Saitek X55 Rhino

[Priller]

For those further curious.

 

 

Most of the problems that Linus speak of, the Warthog does not have.

[SavingPrincess]

The setup I have, which is the best I've tried thus far is as follows:

 

X52 Pro (Modded with Magnet Mod, Throttle modded by removing the "bump") 

Sony MDR-7506 Headphones

Antlion ModMic

Voice Attack

 

For Elite Dangerous, no matter HOW many buttons you have, unless you have some sort of issue that prevents you from speaking, you must, must look into Voice Attack.  

 

The X52 Pro has much better QC than the X55, and the layout is far more logical than having to remember what you bound to what.  

 

Also, I have smaller hands and the X52 actually lets you adjust the height of your hand on the joystick making it much more comfortable. 

[WedgeTalon]

@LinusTech - You should review the CH Products Combatstick (Amazon US, Amazon CA) and the CH Products Pro Throttle (Amazon US, Amazon CA). The first typically runs $80 - $100 USD and the other $100 - $125 USD, so that would put this combo right in the $200 price range of the Saitek x55. They might not be as "fancy" as the Saitek, but they are top-notch quality. CH Products is a small family-owned company and they have made these products from something like 20 years (they pre-date USB). You could probably throw them off your porch.

[wolfgang]

I would really like one. But too much for me right now.

[Peter Vaughan Truslow]

LinusSegueTips got me like. . .

[AxelRantila]

I would really like one. But too much for me right now.

Same here. Plus I don't have enough desk space for it.

[sage78]

Same here. Plus I don't have enough desk space for it.

a basic joystick doesnt take much space.. if you have space for a mousepad you have space for a joystick

[Silent_R493]

X55 is good for the money.  The QC issues were mainly from the launch batch. You never guaranteed not to get a lemon.

 

Warthog is great if you have the money for it plus the required add-on of pedals (no twist).  This Kit setup will cost at least ~$500. Not really great IMO, unless your a Hardcore Flight Simmer.

 

I bought an X55 to play Star Citizen.  Its already paying me back with all functionality and enjoyment I get while using it.

[ErickS89]

 

I allredy own a X55 rhino. and to be honest im pretty much on linus' side for the joystick dimensions. its a bit tall, even for me (I got pretty normal to big hands)  and the red top button is a bit hard to reach without hitting the 8 way hat switches.

just one note to @LinusTech . why do you do a flight stick review. WITHOUT PLAYING EVEN A SINGLE FLIGHT SIM   

*cough1 *cough*     X-plane10, DCS World, War Thunder (on full real battle)

 

 

also im dissapointed, since you paid like what 200$ ?  got mine for 265

On Amazon for $199.

Almost bought it, will look for other sticks. Looked cool though!

[givingtnt]

  On Amazon for $199.

Almost bought it, will look for other sticks. Looked cool though!

yeah. I bought it like 3 months ago after my x52 died.  price probably went down after

[Liamcal]

The X52 is good for the price as well!

[pyt0nus]

I bought x55 in August last year and it works great.  Combine it with Oculus Rift DK2 and Elite Dangerous will never be the same again.

 

I even  assembled floor unit from pvc pipes . Tried to  reverse eneineer it and after 5 hours I bought the plans. Word of advice buy the guide from the dude, it will save you money, time and some frustration .

 

Oh and PRO tip about mounting: velcro sticky strips.

 

 

[KakerMix]

Beware of quality issues with the X-55. I had mine for about 2 months and used to play a lot of Elite: Dangerous. One day the throttle buttons stopped responding if it was at max. Popped it open to see what was up.

 

 

 

Yeah. The quality of those wires is awful for them to be cracked by simple use of the throttle. Besides that the stick's plastic ring that holds the spring in place had poor tolerances which required me to slather it in plastic lubricant every 2 nights or so of heavy play.

The X-55's functions were great, I didn't mind the cheap feeling of it, and the ergonomics were right up my alley. Unfortunately the quality of the components that Saitek (or Mad Catz I guess) uses in this stick are awful. To their credit they did a warranty replacement without question when I contacted them, however it's sitting by my desk awaiting Ebay because I went ahead and bought the Warthog. The quality difference between the Warthog and the X-55 feels a lot more than twice the cost.

 

[Solidus_Zero]

Linus' reviews are his own opinion and he mentioned he has very little knowledge or experience wit flight sticks and probably with flight games too, so you cant expect him to know everything about every product

 

I think he was pretty fair he basically said, its a great stick, its just a shame it feels so cheep considering its cost, and he mentioned that if you play more complicated sims there are enough buttons for games like MS flight simulator etc

Im sorry if I was over the top, Im going to be blunt I was pretty baked when I wrote that. I understand he has his own opinion and he has every right to say what ever he wants. I welcome his review of the X55. Its just Im really into flight sims for some dumb reason and I know he liked the x55 a bit but I really think he would love the x52 a bit more. I cant say if he would but thats why I felt super strong about him making a review on it. No buddy knows who I am, Everyone on here knows who Linus is and its pointless for me to voice my opinion when I feel like I share the same or similar opinion to him. I should just let Linus speak for Linus. A part of me wants him to find a flaw in the x52. There has been plenty of times I really liked a mother borad or case and Linus has pointed out something dumb or wrong with it and it has changed my own view or way I look at stuff. The dudes real smart. I look up to him. I just wish for him to get a crash course on what makes a good Hotas. Maybe then he can see something that I overlooked and if so then we all are a bit smarter by the end of the day.

 

again sorry for taking things a bit far! 

 

-sincerely Mr.Garbage man that plays to many sims.

[DeadEyeJ]

"I don't see any better options on the market at this price point...."

CH Products Pro Throttle and Fighterstick.  For $200, you get the best HOTAS setup on the market, and the de facto standard of what a HOTAS should be.

Want to know how good these sticks are?  There's people who still own their 20 year old CH Products HOTAS, and merely converted the old game port plug into USB.  These thing may not look like much, and may feel light and flimsy, but they're built like tanks, and work forever.  Ask any enthusiast which sticks have stood the test of time, and they'll always point to CH Products.

Linus, give these a go and give a review.  They're the absolute best in the market.

Here's my setup on my jury rigged mounts.

 

http://imgur.com/zL0kMv7

 

Here's a great Youtube review with Elite Dangerous

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceOdOytgT64

[Hans Power]

Hey there! T-flightstick user here too 

I must say that tried a Saitek joystick before, but it feels a bit uncomfortable for what it is. maybe im just not used to it but it does feel a little bit clunky

id recommend T-Flight Stick X if you want to try flight sims or spaceship games in decent conditions, so that if you dont end up liking the joystick experience you havent spent 100€ on something you will rarely ever use

 

Yes, it's definately a good joystick if you prefer a more space saving classic non hotas design. And it's a very good bang for the buck - you can adjust the stick resistence, lock the twist axis and it has a nice weight to it but what's really exceptional about that stick is that non of the axis "wiggle" around the center position so you never drift slightly in one direction in your space/aircraft when you let go of the stick and that is something that even most high-end sticks can't claim for themselfs. Only thing that could be better would be the throttle which could use a slightly larger lever so that you could control it more tightly due to better lever stroke. It works well enough in most cases as it is, though.

So, yes, if you "just" want a good joystick then this is it.

[GarlanTyrell]

I'd like to see reviews of a couple other HOTAS sets as a comparison, the warthog for one. Everyone always says thats the only HOTAS that matters but its SO insanely expensive for someone coming from a $40 joystick (and I've heard that the X55 has no better build quality than the $40 one but for 5x more).
 

Hoping to get the X52 Pro as soon as possible and the Oculus as soon as that releases.

 

Don't be so quick to rush out to get a rift, the latest demo from Valve's Vive looks very compelling. Check it out, Tested had a good video on it.

[TechShroom]

If only all HOTAS units weren't out of stock everywhere, I'd like to get one and get into Elite: Dangerous.

[DeViLzzz]

Nice to see a review on something different from the usual.  Way to go LTT.  As for me using it no way in hell as I am too stupid to be able to make use of it.

[trekkie]

My last joystick was teh sidewinder force feedback.  So it'd been a while.

 

I bought this the day it released with no research because Star Citizen and Arena Commander.  I wanted to fly internet spaceships (pew pew).

 

Star Citizen and needing to hack the crap out of htis turned it into a bit of a dust bunny for a while.  I knew they'd figure it out and I was being lazy (just wanted to jump and shoot not spend two days playin in XML only to have a reboot swap the JS1/JS2 designator) so they were more desk art than toys.

 

Then I got Elite Dangerous, and Arena Commander 1.x came out.

 

Elite Dangerous uses this much better that SC currently.   The switches are programmed well and I uqickly learned them as I flew around in E:D.  I'm in love. 

I definitely agree with the comments regarding it needing to be nailed down.   Trying to turn by pushing past the limits resulted in me flipping it off the table a few times.   Definitely need to nail it down.  I'm int he market for a new gaming desk and i'm thinking about that Obbutu thing but afraid what will happen to my money if I buy one.

[qmaster312]

Linus, It's maybe nice to know that somebody is already making custom grips for the X55 and other HOTAS. http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=104154

Some of those may be smaller for people like you with small hands.

[widomaker]

Love to have this... Should have put this and Luke's in the giveaway...