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Are These The Best Xbox Controllers?



Originally published 22nd Oct 2024


UPDATE: 20th June 2025 - The right bumper didn't survive parrying in Expedition 33


Are These The Best Xbox Controllers?


A couple of years ago, I decided to treat myself and invested in an Xbox Elite 2 controller, my theory being, that as the controller was more premium, which I understood as more solidly built, it would last longer than the standard controllers. Especially in terms of stick drift or buttons failing.

I was very happy with the controller, it felt good, worked well and did everything I could want, needless to say, two months after the warranty ended, I got bad stick drift first on one stick and then on the other. I tried to send it back to Microsoft but the online form failed and attempts to get help either sent me to an automated chatbot that never got anywhere or the community, which in this situation, can’t help.

After spending sometime researching, one thing caught my eye, all Xbox controllers have a polling rate of 125hz, presumably this is because they are capped at 120fps.

I started looking for a replacement and finally settled on the Ultimate C Wired Controller for Xbox from 8Bitdo as I saw that some controllers actually have a higher polling rate of 1000hz. They also attempt to solve another major problem of most controllers, which is stick drift and they do this by using Hall effect sticks (and triggers). The disadvantage? They’re wired.

Death to cables

Given the steady advancement of all things wireless, does it make sense to go wired these days? Well lets look at the pros and cons.

Pros

  • Higher polling rate (faster detection of movement on the sticks)
  • Controller is lighter as no battery weight (more comfortable to hold for longer)
  • No need to charge batteries or having batteries die on you in a gaming session
  • Hall effect sticks and triggers (less chance of stick drift)

Cons

  • Cable
  • The Cable
  • It has a cable

In all seriousness, the cable is a decent length and as I play on a gaming monitor at my desk, the length is fine. It is just a bit cumbersome with the cable though, I honestly can’t deny it after using it for a couple of weeks now.

However it has been worth it, not to have to worry about my controller batteries dying in the middle of a swarm in Space Marine 2.

What about the polling rate? In all honesty, I can’t say that it reacts faster, it seems to be about the same to me but thats my subjective opinion, as I don’t have a reliable way to test it. One thing I will say though, is that I do feel that if I die in a game, it’s not because the controller didn’t react, more that I reacted too slowly or just made a bad decision, whereas before it felt like I was pressing a button but it didn’t register.

So in general I am happy with the controller, it seems to be holding up well and other than the cable getting underfoot sometimes, I generally can recommend that you take a look at the controller.

If you’d like to know more, feel free to check out my review on YouTube.


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