself in this regard.

[MTFDarkEagle]

the regular X52 is NOT the same an an X52 Pro.

I agree. The X52 I had held out for several years (5 or so I think...). A friend of mine had a x52pro at the time and that definitely felt different (i.e. better).

[Sent2Strike]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ended up getting the Saitek x52 Pro from Harvey Norman for $215, it's funny that 3 different salesman gave me 3 separate prices.

 

First one wouldn't budge on RRP at $289. Second guy, went down to what the average sales price for the item was $225 and the 3rd guy I just asked what was the best price he could do @ $215.

 

Going to have a play around with this over the Easter Break long weekend. It will probably take me quite awhile to setup the button mapping profile. Not sure if I would be better downloading a pre-configured one?

 

I also found FaceTrackNoIR which i'm looking forward to trying out.

 

Thanks again

[Cali]

There are a bunch of profiles already set up around here. When I first got my CH, I downloaded someone's profile and modded it to my liking.....I suggest you do the same. Have and I hope you get into flying more.

[falcon_120]

Hey Sent2strike,if you want something quite cheaper and almost as good as trackir,

buy a ps3eye cam and the trackclippro from natural point and of course get freetrack,you'll save more than 100$ and you'll notice very little difference.

Take a look

. Edited April 5, 2012 by falcon_120