Reviewed by: jallman09 on 17-Mar-09 Rating:

Strengths:EASY TO USE INTERFACE ; MANY CONTROL OPTIONS; REALISTIC FEEL AND WELL BUILT.

Weaknesses:ROCKER SWITCH FOR RUDDER WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE.

Summary:THIS IS ONE HECK OF A NICE CONTROL SYSTEM. WOULD BE PILOTS LIKE
MOST OF US IN SEARCH OF A SYSTEM EASY TO USE FLEXIBLE
AND EMERSES US IN A FEELING OF ACTUALLY FLYING NEEDS TO GET THIS SYSTEM. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF RANDOM QUIRKS, BUT NOTHING TO GET EXCITED ABOUT.

THERE IS A MAJOR CAVIOT IN MY STATEMENT HOWEVER.

IF YOU ARE IN SEARCH OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION WITHOUT PUTTING FORTH
THE EFFORT TO PROGRAM THIS SYSTEM I HAVE A COUPLE OF SUGGESTIONS.

(A) GET A FOUR BUTTON JOY STICK AND BUZZ AROUND USING THE KEYBOARD.
(B) FORGET ABOUT FLIGHT SIMS AND GO BACK TO PLAYING SOLITARE.

Reviewed by: jbdw on 12-Jan-07 Rating:

Strengths:A vast array of buttons, hats, switches. Easyinstallation software. Highly configurable.

Weaknesses:The throttle is just a bit too light to be usedwithout the included suction cup pads to keep it steady. There isa noticeable change in resistance when you hit 25% and 75% markson the throttle, it is not the same all the way through 0-100like I\'d

Summary:I\'m not sure why some people say the mouse function on the
throttle is useless, because it works quite well and in most
games I don\'t have to touch the keyboard or the mouse to play at
all. The only thing it really is missing is a right click but
that can be programmed with software. For the price I\'d say this
is one of the best joysticks with throttle I\'ve seen, but can\'t
reliably compare it to the $200+ Thrustmaster setups since I
don\'t have one. The only thing keeping me from rating this setup
5/5 stars is the weird resistance changes in the throttle. I\'ve
tried adjusting the tension and that doesn\'t affect it.

Reviewed by: sniper4hir on 21-Aug-06 Rating:

Strengths:Multiple buttons for programming

Weaknesses:Lack of force feedback

Summary:I\'ve used many flight joysticks in my time. This is the closest stick to providing everything I need. The only drawback is force feedback, which in nice in some games. Otherwise, there are so many programmable buttons so that you won\'t have to just play flight simulators with this. The controls do get loose after awhile.

Reviewed by: Luke Spragg on 26-Jun-06 Rating:

Strengths:Ease of use and setup, comfortable, adjustable, and slick design. Also used USB which is a plus for me being that X64 doesn\'t seem to work with the old gameports.

Weaknesses:Mouse control doesn\'t work well for me.

Summary:This beautiful work of art created, by the genius minds of Saitek, is the best joystick I have ever used. It is certainly an upgrade from my old $5 joystick that I used to use. I love the light up blue buttons and LCD screen. I would highly recommend this joystick to any serious gamer who enjoys flying or even if you are just starting out.

Reviewed by: harliquin76 on 08-May-06 Rating:

Strengths:quality built, smooth control

Weaknesses:support

Summary:I bought this stick trusting the name. I used to have the x45. I had some issues getting the joystick to work from the get go. I then tried to load a profile into the stick with the software they sent. It actually blue screened my system. I have never even seen a blue screen with windows xp. so I upgrade the software from their online site. and it still crashed my system every time I tried to load a profile. Even when I tryed to load it on the fly with the buttons on the throttle it still would not load (but it didn\'t crash my system when I did it this way). I am a network tech, and know a good bit about computers, and operating systems. this is one that I couldn\'t figure out. so I had to return the product.

Reviewed by: xfm4xfm4 on 07-Feb-06 Rating:

Strengths:Well builtGreat illuminationLots of buttonsEasy to setup and useRubber Suction cups on baseTwist feature on control handle

Weaknesses:Big and lots of wires to deal with.Needs more metal components than plastic.

Summary:I used to have the some of the higher end replica joysticks, but I found them too expensive, easy to brake and did not have the twist handle feature. The X52 is a good joystick that is relative inexpensive for what you get and offer great control. I have been a Saitek fan for a couple of years now, and although the design is simple its robust and should provide years of gaming support. The only thing that I would complain about is the lack of support for the joystick on the Saitek website. It seems that they do not even have the drivers for the joystick, so don’t loose that disk.

Reviewed by: bluesinged on 31-Jan-06 Rating:

Strengths:Lots of buttons, more axis\' than i can count, excellent accuracy

Weaknesses:some of the features of the joystick are too advanced to be supported by older games

Summary:I went out and got this controller for my birthday present almost exactly one full year ago. Since then it has never given me problems. It is a little bigger and heavier than most other joysticks, however that gives it a more realistic feel to it. the throttle is fully adjustable as far as the ammount of pressure it takes to move it. It goes from push it with your pinkie to pull off the suction cups before it moves at all.

The multiple hat switches on the control stick come in handy, as well as the rotating and smaller throttle style controls on the actual throttle stick. On the throttle controller there is also the LCD. That and all the buttons are fully adjustable as far as illumination (brighness of the LED\'s and LCD screen). The features of the LCD are very handy and take very little time to figure out by simply fiddling with it.

As far as the drivers go, I didn\'t even read the manual. Just install the drivers and go look at the joystick setup panel in the windows control panel and calibrating is SO straight forward that i had no reason WHATSOEVER to even glance at the manual.

Since setting it up i\'ve actually looked at the manual to see all the features that the X52 supports and i couldn\'t even list them all here.

I have never worked with saitek support and cannot vouch for their service, however, due to the simplicity of setting up this EXTREMELY complex product, they have me as a customer for life.

Reviewed by: Ma$termind on 10-Jan-06 Rating:

Strengths:The X52 is an amazing controller! It features GREAT programmability and enough buttons/knobs (not to mention 3 8-way hat switches!) to program any and all of the buttons within the game!

Weaknesses:I have been using this controller for 4 months now and I have only come across a few problems. One- game compatibility and two- DRIVERS…. (will discuss below)

Summary:---First of all I was kind of disappointed when I tried to get it to work with Battlefield 1942 and found the throttle wasn’t recognized by the game (though I did NOT by any means get the stick for that game) Secondly as stated above some people have has issues with the drivers. While I have been able to get it going without much trouble with the drivers, there are a good amount of people who haven’t had as good of luck as me. And while these problems were usually resolved after a lot of trouble playing with the old/new drivers, it is always disappointing if your $100+ product doesn’t work right out of the box.

---Also GTV61 must have had a faulty stick as the mouse control on the throttle (A GREAT FEATURE BY THE WAY!) should not and does not give any problems if it is programmed correctly. And, while the drivers are not available right on the website support area (as they should be Saitek...) they are available: you have to do a little more work then GTV did.
---Instead of going to the Saitek website (www.saitek.com) if you go to the download page of Saitek (found at ftp.saitek.com) your can eventually come to (if you search right) ftp://ftp.saitek.com/pub/software/x52/x52_151205_32.exe (for Windows XP Home or Pro) or ftp://ftp.saitek.com/pub/software/x52/x52_151205_64.exe (for Windows x64). If you copy and paste the correct one (depending on your Operating System) in to your address bar you will start downloading the driver immediately!

---All in all this is a one of a kind product and if you are looking for a great stick for either a flight sim or Battlefield 2, this is the one! Truly \"The only thing missing is the smell of airplane fuel as you head to your next dogfight. - Peter Suciu of PC Magazine.\"

Reviewed by: quarky on 04-Oct-05 Rating:

Strengths:The build quality is excellent, sturdy and well made in general.

Weaknesses:The manual is a little unclear, the explanations of the dead zones and functions of the keys will take more than a once over of the manual. Also some of the buttons on the throttle control will take s

Summary:If you are into flight sims or any online shooters that involve flying, ie battlefield 2 then this is the flight control system for you. The manual could have been better, but the build quality, the software and overall design of the unit make up for the manuals lacking.
In short, this it the best flight control system I have ever used and I have been gaming from the late 80\'s. Enjoy

Reviewed by: GTV61 on 20-Jun-05 Rating:

Strengths:It Looks Good

Weaknesses:There is almost no customer support available.Programming is extreemly confusing.

Summary:This great looking joystick is about the worst computer device I have purchased in 10 years. The programming manual is confusing and inaccurate in all three languages. If you lose the cd containing the drivers they are NOT Available on-line. In fact NOTHING is available on-line except a sales pitch.
The built in mouse causes all kinds of issues making it necessary to disconnect the joystick when it is not in use.
STAY AWAY FROM THIS ITEM.