Great for Advanced Flightsimmers

The "I'm in a Hurry" Section:
This joystick is great for advanced flight simmers, which is not too surprising considering it is marketed as a "flight control system". There are more than enough controls that, when used along with the mode and shift switches, provide a place for you to assign more functions than you can probably remember. If you want to play flight sims without needing to use key combos, this joystick is for you. But the numerous controls and time required to program them can be overwhelming for beginners, and the LCD screen is less than useful.

Description:
The X52 package actually includes two pieces - a joystick, meant to be used with the right hand, and a throttle, meant to be used with the left hand. The joystick has every control you could wish for - two-stage trigger, four fire buttons (one of which is under a flip-up safety cover), two eight-way hat switches, three two-way toggle switches, a three-position mode switch, and a pinkie shift button. The joystick can twist for rudder control.

The throttle, which pivots on one axis, also has a large slew of controls on it. It includes two analog rotary dials, one analog slider switch, two fire buttons, an eight-way hat switch, and a mouse control that includes a pointing stick and one button. Also on the throttle is an "info" button that, when pressed along with another button, displays the function of that button on an LCD screen built into the base of the throttle unit. The LCD screen can also display time (in multiple time zones), time elapsed (for recording flight times), and information about what game and profile are active.

The two units are connected together by a cable. The throttle also includes plugs for the power adapter and USB cable for connection to the computer.

Asthetics:
This product has the ultimate in cool factor. Blue LEDs light up the buttons and LCD screen, and the silver and black enclosures have a high-tech look to them. The "safe" cover for the primary fire button is another nice touch. This joystick is sure to impress your friends.

Ease of Use:
The unit was easy to install. You just put the driver CD in and follow the easy instructions, plugging the joystick in when directed. After that, the programming is easy but time-consuming. You enter the key combo that would normally do something in the game and assign it to the control of your choice. Consider the fourteen different controls along with the three-way mode switch and two-way pinkie sift button and you have a total of eighty-four controls to program! Of course, you don't have to program all of those buttons, much less memorize them. Even the most advanced simmers probably won't use all six mode combos (three on the mode switch times two positions for the pinkie shift). The programming software can also do advanced key combos such as delays and repeats, make a hat switch act as POV or buttons, make an analog dial or slider operate in banded mode (where moving the controls to different positions activates different key combos), and program the LCD screen. After programming it, you activate the profile you have created for the specific game you want to play. The Saitek software then "presses" the assigned key combos when you use the controls. This system works very well, and can get around older games that won't assign advanced functions to a joystick.

Performance:
Performance is very well. The software doesn't decrease the framerate of the game as far as I can tell. The axis movements are very smooth, with the exception of the throttle detents at idle, full military, and afterburners, which allow you to feel these settings without having to look at the scale on the throttle itself. The LCD screen, however, isn't too useful. It works as a clock and stopwatch, but cannot get info directly from the game (this feature has been added in Saitek's recent replacement for the X52). Also, because it is flat with the base of the throttle and therefore facing upward, you have to lean over it to be able to read it. There are "function", "start/stop", and "reset" buttons beneath the screen used to control it. The mouse control takes some getting used to, but it works and can be useful if you are experience with using a pointing stick (such as those found on laptops). One con here is that there is no second mouse button. Also, there is a scroll wheel on the back of the throttle that I find more useful when assigned to another in-game control.

Build Quality:
The enclosures are very well built and include scratch-resistant stainless steel panels on the top and front. The throttle and joystick have so far held up to slightly over a year of use and show no signs of wear other than the throttle detents becoming slightly weaker-feeling. They are still strong enough to be effective, however, and probably will be for a while longer. The joystick movement is very smooth with even resistance throughout the entire range of movement.

Value:
The product is slightly expensive, but if you are a flightsimmer who can put it good use, it will be worth the money to you. I certainly do not regret my purchase. It could have been a little cheaper, though.

Conclusion:
See "The 'I'm in a Hurry' Section" above.