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Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith
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Credit:
Reviewed / Matthew S. Smith
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The Gulikit KK3 is a “budget” PC and Nintendo Switch controller with magnetic thumbsticks, trigger locks, a comfortable layout, and a turbo button. Read More
The PowerA Spectra Enhanced is a third-party Xbox Wireless Controller clone. It even works with Xbox consoles. It offers all the perks of an Xbox gamepad at a lower price but sacrifices wireless. Read More
PowerA’s Fusion Pro 3 Wired is an affordable alternative to the Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 that ditches wireless connectivity. Read More
The Gulikit KingKong 2 Pro Wireless is a solid controller for Switch, PC, Mac, and mobile phones. It packs a comfy design and Hall Effect joysticks. Read More
The Xbox Wireless Controller is easy to use thanks to built-in Windows support. It also boasts high build quality and a layout that’s ideal for 3D games. It relies on disposable batteries, however, which become costly over time. Read More
The PC is an incredibly diverse gaming platform and you can find ports of titles from every genre, console, and era of gaming. Many games were designed with a gamepad in mind, so to get the best gaming experience you might need to ditch your mouse and keyboard. The best PC gaming controllers should be able to tackle every genre, from fighting games to first-person shooters, with ease.
Gamers who just want to stick to PC-only titles should read our round-up of the best gaming keyboards or look for the best gaming mouse. But if you want to skip the keyboard and mouse and are looking for the best PC controller to play Forza Motorsport or Street Fighter 6 with, read on.
The best PC controllers feature adaptive triggers, textured grips, and sometimes even RGB lighting. If you’re looking for the best mix of comfort and features, the Gulikit KK3 Max (available at Amazon) is the best PC controller you can buy right now. It’s durable, rich with features like Hall effect thumbsticks and triggers and built-in macro recording, and supremely comfortable. It can be used with your PC, Mac, mobile devices, or Nintendo Switch over Bluetooth, and pair with up to four devices at a time.
The GuliKit KK3 Max uses Hall effect thumbsticks, trigger locks, and customizable back paddles at a fraction of the cost of competitors.
If you love the Xbox controller but don't want to pay Xbox prices, the PowerA Spectra is a great option.
The PowerA Fusion Pro 3 trades wireless for pro-level features for under $100.
Excellent build quality
Precise joysticks
Easy to connect
Triggers feel wooden
No customization
Not compatible with Xbox or PlayStation
Easy to use
Great for 3D games
Durable build quality
Uses disposable batteries
Low weight
Built-in battery
Versatile layout
May require third-party software
Premium feel
Built-in battery
Versatile layout
May require third-party software
Easy to use
Built-in battery
Great for 2D games
Not great for 3D games
Can feel small for some players
Low latency Wi-Fi controller
Large game library
Cross-platform compatible
Uses disposable batteries
Unreliable bluetooth connection
Prime membership required
I’m Matthew S. Smith, a technology journalist, reviewer, and geek with fifteen years of experience writing about PC gaming hardware and peripherals. You can find my work at Reviewed, IEEE Spectrum, Wired, PCWorld, Lifewire, IGN, Business Insider, PCMag, Consumer’s Digest, MakeUseOf, The Escapist, and other publications. I was Lead Editor of Reviews at Digital Trends in 2020, where I worked as an editor since 2014. I’ve reviewed and tested thousands of laptops, keyboards, mice, game controllers, and monitors.
We test PC game controllers in the usual way: by playing games on them. Every controller considered for this list was tested first-hand with a custom desktop PC over wired and wireless connections (if supported).
The games we used for testing included several keystone titles that we returned to with every gamepad: Final Fantasy XIV, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Control, and an emulated version of Super Mario World. They represent a wide variety of genres and control schemes.
Modern PC game controllers come in two basic layouts: asymmetrical or symmetrical.
An asymmetrical layout, like the Xbox Wireless Controller, places the left joystick above the D-Pad while the right joystick is below the four primary buttons. This asymmetrical design is superior for games that use joysticks for 3D movement. The D-Pad is often used to provide additional action buttons in these titles, and this layout makes the D-Pad easier to access.
The symmetrical layout, championed by Sony, places the joysticks beside each other and pushes the D-Pad up. The D-Pad is harder to access when using the joysticks for movement, but the joysticks are easy to ignore when playing a game that uses the D-Pad for movement.
We give slight preference to symmetrical layouts when testing PC game controllers. We feel a symmetrical layout is more versatile than an asymmetrical layout. This is because symmetrical layouts are generally preferable for 2D games that play best with a D-Pad but are still great in 3D titles. A versatile controller is useful for PC gaming because the platform has access to a wider range of games and genres than a console.
Your mileage may vary, however. Players only interested in modern 3D titles and console ports may lean towards an asymmetric layout.
Most modern gamepads support both wired and wireless connections. The wireless connection is typically enabled through Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz over a USB dongle. Microsoft offers a proprietary wireless dongle for the Xbox controller, and cloud gaming controllers, like the Google Stadia and Amazon Luna controller, use Wi-Fi when connected to their respective services.
Wired connections remain the easy option. Wired controllers are reliably detected by Windows and require no additional setup to use. There’s no need to worry about latency or drop-outs caused by interference from other devices.
Most controllers support a Bluetooth connection that should, in theory, be automatically detected by Windows. This didn’t always prove true in our testing. Wireless can also fall victim to interference from other devices.
Most PC game controllers support a wireless connection but also work over USB-A or USB-C, providing a backup if wireless goes awry. You do pay a slight premium for wireless, however. The PowerA Spectra Enhanced, our value pick, is a wired controller that undercuts wireless competitors without compromising quality or layout.
The Google Stadia controller and Amazon Luna controller were included in our testing. Each has a solid, though generic, layout that doesn’t offend. That doesn’t mean they’re a great choice, however.
Amazon’s Luna controller can connect to a PC wirelessly over Bluetooth. This lets it function as a generic PC gamepad. We encountered connectivity problems over Bluetooth, however, so we had to revert to a wired connection.
The Google Stadia controller is technically wireless but only supports Wi-Fi and can’t be used wirelessly outside the Google Stadia platform. This contributed to its low ranking in our tests and exclusion from this list, especially as Stadia has been shut down by Google.
Both cloud gaming controllers were among the most expensive we tested. That makes them hard to recommend over the less expensive, easier to use, and more broadly compatible PC game controllers that top our list. We recommend staying away from either.
A majority of wireless controllers use a built-in rechargeable battery. However, Microsoft’s Xbox controller and Amazon’s Luna controller use disposable AA batteries.
Built-in rechargeable batteries are superior. Disposable AA batteries are inexpensive, but the cost of replacing batteries will add up over time. A long gaming session could easily eat up a pair of non-rechargeable batteries. You’ll eventually spend as much on disposable batteries as you did on the controller itself.
A rechargeable battery is lighter than disposable batteries and allows for a more compact design on the rear of the controller. This makes a controller with a rechargeable battery more comfortable to use.
Controllers that use disposable AA batteries can be upgraded with a rechargeable battery pack or can be used with rechargeable AA batteries. This is an extra cost, however, and undercuts the value of controllers that use disposable batteries.
Matthew S. Smith is a veteran tech journalist and general-purpose PC hardware nerd. Formerly the Lead Editor of Reviews at Digital Trends, he has over a decade of experience covering PC hardware. Matt often flies the virtual skies in Microsoft Flight Simulator and is on a quest to grow the perfect heirloom tomato.
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