this post was submitted on 17 May 2026
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I want to replace my old GameSir G3s with a controller preferably under €70-75. Initially I wanted an european gamepad but the only 2 options (ready2gaming and snakebyte) was so non existent or questionable that I had to swallow my EU nationalism.

Gaming style:

  • Only use controllers where it's highly recommended
  • Preferred genre for controllers would be arcade racing and JRPGs mostly
  • Will only play on wireless (2.4ghz)

Preferences:

  • Either TMR or high quality HE sticks
  • Doesn't look boring (preferably it has some amounts of LED / RGB)
  • Xbox stick position layout (I want to try it out)
  • Linux compatibility (don't care about consΓΆles)
  • Doesn't have a shit QC (8bitdo's are apparently like that)
  • I have larger hands, so maybe not a small controller

Currently these are some controllers that seems to be in my range. I'm interested if you know about even better controllers.

  • GameSir Cyclone 2
  • GameSir Supernova
  • FlyDigi Direwolf 4?
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[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 17 points 2 days ago (5 children)

Yeah, 8bitdo's also have official SteamOS support too, which is a plus point.

[–] Screen_Shatter@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have two 8bitdo controllers and they're both great. I'm not sure what makes you think they are shit. I've only ever heard good things and that's been my experience. I intend to get a third one to replace my dying ps3 controllers.

[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Well you may be right, I've just read comparably more complaints on faulty 8bitdo Ultimate 2 controllers compared to the Cyclone 2 (these 2 controllers are frequently being compared to eachother) and whilst I don't trust too much in TrustPilot but the ratings of these 2 brands are far away (2.2 and 4.0 basically) which was sus. So it seemed to me that their QC isn't as strict as GameSir's is.

[–] badgermurphy@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

Maybe it is one of those "victim of their own success" situations. They have more complaints than some other brands because they sold so many more products that theres bound to be someone with a problem somewhere by statistics alone.

[–] riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 2 days ago

Chiming in. I have several 8bitdo products including the Ultimate 2. Love them all.

[–] lemmyng@piefed.ca 8 points 2 days ago

I owned both GameSir and 8bitdo controllers. All my GameSir ones have fallen apart (stick drift, trigger broke off), while the 8bitdo ones are still alive despite my kids' best efforts.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Be warned it only seems to work in Bluetooth mode for some reason, via the dongle I don't get the back paddles to show up. That being said I want to echo the fact that I also have an 8BitDo and has had great quality. Also they work out of the box in Linux, so no worries there.

[–] 413j0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Update the firmware on a windows VM and then turn it on while holding b to go I to dimput, if you want it to go back to x input turn it of and then on while holding a.

On dimput you can use the extra shoulders, the paddles, the gyro and the accelerometer

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Have they released another update? I've already updated it when they announced the steam compatibility. I was able to get it to dinput and work once, but it reverted and wasn't able to get it to work with he dongle and recognize the back paddles again.

[–] 413j0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 4 hours ago

When you turn it on by the menu button (8bitdo logo button) hold either a or b for xinput or dimput mode, on ximput it only has the same buttons as an Xbox controller, but on dinput you get the extra buttons the gyro and the accelerometer

[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That sounds wonderful! Does the software work too? Interesting, apparently 2.4ghz should also work according to Gamepedia https://gamepadla.com/8bitdo-ultimate-2-wireless-controller.html

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I meant the remapping of the back paddles only seems to work in Bluetooth for me, the controller itself works on both modes, but that is not surprising to me as most controllers just work out of the box on Linux.

[–] BarrelAgedBoredom@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have two 8bitdo ultimate 2c controllers (the cheaper Xbox style controllers) and they've been great. The only thing they're missing is RGB, other than that they tick every box. I use them for my steam deck and on my bazzite PC and they work flawlessly, have held up very well in the ~8 months of regular use they've seen. My one (minor) gripe is battery life. A charge lasts several days, but my Xbox one controllers lasted about a week, sometimes more when I was using them. They're USB-C, charge pretty quick, and you can use them while they're charging so it's not a big deal but still worth mentioning

[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Ultimate 2 actually fits all of the boxes if I'm lucky with QC because it has some tasteful RGBs in there and it looks beautiful honestly. Battery life isn't a problem if you use the dock tho. Did you buy it without the dock?

[–] riquisimo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Those led rings were part of the selling point for me, but honestly I turn them off all the time. It's nice that they're there, but they're so bright and, well, I'm not looking at my hands when playing.

The 2C doesn't have the connection points for a dock, that's part of the features they cut back on for the budget option. It also doesn't have the RGB or the buttons on the underside of the controller. I'm happy with my choice but I've also been tempted for the higher end version for all of that stuff too

On the QC thing, the 8bitdo controllers are less "refined" than a dual shock or an Xbox controller. The abxy buttons have a little play side to side in them and minor stuff like that. They're slightly lower build quality than the big name controllers, but not in any way that will affect gameplay or responsiveness. The joysticks have tuneable dead zones, you can test the pressure sensitivity in the triggers, and fully configure the layout to suit your needs. They connect without a hitch and the 2.4g is very low latency. I watched a few vidoes comparing controllers when I was looking and the QC thing came up too. I was a bit apprehensive but pulled the trigger and, with the experience I've had (on cheaper controllers no less) I feel that a lot of professional reviews place an undue emphasis on their QC. They may have been lower quality in the past, but I genuinely haven't had an issue with them and they've held up great so far

[–] Korhaka@sopuli.xyz 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Is that all of them or just some? Got a couple of the wireless 2C currently and probably going to get a few more at some point. Not sure how others compare.

[–] PrivateNoob@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

Hmm do you mean other possible controller alternatives that I was able to find? If you care about latency you can check out this site, which lists off a lot of controllers and you can search for only TMR and HE controllers too. https://gamepadla.com/